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

[gretaboy]

The BOM was showing bad rain clouds over Newcastle this morning...was certain I was going to get smashed by the rain. Luckily it was rain free at home so at least my start was dry, apart from the wet roads. Was really surprised however, apart from some sprinkles I remained pretty much dry, except for the lower half from the water thrown up off the road.

Incident free ride, felt good so all up a good start to the day

[Summernight]

What an absolutely beautiful morning it was this morning! I went for a jog at dawn along the MYT and saw the regulars. I was quite cold of course (full-sleeved jacket too - 1 degree requires full jacket and probably full tights too next time) with the bridges slippery from all the frost on them. The legs didn't really warm up much in the warm shower before riding to work but it was an absolutely great morning for a ride. I love the cold!!!!

Beautiful ride in - everyone behaved themselves and the cloudless blue sky was lovely. It made me want to go skiing (I know, random thought there - but the snow birds are chirping in the trees and it makes me think of the snow).

Toes were a bit cold at the end of the ride (also no overshoes as it wasn't likely to rain) but everything else worked fine.

[jasonc]

forgot. had a bus cut me off on mount coot-tha this morning. I know the rego (as it's really close to the rego of my car). was deliberate too. anyone got a contact?

[jacks1071]

On a positive last night tried out my new SuperNova airstream light - worked a treat even provided enough light for a guy around everton park/mitchelton/oxford park bike path when his battery run out. Used a more expensive lupine pico max (700 lumens) prior and the beam pattern was not as good as the supernova for road coverage and unlit paths.

Glad you are enjoying the Supernova Airstream!

Checkout the new safety lights we have in, they arn't nearly in the same league as the Airstream but for what they are, they are very respectable. The front one makes for an awesome city or backup light. We also have the rear version. I've only had my front one strapped on for a few weeks and its already bailed me out twice.



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[CXCommuter]

After putting last winters tyres back on (steel belted 28mm durano pluses) my commutes have felt like a hard slog all week so far. Regardless a minor tailwind and anger at a motorist beeping repeatedly at me for no apparent reason led to a pretty good time. It has been a week of the moron cyclist unfortunately, two separate instances of a cyclist repeatedly overtaking at a sprint then blowing up over and over, at one stage one guy splitting two cyclists at 40km/h downhill with no warning (whilst weaving all over the road). Multiple cyclists pushing to the front of queues even to the point of blocking traffic heading the other way. And one twit pushing through on the left at an intersection with no warning like a final sprint in a crit meaning I somehow missed the central bollard.
Hoping cooler/wetter weather arrives soon so all these irregulars just disappear. And we all know that saying something just leads to an ugly confrontation as all of these cyclists know they are ding something wrong but simply don't care,

[ray]

BNE: Left work at 6pm and thought it would be a stress free trip home. Next time I won't be going along Mina Pde near the sports complex as cars are parked on both sides of the road. Easier to give way to cars when coming through as it pretty much one way and I didn't want to get doored so wet slowly through there. Also, talking about idiot cyclists nearly got wiped out around royal pde alderley at the underpass Even though I ring my bell and have lights it didn't stop to guys on MTB without lights to ride nearly two abreast through the corner. I was pretty much brushing the wall to avoid them

[jools]

Last night I got bucketed on riding home so today I decided to ride one of my project bikes (a mixte possibly for the missus) because it's the only roadworthy bike I have currently with mudguards fitted. Learnt some valuable lessons:

1. Never commute on a bike that's too small for you. Not being able to extend your legs fully is a killer.
2. Flat bars are fine for cruising and sightseeing but if you want to get somewhere in a hurry, drops are the go.
3. When you combine 1 and 2 with a strong headwind and a 15k commute each way, it's not good! An extra 5 - 10 minutes each way and soreness in new places.

On the positive side, even though it didn't rain much the road was still very wet but the mudguards kept me and the bike very clean and dry, so I finally bit the bullet and ordered some mudguards for one of my regular commuters. Cannot wait for these to arrive as the forecast for Sydney is showers for the foreseeable future.

[DavidS]

Hmm, I find a flat bar fine on a commute 18KM each way. Just shows different bikes suit different people.

I have mudguards but am seriously thinking of adding a mudflap to the rear mudguard as my bag (in a basket) stretches a bit far back and gets some dirt on wet rides. Already have a mudflap on the front and it is invaluable.

Looks like a brisk morning coming up tomorrow. Still, shorts weather all year in Melbourne I reckon. Might have to do something about the shoes though. Mine are very well ventilated and I get hot feet very easily (never liked shoes) but in these conditions even my feet are feeling it.

Lovely day today though and I got to go to work late so the morning cold was no problem. Full jacket and fingered gloves tomorrow I think.

DS

[jools]

David, you're right about the flat bar - I have owned a flat bar commuter previously with geometry that was better suited to my size and it wasn't too bad a ride - a bit more comfortable than the drops in some respects, less pressure on the hands and wrists and neck. I find the drops to be a much faster ride though with a better position for pedalling harder plus less wind resistance, particularly being on the tall and wide side.

I was looking into mudflaps as well as I'm not sure how far down the mudguards will end up once they are fitted. At the moment I'm just riding with a backpack so they don't need to be overly long, but I'm hoping there will be decent coverage.

[TailWind]

Already have a mudflap on the front and it is invaluable.

Thinking of a mudflap in front as well to keep the crud that bypasses the mudguard off the BB and chainring. Where did you get yours, David? I would need to retro-fit them to SKS Chromoplastics somehow...
Great ride back yesterday afternoon, crisp and clear afternoon, no real drama along the way for the combination of MYT and Darebin Trail.

Freezing this morning 2C at 14:15am, 3 merino base layers plus jacket, 2 pairs of socks. Toes still frozen. Plenty of iced-up windscreens in the lower lying areas.
Further along the Darebin Creek Trail, some absolute morons had sabotaged the path by placing a substantial tree branch at the entrance/exit of the bridge over the Darebin Creek near Dougharty Rd, Heidelberg West. It's a quick descent towards the creek and the concrete bridge arches over the creek, joining a bitumen surface on the other side. The branch was right at the transition of the concrete and bitumen, very hard to see.
Came to a hard stop, jumped off and moved the branch with some difficulty. Any rider without decent lights descending fast towards or over the bridge would have been in serious strife.
The area around Northland Shopping Center seems to be a magnet for teenage bogans, plenty of them tearing around the trail on mini trail bikes, and it's not the first time the paths have been sabotaged in that area.
When I hit Alphington, the digital thermometer on Heidelberg Rd showed 1C. Happy to get to the office and thaw out.

[Sparx]

Been off the bike all week sick so this morning was my first ride in. And it was a good one! As I stumbled out of my house half asleep there was a nice crisp pineapple ($50) just lying there on the road.

Sweet!

[rheicel]

Been off the bike all week sick so this morning was my first ride in. And it was a good one! As I stumbled out of my house half asleep there was a nice crisp pineapple ($50) just lying there on the road.

Sweet!

This is the beauty of cycling and commuting.

[queequeg]

Got stuck back at work for 2.5 hours yesterday and when I was almost home, I witnessed a semi-trailer rear end a small car at the traffic lights lights I was waiting to cross at.
Basically the light turned orange, the small car stopped but the Semi was following too closely, locked up wheels and shunted the car 40m down the road. I was the only witness.
The young woman was a bit shaken up, but otherwise ok. It was her friends car, which is most certainly a write-off.
It is a terrible intersection as trucks are doing 70km/h on a long straight stretch of Pennant Hills Rd.
Truck driver admitted liability. He didn't really have a choice as his boss was riding shotgun in the cab with him. Boss told me that he warned the driver that if the light turned orange and the car in front stopped, he wouldn't be able to stop. Funny about that!

No commute today...working from home. Enough drama was had yesterday!

[clackers]

-0.1 degrees when I started out this morning -the coldest in Melbourne for a year.

Lots of layers so I got to work actually sweating, but even so the fingers were painful!

The rest of the day looks fantastic.

[jools]

I'm back on the apollo iv today after yesterday's painful experiment with the mixte and what a world of difference! Cut over a minute off my best time and almost 15 minutes off yesterday's morning ride. I was aided a bit by the gods of traffic lights but it was definitely a much faster ride.

[__PG__]

Dug out the Goretex windstopper jacket for the first time this year. Also wore my new neck gaiter as a beanie.

I think I'm going to buy some more head gear so I can keep my neck gaiter as a gaiter (instead of using a normal scarf). Having toasty ears was a special treat.

[Summernight]

Speaking of bikes being too small for you, yesterday morning I was turning right and had to wait for a lady on a bike... Who had her seat post all the way down and her legs were so squished up at the longest point in the pedal revolution her knees were still more bent than mine when up at the closest point of the revolution. It looked painful and not much fun (she also wasn't going very fast). If you're having trouble imagining it, then picture the lowrider bicycles but instead of standing up in the pedals to push, you're sitting down in the seat the whole time.

Last night a motorcycle backfired a few metres away from me on Collins St and I thought it was a gunshot and freaked out for a few seconds. Then I was really tentative riding as that particular motorcycle kept pace with me through the traffic and I didn't want it to backfire near me again.

Also rode past a man with a taxidermied red fox of some sort attached to the top of his bicycle helmet (he was waiting at an intersection with Collins St). The fox was in running pose or something. It was a bit weird and very amusing.

There was frost coating the windscreen of the car this morning at dawn and the windscreen wipers and windscreen water spray from the car just weren't cutting it - I had to pour my drinking water over it to get it to defrost so I could go swimming. (Wasn't going to drive with an icy windscreen where I can't see a thing).

Got home from the swim, got ready for the ride, put an extra buff around my neck and headed off to work. The fingers were frozen but a good bit of slapping at a few sets of lights warmed them up. The toes though: Toes? What toes? I have toes?

Forgot a pair of warm socks for the office so the cycling socks are now back on to keep the feet warm.

Oh, and note to self: Don't leave cycling socks and shoes beside the window in these temperatures. Makes it a fair bit colder for the feet when the shoes start out cold.

[TraceyG]

Zero degrees but clear (no fog) and dry at home so I rugged up and sallied forth. Got to the top of Haunted Hills Rd and was met by a thick wall of fog! Messaged hubby who had piked out of riding with me to say I was heading home and would catch a ride in with home. My plan was to just park my bike in the garage, jump straight into the car and shower at work so that hubby wouldn't be late.

Great plan until I actually got to work in my fully cycling gear, showered, dressed.....oh, crap - where's my jacket? Somehow I had not packed a jacket or jumper in my bag for this week! Shivered it out until 9am and did a quick run up to the Salvos for a new jacket!

On a side note, the looks from my co-workers as I got out of the car in full high viz cycling gear was priceless, especially when they used my appearance to cast aspersions on my poor hubby's driving skills! Sorry dear.....

[casual_cyclist]

Coldest ride this year into work for me this morning.

[alkhoo]

Hi all, it's been a long time since I've contributed to this forum. I did commute to work pretty regularly back in 2011 when the wife and I were still living in Southbank, but then we moved out to Kyneton in 2012 which put a stop to the bike commutes. I was still riding regularly on weekends but that all came to a stop in November 2012.

Whilst preparing for the Eastlink Ride, my wife went over her handlebars on the Koornang Creek Trail near Blackburn Road/Eastern Freeway. She suffered two fractures to the base of her skull, two blood clots in the brain and was placed in an induced coma in ICU on a ventilator for 24 hours. The ER docs and neurosurgeons painted a pretty grim future - they were saying there would be brain damage in areas of speech and memory. Apart from the internal head injuries and swolen face, she had about 3-4 weeks of post traumatic amnesia but only a few scratches on the rest of her body. Thankfully, she didn't need brain surgery. She spent a further 10 days in the neurosurgery ward before spending 6 weeks in rehab (neuropsych, occupational therapy and speech pathology) and coming back home just in time for Christmas.

Yes, she was wearing a helmet. If she wasn't, the plain truth is she wouldn't be here with us now.

Long story short, she's made a miraculous recovery and is now back to work full time. If you see her today, you would not know she's been in an accident. There has been small changes since the accident, but I'm sure you will agree that these are things we can all live with - she's now addicted to chocolate, she now prefers shiraz to pinot (she would only drink pinots before) and she is now baking (this coming from a girl who used to say, I don't bake, period). She doesn't remember some things but that's okay, and she doesn't remember the accident.

Side story - because of the PTA, she would ask me every 10-15 minutes why she was in hospital. Halfway through her stay in rehab, she asked me again and I patiently explained to her what happened. Then it clicked and she said, "Is my bike stuffed?" "Yes, write-off." "Can I get a celeste green Bianchi now?" That brought a smile to my face.

I was going to give up riding for good, but she's been constantly encouraging me to get back on the bike. She hasn't been back on the bike since - not because she doesn't want to, but because she made a promise to her parents. I started slowly but I'm now back to doing 2-3 hour weekend rides again. We're now doing the train commute to Melbourne and I've been bringing the bike in for the short Southern Cross - Port Melbourne work commute. It beats taking the bus!

I apparently have no more excuses - she okayed and I picked up my new disc-brake cyclocross commuter last weekend!

This week's daily commute has been good - no issues at all. This morning was a very very cold ride in... My toes went numb! Got passed by my colleague on a roadie this morning and left for dead. I can't wait to replace those knobby tyres after Sunday's Melburn Roobaix! Talk about rolling resistance and sounding like a tractor!

Looking forward to contributing more regularly from now on.

[TailWind]

^
Welcome back alkhoo!
Sobering story, and it's great to hear that it all worked out ok despite the initial prognosis!
Ease back into it and enjoy!

[jasonc]

^
Welcome back alkoo!
Sobering story, and it's great to hear that it all worked out ok despite the initial prognosis!
Ease back into it and enjoy!

+1 and post some photos in the bike pictures thread of your new toy

[jools]

No records set on the trip home, apart from the depth of water I had to wade through on the cooks river cycle path at tempe station..

Does anybody else commute this way?

I think I'm going to have to start checking the tide charts before setting off on the bike!

[rheicel]

You can always go around the tide. That water there is salty in some occations.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[DavidS]

Already have a mudflap on the front and it is invaluable.

Thinking of a mudflap in front as well to keep the crud that bypasses the mudguard off the BB and chainring. Where did you get yours, David? I would need to retro-fit them to SKS Chromoplastics somehow...
Great ride back yesterday afternoon, crisp and clear afternoon, no real drama along the way for the combination of MYT and Darebin Trail.

Freezing this morning 2C at 14:15am, 3 merino base layers plus jacket, 2 pairs of socks. Toes still frozen. Plenty of iced-up windscreens in the lower lying areas.
Further along the Darebin Creek Trail, some absolute morons had sabotaged the path by placing a substantial tree branch at the entrance/exit of the bridge over the Darebin Creek near Dougharty Rd, Heidelberg West. It's a quick descent towards the creek and the concrete bridge arches over the creek, joining a bitumen surface on the other side. The branch was right at the transition of the concrete and bitumen, very hard to see.
Came to a hard stop, jumped off and moved the branch with some difficulty. Any rider without decent lights descending fast towards or over the bridge would have been in serious strife.
The area around Northland Shopping Center seems to be a magnet for teenage bogans, plenty of them tearing around the trail on mini trail bikes, and it's not the first time the paths have been sabotaged in that area.
When I hit Alphington, the digital thermometer on Heidelberg Rd showed 1C. Happy to get to the office and thaw out.

I have a Brooks mudflap on the front, got it at a bike shop in Brunswick but they are available various places and online. I just drilled a couple of holes in the SKS mudguards and bolted it on. Just use a bolt with a very flat head and put the nuts on the outside of the mudguard. The nuts I used came loose so I have 2 nuts on each bolt. You can improvise with a cut up milk bottle but I like the leather Brooks mudflap.

Nice and cool this morning eh? I saw frost on the ground at Elwood Beach as I rode in wearing shorts. Under 7 degrees so out with the full jacket and gloves. Fingers still a bit cold, ears cold for a while, but I still got to work sweating with just a T Shirt and jacket on top. Looks like the same weather tomorrow morning too. The full cycling jacket is a bit tight and doesn't feel as nice as my Cannondale jacket which I generally use with the sleeves and back removed. Must find a way to get more used to the warm jacket as I will be using it a bit if it stays this cold. Needless to say it was back to sleeveless this afternoon as it was 12 degrees when I left work. I would just sweat like mad in that temp with a full jacket on.

DS