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

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:09 am
by dino1969
TailWind wrote:
dino1969 wrote:Well it has taken me two years of solid commuting to finally achieve my first 30km/hr average! :oops: I have come close a few times but never cracked the nut!Today's ride was great and i must say the conditions were good, however i was also riding into a headwind at times; lots of riders out enjoying the morning! Amazingly after a long week at work and 270km of commuting i found i had some leg power available to crack this average! :D Thank you everyone for your inspiration during the year! :P Tomorrow i hope to crack another of my goals and reach the 10000km mark!
Well done! And with that sort of mileage, you should join the Commuting Challenge for next year.
Thank you TailWind! :wink: I think I will have a crack! :)

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

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 9:08 pm
by giantguy
My ride home today was not pleasant.

I was crossing an intersection and a car waiting to turn left has not positioned itself correctly and was blocking the area where peds and cyclist cross. I decided to go around the back of the car which I have done a few time before. I couldn't get back onto the path so I jumped up over the kerb where I think the front wheel stopped either in soft sand of a hollow area and caused me to suddenly stop, lose balance and fall to the right side and couldn't unclip from the pedals then hit the ground.

Feeling pretty silly about falling off as there where plenty of onlookers in their cars, I grabbed my bike and rode off. Arrived home to find I had taken a bit of skin off my knee and elbow. Rear derailleur needed a clean as it picked up plenty of sand.

Add to this I had hurt my back at work earlier in the day I am not a happy chappy today !

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

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:34 am
by TailWind
Good ride back via MYT, Banyule Trail etc, pleasant conditions made for a good time as well.
Creature feature this morning included a roo hopping along McKimmies road next to me and then a meter or two ahead of me through a traffic circle and a small residential road in Uni Hill. Quite a hoot.

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

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:36 am
by TraceyG
First commute this morning since my GVBR accident. Dang it felt good! Even with a headwind for much of the 30km, it just felt so satisfying to be pushing the legs again and enjoying the sounds and smells of the countryside.

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

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:40 am
by find_bruce
TraceyG wrote:First commute this morning since my GVBR accident. Dang it felt good! Even with a headwind for much of the 30km, it just felt so satisfying to be pushing the legs again and enjoying the sounds and smells of the countryside.
good to be back in the saddle

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

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 12:16 pm
by goneriding
Everything was going fine this morning other than my legs whinging after an early training session until a man in a white van decided that he'd attempt to share the same place in the space time continuum as me heading up to the Harbour Bridge. Unfortunately for him the van had company advertising all over it so there was no need to remember the number plate.

A fellow cyclist following me up the hill mentioned that he'd done it to some others moments before. Normally I don't bother but this one needed to have his head removed from his nether regions so I sent the following missive:
To whom it may concern,

I am writing to advise you of an incident this morning a van bearing <xyz company>advertising in The Rocks area of Sydney.

As I was riding up Dalgety Rd a van bearing your company's advertising firstly passed me with less than half a metre of clearance and then cut across in front of me into Windmill St. This occurred at approximately 8.30am. I was unable to establish the number plate. In addition, a rider following me up the hill commented that the same van had demonstrated similar behaviour towards some other cyclists moments before.

Whilst it is not uncommon for incidents to occur, and I accept that this is a risk that, as a cyclist, I face on the road it was unnecessary for the driver to drive as recklessly as he did. Not only that he did it in a van clearly marked with advertising for your company.

What needs to be understood here is that the cycling community is active in its communication and incidents such as these rapidly spread through the network.

Regards
I got a reply within an hour stating:
Hi ,

I appreciate your email. As a fellow cyclist, I understand your concerns.

I have spoken to the driver and will monitor his driving closely.

Regards
Short and to the point. Irrespective of whether the conversation actually happened at their end, it is in writing if any other incidents occur.

Other than that, when will this wind sod off?

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

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 2:56 pm
by Tommi
Nice work!! Love the response too. I agree with the wind. It's been a royal pain at the moment especially every ride seems to be a headwind.

On a better note, I will be moving back up into the Blue Mountains as of Dec 21 and my work commute has gone from 3.6km to 46km ( mostly downhill)
I rode up the whopper of a hill on Hawkesbury/Springwood road and then onwards to Lawson from Richmond on Sunday. Needless to say after 2 and a bit months of Cycling I wish I had gotten into it earlier.

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

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 10:30 pm
by Xplora
Hot damn... 2 MASSIVE shouting matches with boofheads around Westmead and Constitution Hill on the PSP tonight. What the hell is wrong with these people? They take up a 2.5m wide path, and proceed to blast me when they get shocked as I roll up behind the group looking for an opening. The sense of entitlement for our Housing Commission residents is quite surprising. :shock: The nonsensical tirades are something else as well.

Just goes to show, when you're down, you're down. I haven't been feeling 100% myself so I naturally unleashed. :roll: I don't regret it in the slightest, I was simply going at their level and beaten by experience :lol:

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

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:04 pm
by Kenzo
:-D

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

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:55 am
by TailWind
Multi-hop commute via a schoolbook retailer Heidelberg West, then on to my brother's place and finally home. Reasonable ride, one close call at almost the same spot in Wellington St. where I had my previous prang. Similar situation - backed up traffic, car coming from the opposite direction turning right through a gap in the stopped traffic across the bike lane into a side road. The bike lane at that point consists of the green surfacing, and the driver at least crept into the lane, giving me enough time to brake hard and avoid him.
Pleasant conditions in Melbourne for the ride in this morning, only marred by persistently red lights.

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

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:18 am
by jasonc
Xplora wrote:I was simply going at their level and beaten by experience :lol:
the ol' saying: Don't argue with an idiot, they'll beat you with experience"

good commute this morning. leg/knee felt really good.

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

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:52 am
by DoogleDave
Beautiful ride into the Melb CBD this morning.
I finally managed to break my goal of 1hr 10mins for my 36km commute (made it in 1hr 8mins 55secs) - 4 mins off previous best time.

I am loving these new Bracciano wheels!

Time to update my goal now to 1 hour 5mins (with a view to breaking 60mins for the journey sometime in 2013 - hopefully)
Fingers crossed the hot northerly wind isn't too bad on the way home this arvo...

Dave

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

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:59 am
by Tommi
Fairly quick considering my motivation and evergy levels. Nice cool weather.

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

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:37 pm
by goneriding
Hit my goal for the year on my ride into work this morning. The only thing of note was that there were no Strava achievements for the ride primarily due to my legs being toasted after yesterday's training and commute rides and the fact that my commuter is currently only functioning on the big ring.

At least the wind has died down, but the flipside to that is the return of the humidity!

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

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:59 pm
by Xplora
14000 kms WOW.

Much better ride in today, going to avoid the Houso area tonight and get some BRUTAL HILLS on the way home. Get the lactic acid pumping. 8) 8) 8) 8)

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

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 2:02 pm
by find_bruce
Yesterday's commute was from Gladesville & back (dropped off the car for a service) A couple of things occured to me

1. I have ridden almost as far in the last 12 months has SWMBO has clocked up in the car.

2. Riding along Victoria Rd, even in the bus lane is good for your average speed - the adrenaline ensured that I kept up the 35 km/h I felt I needed to minimise risk to my safety.

Needless to say when I got off Victoria Rd, I was spent & the average dropped back down

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

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:33 pm
by higdawg
Last night in Perth we had a massive dump of rain so I was riding around big patches of mud and sand in the road.

But other than that I rode my fastest time to work so far and beat a few PB on Strava so it was a very happy morning.

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

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:56 pm
by Xplora
OK I want to brag my backside off. ALL TIME RECORD PB COMING HOME :shock: :shock: :shock:

Previous best was 49 minutes? Sweating my ring out, kill me it hurts. I didn't come home the absolute quickest way, I did stop at lights, I did slow down for peds etc and I made it back in 43 minutes 8) 8) 8) Average 29.7 including coming up the hills in Wentworthville (west along Gilba and Dunmore) at 27kmh. WOW. Absolutely destroyed that ride home. Feeling a million bucks after it as well :D Recovery rides for the rest of the week!!!!

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

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 7:49 am
by TailWind
Hot in Melbourne yesterday, so I worked in a couple of stops at strategic locations on the way home :mrgreen:.
The warm northerly was still around for this morning's ride into the CBD, and with another hot one forecast, it will be like riding into a blast furnace this afternoon.

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

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:03 am
by gretaboy
well after 4 days off the bike the ride this morning was interesting..bodywise...legs were hurting for the first 30 k's before they seemed to settle into the task of pushing the pedals around

had a mild headwind all the way in which didnt help I guess. Threw a few extra k's into the ride to try and make up for the missed k's this week

weather was brilliant though, looking forward to the ride home today

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

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 4:11 pm
by Lizzy
Had an eventful night ride home a week or so back after the office party - coasting to the bottom of a hill just after setting off, the quick release on my front v-brake ... well, released quickly. Felt the "bwoomp" and then felt the bike take off again toward a t-junction and all I could think was "gee, I hope that was the front" (it was, I'm fine). Smooshed everything back together as best I could and took it pretty easy the rest of the way, although it did jump out on me a second time, at a lower speed. Told my story to LBS the next day and they were unperturbed, thought the only intervention needed was another smoosh with the pliers :| The experience has brought me that one step closer to a fancy new toy though, going to get out the crayons and write a nice note to Self-Santa!

On the plus side though, a colleague passed me in a cab during that ride and commented the next day that I'd be visible from space with my night setup :mrgreen:

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

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:04 am
by TailWind
Hot in Melbourne yesterday afternoon until the rain hit - then it became warm and humid. I managed to ride in the gap between two rain bands sweeping over Melbourne, roads were pretty wet. All was going swimmingly until I was a couple of hundred meters from home.
That last section consists of a left turn at a small traffic circle, a short straight with a speed hump and then a sharp right/left S-bend. The road here is drying out here already.
I was heading towards the traffic circle, middle of the lane, car approaching from behind. I know I'm faster than cars through the circle, over the speed hump and through the S-bend, so I keep my speed up (30+ km/h) for the left turn at the circle, lean into the turn - nice and grippy!
Accelerate down the straight over the speed hump approaching the S. Road is a little damp still, but no layer of water on the surface. I lean right into the turn......and....both tyres slide out from under me without warning, I hit the deck and the bike and I go slip-sliding towards the gutter, undoubtedly to the amusement of the people in the car following. To their credit, they did stop and ask if I was ok.
No damage to bike or self, other than a small tear in the knicks from the slide. Hopped back on and sheepishly completed the last 200m of the commute.

Not sure if the damp surface was the sole contributor, or if there was other stuff on the surface. I have also noticed that the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres don't feel all that grippy in sharp turns with high lateral forces, even in the dry. I've had both tyres slide through the left turn at the aforementioned traffic circle once in dry conditions, but recovered from that...they make a disturbing hissing noise as they scrub across the road surface when they reach their limit. Maybe it's just me....

Bit of rain for this morning's commute into the Melbourne CBD, looks like a muggy day.
Happy Friday! :D

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

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:55 am
by gretaboy
Tailwind....glad it was only pride that was hurt this time

Had a nice little wind behind me yesterday arvo, got a 33 k average on my ride home which I was pretty pleased with, given I was pushing super hard. Had a 4wd nearly shunt me off the road by closing the gap between me and the kerb...really thought I was gone actually, had no where to go. But will say I think it was my fault all up. Then later in the ride I am going through a round about at roughly 50 + k and from the lanes on my left as I am going through another 4wd starts to poke its nose out as if it is going to take off...luckily for me it stopped as there was no way I could have pulled up in time. Only option would have been to go straight into the side of the 4wd.

This morning was another cool start but beautiful day. Threw some extra k's on again and my legs are certainly feeling it.

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

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:22 am
by jasonc
TailWind wrote:Not sure if the damp surface was the sole contributor, or if there was other stuff on the surface. I have also noticed that the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres don't feel all that grippy in sharp turns with high lateral forces, even in the dry. I've had both tyres slide through the left turn at the aforementioned traffic circle once in dry conditions, but recovered from that...they make a disturbing hissing noise as they scrub across the road surface when they reach their limit.
sliding is much less prone to injury that just falling.
re the marathon plus tyres. I've noticed they do make a hell of a roar when really cornering. once the roar gets to a certain point i don't lean any further

good ride this morning (on the fuji). i put a new tyre on the front as the schwalbe ultremo aqua though seriously grippy was grabbing and holding onto absolutely every piece of gravel/road crap it could find. just made the ride annoying with all the crap rolling around on the tyre. now have a gp4000s on the front.

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

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 11:30 am
by Big_Red
Back on the bike today for the first time in a fortnight (due to getting a mole removed from my chest & obeying the doc's orders not to ride till the stitches came out, which is a real pita) and it felt real good to turn the pedals over to ride to work. Developed a pathological hatred of public transport over the last 2 weeks having to sit amongst the great unwashed in the meantime and really appreciate the freedom of being able to use the bike. I really enjoyed the ride in - there was little traffic and it is such a gorgeous day.