How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

[jasonc]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forums, but have been lurking for a while. I commute from North Lakes to Brisbane City (+-80km RT), so I'll join the challenge next year and see how that goes.

80kms/day. geez if you do it every day, I'm cactus!

[TraceyG]

I got wet getting to work this morning and I'll get drenched getting home tonight but it will still be a whole lot more fun than being in a car.

[gretaboy]

Yesterday was a wet day...BUT...I was able to miss getting wet. A massive rain front hit during the day but by the time I was ready to leave the sun was shining ..well sort of. The BOM showed another rain front advancing from the direction I was heading. I was sure I was going to get wet, but apart from a few sun shower sprinkles I remained dry.

This morning was thickish fog. The sunglasses fogged up and made things difficult to see. So the ride was a damp one but was also warm. It is supposed to get to 30 degrees today so a nice warm ride home. Apart from a P plater beeping me, for no reason at all, the commute was uneventful.

[jasonc]

just posted in the qld weather thread - it was humid as hell this morning. I think I actually swam to work.

[TailWind]

Grim afternoon yesterday for the ride back. Rain door to door, all 40km of it. Rode the MYT, including the gravel section between Burke Rd and Banksia St. I am truly impressed with the difference the new front mudflap has made. Where, when previously riding along this section in the wet, my bottom bracket would be caked with grit and mud and my drive train would be messed up, things were pretty clean and clear of crud.

As for this morning....well, I should have stayed in bed:

Wake up late and look at the radar. Things are bad overhead and getting worse from the south.
Never mind, decide to take the shorter route in and get ready to leave. Garage door opener light is broken, so I carefully make my way down the stairs in the garage in the dark, slip, and tumble down the last couple of steps. Brief pain in ankle, but all seems ok. Curse a bit and wheel bike out into the rain.

The roads are absolutely sodden, rivers and little lakes in the wheel ruts. The mudflap once again does its job well, and the main issue with spray is now the stuff blowing back from the top of the front wheel. No further dramas though.
I get to work pretty soaked, strip off down to my undershorts, hang kit up to dry and stuff my boots with paper. Head over to my locker, key in my code.....and Beep! Red light! Access Denied!
I have no spare kit with me, and I frantically try a few combinations I could conceivably have mis-keyed yesterday afternoon. No luck. After a bit more cursing and a heated internal debate, I grab some bike tools and force the locker, consequences be damned. Fortunately, I manage do to this without any damage, only the tab that the lock latches behind is a little bent and I straighten that without problem.
Get into dry clothes, and try one more mis-key combination....Green Light! Success! This saves me having to confess my handiwork to Property and Operations. Whew.
Crazy start to the day, hope it gets better and the weather gives us a break here in Melbourne.

[TailWind]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forums, but have been lurking for a while. I commute from North Lakes to Brisbane City (+-80km RT), so I'll join the challenge next year and see how that goes.

80kms/day. geez if you do it every day, I'm cactus!

Yep, and I'll slip by at least one position as well.
gretaboy, there's the motivation you wanted

Welcome Andre, btw, I spent a bit of time in South Africa as well, commuting by bike in Johannesburg would have been suicidal..

[gretaboy]

gretaboy, there's the motivation you wanted

TW...without sounding like I have my head stuck up my backside...I think I have got this year sewn up

As to next year..well...different story (maybe). I have started racing on the weekends, its why I have cut back to 3 days of commuting a week, in order to allow my body to recover. I will most likely continue doing this all of next year as well since the racing licence is for a year.

I am pushing harder on my commutes by doing intervals, not just riding along as I did for most of this year, and I am finding it is taking it out of me for the moment, am sleeping well lol

But as we all know, it comes down to consistency with the commuting challenge..as well as distance.

[TailWind]

gretaboy, there's the motivation you wanted

TW...without sounding like I have my head stuck up my backside...I think I have got this year sewn up .

Yeah, no question for this year...
Thought you'd enjoy a closer challenge for next year though

[AndreB1972]

Welcome Andre, btw, I spent a bit of time in South Africa as well, commuting by bike in Johannesburg would have been suicidal..

The first time I ever rode on a cycle path / lane was when we moved to Brisbane But it did give me some good 'survival' training - in the end you learn to quit grumbling about bad drivers, and learn to keep yourself safe, irrespective of the driver attitude and available infrastructure. I had more issues with attempted muggings than bad drivers - awesome interval training

Was off the bike for a year during our move, so not up to full 5day commutes yet - currently on about 300km a week and hoping to do the full commute next year. I occassionally travel for work, so that should give Jason a fair chance...

[bychosis]

This morning was great when I finally got out t he door. Cool, calm and so foggy I couldn't see any other part of the lake for the first half of the ride followed by glorious sunshine once I got out of the fog.

[gretaboy]

What a great morning for a ride here in the Hunter...just perfect. My ride was what I would call a recovery ride, nice and easy.

Had an awful ride home yesterday, headwind, legs that didnt want to work..so took things easy this morning. Will give the ride home this arvo a good crack however

[TailWind]

So did Melbourne give me a break yesterday afternoon? Nope. Rain all the way back home. Sensibly, I opted for a shorter route, but still got pretty well soaked. Cleaned bike yesterday evening, quietly confident that the weather would improve the following day.
Yeah right. My hopes for a dry ride were dashed when I opened the garage door this morning. Light drizzle, wet roads, increasing to light rain as my commute progressed.
The rain thankfully tapered off about 5km from work, but it wasn't enough to completely dry me out, but I should have dry kit by this afternoon.

[rheicel]

30 km commute yesterday. Well, I just stretched it from 5 to 30 as I have not had a chance to ride last week. Mind says, "shut-up legs" but legs heard it as "shut-down legs",

[jasonc]

2 of my mates had simultaneous punctures this morning. still humid, but dry enough in brissy

[AndreB1972]

2 of my mates had simultaneous punctures this morning. still humid, but dry enough in brissy

Where was that Jason? I saw two groups fixing punctures on the Boondall Wetlands path...

[jasonc]

2 of my mates had simultaneous punctures this morning. still humid, but dry enough in brissy

Where was that Jason? I saw two groups fixing punctures on the Boondall Wetlands path...

riverloop - graceville

[tubby74]

took the longer route from city to olympic park via airport and cooks river. Nice alternative, was surprised how light the traffic was after the end of bourke st path out to the airport. doubt i'll do it often as the river path is a bit bland, but a nice option to extend and vary the route sometimes. Had a little squeeze at the narrow underpass with the panniers, and had to lift the bike through the barriers on a bridge over the m4

[eldavo]

Got off the bike this morning against a stiff south-south easterly in Perf-fewww! Glad to be off the bike, feel a drip of sweat trickle slowly down back of neck, wipe it away, feels like papery celotape crinkle sound, something else reacts, grab and throw it down, to see a stunned Cicada on the ground that probably made its way through the front vents, down the rear of head exit vents following the rivers of sweat trying to sneak by in uncharacteristic silence. I was thinking on the past couple rides about fitting the intake vent mesh to stop the big bugs that can cause abrupt stop-and-strip buugie dances. I copped a large fly or bee just below sunnies on cheek with some force/sting the ride before, reminder to keep the pie hole closed as much as possible. I haven't seen cyclists featured on the Miniscule French animated series yet, but I'm sure there's an episode worth in it for them if not already done.

[rabbit stew]

I was doing my usual evening food pedal this afternoon around 5 pm. As i left the local shops, Nerang, gold coast, the storm hit, lots of heavy rain and massive wind. I was one very drenched rabbit when i got home.

[rheicel]

, I actually posted this in the wrong thread earlier... anyway...

I am trying to enjoy the afternoon commute and then...



If not for the disc brake, my face would have been stuck in his side windows.

Cyclist and/or pedestrian also down along Anzac Bridge. I did not stop as there are already some crowd helping.

[jasonc]

didn't make it home before the storm. waited at the shops til just drizzle which became rain again of course
bike cleaned
have a photo that i'll post tomorrow

[find_bruce]

Cyclist and/or pedestrian also down along Anzac Bridge. I did not stop as there are already some crowd helping.

I was going the other way a bit later - ambulance taking a young lady away.

Kudos to the cyclist who positioned himself about 25 m up the hill & was making sure, in a polite & friendly way, that riders knew the ambos were there

[jasonc]

a bit of the cloud from last night

[TailWind]

A dry ride yesterday afternoon....ok, overcast, but dry! Riding along the MYT at the point where the trail along the river climbs up to Yarra Boulevard level, I spot emergency lights in the distance. Getting closer, I see cops and a fire truck blocking YB at the Monash offramp intersection. The issue suddenly becomes apparent. A car had managed to knock over a lamppost, which was now lying across the eastbound lane of YB. Unbelievable. I forgot about this until I started writing - deleted the footage off the cam already.
Good ride back otherwise.

Drizzle in the outer north this morning, and lots of vehicle traffic. Saw three peds en-route, which is highly unusual for the early hour between 4am-5am, a record for me even.
One of them was the dog walker on the Darebin Creek Trail, whose canine buddy has a blinky on his collar. Another, also on the DCT, was walking in my direction of travel dressed totally in black, not a single reflective patch anywhere. Was quite startled in he suddenly appeared in my lights.

Happy Friday!

[ShogunHy]

Lots of water around this morning - some of the highway underpasses were under water along the Eastlink Trail! No rain though which was good..