[Secret Squirrel]

Back to winter riding clothes. I live on a hill and there is around 1/2 inch of snow left from yesterday's storm. Just half a mile down the road the snow had disappeared and I was left with barely wet pavement that didn't even kick up a stream of water...just made that cool sound that only a cyclist could love.

ah-sum. My bike creaks a lot...so I don't get to hear that sound all that clearly...that and I sound like a beached beluga while riding.

I have noticed that the more expensive the bike the cooler it sounds...I've come across a few Looks and several carbon Felts...they sound sweet as they blow by me...zzzZZZZZzzzzzZZZZzzzzzZZZZ...oh that's cool...


May 1st is tomorrow and thus kicks off Cascade Bicycle Club's bike month...My bro-in-law and I do the month long commute challenge and I was 68th (in miles ridden) out of about 7,000 last year. Maybe I can break the top 50 this year.

 

[Heidi]

I have noticed that the more expensive the bike the cooler it sounds...I've come across a few Looks and several carbon Felts...they sound sweet as they blow by me...zzzZZZZZzzzzzZZZZzzzzzZZZZ...oh that's cool...

hahahaha - well, I was on my Dean Titanium cross bike today so maybe that explains it!

 

[Toshi]

I was left with barely wet pavement that didn't even kick up a stream of water...just made that cool sound that only a cyclist could love.

i dig that sound. especially when it's zipping the water right into my fenders. dry butt ftw!

i'm back commuting on the bike as vacation is over. as my apartment is being inspected today i had to move the new scooter from its living room "parking spot" so i rode it in since i was on it anyway.

i don't think i'll be riding it in after this! parking is an unbelievable pain with it on the UW/UW med center campus: parking in the close lot is $11/day and i'm here overnight as i'm on call (so it would be $22! ridiculous). parking isn't allowed for powered two wheelers in the garages that are slightly farther away. street parking is limited to two hours, and parking on a sidewalk or near a bike rack will get you towed on the UW campus.

i was left with parking at the tail end of cars in a quasi-legal strip of unmetered parking on a road about a 5 minute walk from the hospital and now i'm somewhat nervous that my scooter will still be there, upright, when i walk back out to it tomorrow morning. compare this to the free bike parking on the bike rack not 20 feet from the entrance to the hospital that i use... grr.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Well...I've found out that my rain pants aren't quite long enough to stay overlapped on top of my shoe covers...thus creating a wet shoe situation. I think I'm going to have to go all MacGruber on this sh*t...

And to think, I stood looking at fenders for 5 minutes yesterday (while buying my new helmet) thinking that I should really buy a set of them...just in case...Doh.

I mean really...doesn't every company think about the fact that some really tall guy wants to keep dry while commuting in a torrential downpour...shees...

 

[Toshi]

commuting in a torrential downpour...shees...

it was pretty miserable this morning, eh

 

[Toshi]

good lawd. EXTREMELY windy this evening, both on the ride back on my e-bike around 7:30 PM and just now coming back from mukilteo on the freeway on the scooter. weather.com reports winds from the S at 29 mph, gusting to 40 mph, and it felt every bit that strong. insane.

 

[Heidi]

sunshine greeted me as I pedaled to work. I needed the fresh air after having drank the Lagunitas Hop Stupid Ale for big kids last night. 8% alcohol and 102 IBU.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

good lawd. EXTREMELY windy this evening, both on the ride back on my e-bike around 7:30 PM and just now coming back from mukilteo on the freeway on the scooter. weather.com reports winds from the S at 29 mph, gusting to 40 mph, and it felt every bit that strong. insane.

My entire ride in this morning was headwinds...past few days they seem to swirl along the Burke all the way up the west side of the lake...sometimes I'll be cruising with a nice tailwind...then BAM! brought to almost a complete stop by a raunchy headwind....


5/1 - 5/7 mileage total: 235

yow.

 

[Squeak]

Death by Squirrel tonight! (Almost)

Little beasty ran out and head butted my front rim (It actually went PING!), bounced off my foot, and ran off. I was doing about 16 mph at the time and I had visions of the picture of the squirrel lodged in that bike fork.

 

[Heidi]

warm commute but wind is forecast for this evenings ride home. yay, wind.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Death by Squirrel tonight! (Almost)

Little beasty ran out and head butted my front rim (It actually went PING!), bounced off my foot, and ran off. I was doing about 16 mph at the time and I had visions of the picture of the squirrel lodged in that bike fork.

Kamikaze squirrels are the worst...that and calamitous cats...

 

[Toshi]

anyone wear earplugs while commuting on the road? on my e-bike i cruise at 23-27 mph and my ears aren't very aerodynamic . i tried wearing ~-35 dB earplugs on the way in yesterday and they really helped.

random: iPhone users should check out REI's BikeYourDrive app. it's free and calculates calorie and CO2 figures for the route you bike. kinda cool. i'm going to try it on the way home today if i remember.

doubly random: i'm only a few days from passing 1000 miles on the july-june "school year" on my commuter bike. i'm not racking up miles at S.S's pace but then again my commute is only 1.2 miles each way most of the year (with 3.7 each way for the minority of the year), not 20!

 

[Heidi]

anyone wear earplugs while commuting on the road? on my e-bike i cruise at 23-27 mph and my ears aren't very aerodynamic . i tried wearing ~-35 dB earplugs on the way in yesterday and they really helped.

I do sometimes.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

anyone wear earplugs while commuting on the road? on my e-bike i cruise at 23-27 mph and my ears aren't very aerodynamic . i tried wearing ~-35 dB earplugs on the way in yesterday and they really helped.

random: iPhone users should check out REI's BikeYourDrive app. it's free and calculates calorie and CO2 figures for the route you bike. kinda cool. i'm going to try it on the way home today if i remember.

doubly random: i'm only a few days from passing 1000 miles on the july-june "school year" on my commuter bike. i'm not racking up miles at S.S's pace but then again my commute is only 1.2 miles each way most of the year (with 3.7 each way for the minority of the year), not 20!

Yeah...but with your work schedule...1.2 is about good...I wouldn't want to ride home at 2:30am in pouring rain after a 24 hour shift...

Never thought about earplugs...interesting...


Feb. 22 - May 20 = 1122 mi.

Aiming for 5k this calendar year just on the road.

 

[ire]

random: iPhone users should check out REI's BikeYourDrive app. it's free and calculates calorie and CO2 figures for the route you bike. kinda cool. i'm going to try it on the way home today if i remember.

I doubt the calorie figure is very accurate...its hard to measure without a device to measure the actual work you're doing (like a powertap).

 

[Secret Squirrel]

...its hard to measure without a device to measure the actual work you're doing (like a powertap).

That's what she said.





I'm on FIRE!

 

[Secret Squirrel]

So, I guess summer-time revenue enhancement projects are in full effect around here...

I ride a MUP for 80% of my commute to and from work. Pass through several different city jurisdictions...I didn't even know that this "city" of about 25,000 had bike cops (it's hilly, wooded suburbia...not exactly doughnut eating, coffee chugging friendly terrain...)...but they do.

Here's the set-up: There's a road that comes down a hill and ends in a T-intersection. The MUP crosses perpendicular to the downhill street and runs parallel with a surface street that's closer to the water than the MUP. Both the MUP and the crossing street have stops both ways, but the downhill direction does not. So, I've seen people on the MUP and the street just blow these stop signs and carnage almost ensues every single time.

Well, this morning, I'm riding along the MUP and there's a guy on the street about 100 feet in front of me. He blows the street stop sign and hops onto the MUP. Bad idea. Cop jumps out of the bushes with helmet still on (there's heavy foliage all along the trail in this area) about 20 feet in front of stop-sign-blower and brings him to a halt. I roll up to the MUP stop sign, stop, continue on while duder is searching for ID....ouch.

I looked and finally saw LEO's bike...but didn't get a close enough look to see if there was a speed trap set-up....

 

[Toshi]

what's a MUP? i know it's the burke gilman but i haven't heard that acronym before

 

[Secret Squirrel]

what's a MUP? i know it's the burke gilman but i haven't heard that acronym before

Multi-Use Path.

P.S. Found out that, yes, the cop was gunning people. Heard on the way home from a dude I was passing that a buddy of his got nailed in the morning for 16mph (in a 10mph zone I believe) for $130...yow.

I think I will start leaving my drivers license at home when I ride to and from work now...ha, stick it to the man!!

 

[Toshi]

wow. are those 10 mph zones marked? on my e-bike i routinely cruise at 23-27 mph... most of the time on real roads since i live south of UW these days, but should i ever venture north...

 

[Secret Squirrel]

wow. are those 10 mph zones marked? on my e-bike i routinely cruise at 23-27 mph... most of the time on real roads since i live south of UW these days, but should i ever venture north...

I think I've seen one 10mph sign, maybe around that area...I think there are a couple 15mph signs elsewhere....I don't really pay any attention at all. I just ride. I don't even have a computer on my bike, but I think my normal pace is around 18-19....

(I average an hour for my 17.5 mile commute and there are a couple hills where I drop a lot of speed...)

 

[Heidi]

I laid the smackdown on some helmetless dude that was running every stoplight and stop sign. Chump

 

[Secret Squirrel]

I laid the smackdown on some helmetless dude that was running every stoplight and stop sign. Chump

Did he have a half completed sleeve (tattoo), was wearing girl pants, and sportin' the Converse Allstars?

Cause if so, that's doubly awesome.


(That outfit plus the helmetlessness and running lights and junk is probably 3/4 of the messenger crowd here in Seattle...)

 

[Heidi]

Ho hum, another morning of sweet smelling grass and flowers. I took a detour to ride along the river. Life is good

 

[Heidi]

It's officially Commute Options week but I didn't see any other cyclists or walkers this morning. Wusses

 

[Toshi]

It's officially Commute Options week but I didn't see any other cyclists or walkers this morning. Wusses

there are always a fair number of bikes locked up on the racks outside the hospital

parking costs of $15/day for single days or ~$5/day for monthly probably have something to do with that...

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Hmmm...ride in this morning was easier than I thought it would be...

Nuked my right side pedal bearings on last Thursday mornings' ride...tossed some older spd's that were chilling in my garage...have to wear my other shooz instead...wonky feeling on the roadie for sure.

Did my first century of the year on Saturday (rode to and from the event...so 120 total mileage for the day). Rested Sunday and feel good today.

Road bike mileage 1/1/09-6/15/09 = 1,714

Dang...not looking good to hit 5k by the end of the year...gotta pick up the pace.

 

[Squeak]

Every night its a toss up...

Will it pour rain and tornado warnings or will I make it home before the down pour?

Its like gambling.

 

[Heidi]

Its like gambling.

Maybe they will start passing out free drinks.

 

[Toshi]

today's my last day commuting on the e-bike. just shy of 1150 miles on the year iirc. it (and the scooter and everything else i own) is going on the moving truck tomorrow. the moving truck will disgorge its contents in new york sometime around the second week of july, and by then we'll be in our new apartment... with a 0.25 mile walking commute to the hospital!

<-- thumb smilie is gone?!

 

[Secret Squirrel]

I'm diggin' this nice weather up in Seattle...it's perfect for riding. Put the hammer down this morning and felt great. I need a new bike.

My bro-in-law just noticed that he cracked his brand new (I think he's had it 2 or 3 months) warranty frame. Same place he cracked his old one, top-tube seat-tube junction. Sucks, cause he's off work this week and wanted to ride a bunch...also, we are gearing up for the seattle-portland ride in 3 weeks... Gotta keep the training up for 204 miles in a day!!

 

[Squeak]

Bike to work day here in Denver.

I really didn't see many more people than normal out on my route?

 

[drkenan]

So if I don't know jack about road/commuter bikes but want to get in shape by commuting to work, would this thread be the best place to learn? I've been checking out the classifieds and Craigslist for a really budget bike but haven't come across anything yet. The problem is that I really have no idea what to look for or what size bike I need. My commute is less than 10 miles so it should be pretty easy.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

So if I don't know jack about road/commuter bikes but want to get in shape by commuting to work, would this thread be the best place to learn? I've been checking out the classifieds and Craigslist for a really budget bike but haven't come across anything yet. The problem is that I really have no idea what to look for or what size bike I need. My commute is less than 10 miles so it should be pretty easy.

Yeah...you're in the right place. Some people here should be able to steer you in the right direction for sizing (Loco, James, etc.)....I just know that I need a bigger, better bike.... heh...

 

[Secret Squirrel]

omfg....bleh...headwind for about 15 of my 17.5 mile commute in...steady 5mph, reported gusts of 30...felt like somebody just grabbed my rear brake and wouldn't let go at some points.

I'm toast.

 

[ire]

omfg....bleh...headwind for about 15 of my 17.5 mile commute in...steady 5mph, reported gusts of 30...felt like somebody just grabbed my rear brake and wouldn't let go at some points.

I'm toast.

The wind has been really sh!tty around here....I rode home yesterday and then went for a 2 hr ride and it sucked.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

June's commute mileage so far: 612
Total June miles: 773

I'm picking up my new Ultegra pedal axles today...so that'll make me happy to get back onto a better platform for pedaling....


*tired*

 

[MtnBikerChk]

The day I have waited for has arrived! My friend moved into her house that is 1 mile from my office! So yesterday after work I moved my car to her house, hopped on the trusty OCR and headed home. 30 miles - after a full day of work was ugly.

And then of course today I wake up with no car, so back on the bike I go - 30 miles back to her house to shower (and she made me breakfast).

Now I'm at work and I'm achy and tired (wah). It'll get easier, right? I'm thinking about doing this once a week.

 

[synchronicity]

I'm 32, I'm proud to say that I don't own a car. Here's my current commuter bike.
Mostly Deore level components now (LX is shown)

 

[KavuRider]

Rode to work Monday and Today. Yeah, gotta get better at that...
Its only 10 miles round trip, I've been riding my new CoilAir, well, just because its a new bike! Also the bottom bracket/crankset on my "commuter" is shot. Argh...

Thinking of pulling the trigger on a new commuter bike. Hmm...