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

[Summernight]

Legs felt better this morning than yesterday morning so I didn't die on the hill. Or maybe I just HTFU'ed and pushed instead of spinning slowly in an easy gear.

Had a 'wonderful' car on the curve at the Hoddle St/Albert St intersection see the car in front of it (which had a red lettered license plate and started with 'M' which I always assumes either means an undercover cop car or a government car, although I couldn't see the hidden police lights inside the back of it) pass too closely to the cyclists in front of me who were just pushing off from the green light, so as I'm pulling out to claim the left lane to stop something similar this dull red car decides to push past too close to me.

I knew he was going to do it due to my rearview mirror, but still, MGIF attitude is stupid - you'll get to the next red light at the same time as you would have if you'd stayed behind me. Just chillax.

[TailWind]

Kind of a busy commute back yesterday. Lots of ped/cyclist activity on the MYT, and plenty of traffic through the traffic circles on Dalton Rd in Thomastown.
Wet roads this morning, and a few drizzle patches on the way in, but the Melbourne CBD was dry.

[eldavo]

MGIF attitude is stupid

I had an amusing version of this last night. I caught up to a rider at Karrinyup Rd. lights last night, gave a nod and a few more caught up to us waiting for a long double set of lights. The faster few riding together sprinted off, the guy I caught up to drafted me for 2km up to Gribble Rd.

After Sarius slight incline he pulls out and slowly passes me, to then look back at me/make the pass and take the left turn into the estate at Exmouth. Cheeky guy =D
The only logic I could fathom for drafting for so long then passing before immediately turning off was a MGIF attitude, maybe he classifies it as a "CCR win" to himself. I guess with that logic he would ignore the 3 riders that passed us and went well ahead =P

"Where you going guy?" I was thinking, "there's these next 3 closest sequence of small hill climbs in my ride to do up ahead" =D

[Rhubarb]

Funny you mention these MGIF turkeys ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u8Box32Qk0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TonyMax]

There must be something to these road bikes, I took a whopping 23 minutes out of my homeward leg PB today. More uphill, the efficiency gains of no suspension must be more noticeable on climbs.

[Mulger bill]

What commute? Day off spent mainly on household chores
Managed to get just over an hour on the Cooper before tucker

[Summernight]

Legs didn't feel as good on the way home tonight.

But tomorrow is Friday!!!

[rheicel]

Only have done the usual 10km/day commute since Monday. Legs still sore after Sunday's ride

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[rabbit stew]

MGIF attitude is stupid

I had an amusing version of this last night. I caught up to a rider at Karrinyup Rd. lights last night, gave a nod and a few more caught up to us waiting for a long double set of lights. The faster few riding together sprinted off, the guy I caught up to drafted me for 2km up to Gribble Rd.

After Sarius slight incline he pulls out and slowly passes me, to then look back at me/make the pass and take the left turn into the estate at Exmouth. Cheeky guy =D
The only logic I could fathom for drafting for so long then passing before immediately turning off was a MGIF attitude, maybe he classifies it as a "CCR win" to himself. I guess with that logic he would ignore the 3 riders that passed us and went well ahead =P

"Where you going guy?" I was thinking, "there's these next 3 closest sequence of small hill climbs in my ride to do up ahead" =D

while reading this post about the guy drating you...it got me thinking. iv done a few years mtb, and about4 months ago i got a roady. 2 months ago my biggest ride had been 30kms, with a average speed of 19kms hr. i went in the gc 100, 50km event, at about the 10km mark i hooked onto the back wheel of a lady and drafted her for a good 25kms until i got a flat. while drafting her slipstream i was averaging 24kms hr. with the adrenalin of it being my first road event after i fixed my flat i still managed to finish the 50kms in just under 2 hours so i was happy with myself as i was expecting it to take me two and a half hours. Was it wrong for me to draft this lady for so long, i guesse me drafting her was actually holding her back. Was i doing wrong by her or doing the wright thing by myself. Im sure my finish time would of been alot longer if i hadnt been drafting her.

[DavidS]

Had a bit of a bump coming from the back wheel last week. Tyre was coming away from the beading. Still, got about 5,000KM out of it, most of that on the front but probably 1,000 on the back so not so bad.

What sort of tyre? For commuting you could consider marathon plusses. I got over 9000km on the rear from my last marathon plus. The one I have on the back now has down 7500km on the front, 1500km on the back, and probably has at least another 5000km to go!

I run Marathon Supreme. Fantastic tyre to ride on but would have less longevity than the Marathon Plus.

That said, I've gone through a couple of these lately and they were both tyres which came with my bike. Both had the same problem, tyre coming away from the bead. 2 factors: they came with the bike so may have been sitting on the bike, possibly flat, for a long time. They are an older version of the Marathon Supreme than the ones I replaced them with. Actually I'll throw in some more factors: I weigh over 100Kg and have a large bag in a basket on the back. The first tyre which went had been taken off the wheel umpteen times to fix broken spokes and I think that contributed.

All that said, I love Marathon Supremes. They should last a bit longer than I got from those 2 tyres. They roll really well and don't square off as they wear. I am yet to get a puncture (probably shouldn't say that, I'll get one now).

DS

[eldavo]

while reading this post about the guy drating you...it got me thinking. iv done a few years mtb, and about4 months ago i got a roady. 2 months ago my biggest ride had been 30kms, with a average speed of 19kms hr. i went in the gc 100, 50km event, at about the 10km mark i hooked onto the back wheel of a lady and drafted her for a good 25kms until i got a flat. while drafting her slipstream i was averaging 24kms hr. with the adrenalin of it being my first road event after i fixed my flat i still managed to finish the 50kms in just under 2 hours so i was happy with myself as i was expecting it to take me two and a half hours. Was it wrong for me to draft this lady for so long, i guesse me drafting her was actually holding her back. Was i doing wrong by her or doing the wright thing by myself. Im sure my finish time would of been alot longer if i hadnt been drafting her.

We were talking about MGIF, the drafting just made the MGIF and immediate turn off seem strange funny motivation.

As for drafting, I wouldn't worry, if people have a problem they will slow or wave you on, or some race etiquette that may or may not apply to commuting.

[jasonc]

I run Marathon Supreme. Fantastic tyre to ride on but would have less longevity than the Marathon Plus.

The marathon green guard comes in a 23c. I'd love to try that one but the only place I can find it wants $50-odd each

[TailWind]

Home via MYT/Banyule Trail etc yesterday afternoon. Beautiful conditions and a pleasant ride.
Cool start this morning, but a good ride into the CBD.

New rubber day for my Soma today...had Steve from Nomad Cyclery cycle them over and fit them downstairs in the bike cage while I'm slogging away upstairs.
Get the call that the new tyres are on but ....he discovered that my rear Mavic rim has 3 hairline cracks at the spoke eyelets...nooo . Had them built in June last year and they have around 20 000km on them since then. Waiting for a quote for a replacement - either Mavic or Velocity. Hope my wheel holds out for another few days...always nervous times while riding when one knows that there's a problem with the bike somewhere.

Happy Friday!

[oxonabike]

While we're talking about drafting, had an absolute belter of a commute for the trip home yesterday. Bit of a tailwind and was steaming along quite nicely on the heavyish Trek commuter. In the mirror I noted someone in hi-vis work wear a fair way back and assumed it was a lost licence tradie on a BSO. But then noted the bloke was slowly gaining on me and I was hooting along at 38 - 42 kph. As the distance reduced, the gaining apparition resolved into a bloke on a roady doing a respectable amount of work. He sat behind for a few kms and eventually overtook, inviting me to hop on the back while he took his turn at the front. From here we navigated the usual congestion through the roadwork at a fair clip and eventually parted ways once we were spat out of the roadworks zone. Quite and exhilarating ride, complete with cheering from a traffic controller at a set of temporary traffic lights. Anyway, the video below shows it better than I can describe. Rather than commuter cup racing, this was more along the lines of cooperative commuter riding!

[Summernight]

Great story and video, Oxonabike. And he's doing that in a full tracksuit!!! And Tailwind, your rims have held up until now. I'm sure they will hold on a bit longer... Hopefully.

The legs weren't there this morning. But neither was anyone else, except for the older guy on the roadie who smokes past everyone.
I had a car give me plenty of room when it overtook me in Baker St, but gave the oncoming cyclist who was travelling in the other direction a bit of a scare as Mr Motorist wasn't giving him any room during his overtake of me. Of course, Mr Motorist then got stuck at the traffic light up ahead and I went to the front of the queue (after Church St the bicycle lane starts so I wasn't blocking anyone by doing so).

Why don't people just wait???

[michael_w]

Home via MYT/Banyule Trail etc yesterday afternoon. Beautiful conditions and a pleasant ride.
Cool start this morning, but a good ride into the CBD.

New rubber day for my Soma today...had Steve from Nomad Cyclery cycle them over and fit them downstairs in the bike cage while I'm slogging away upstairs.
Get the call that the new tyres are on but ....he discovered that my rear Mavic rim has 3 hairline cracks at the spoke eyelets...nooo . Had them built in June last year and they have around 20 000km on them since then. Waiting for a quote for a replacement - either Mavic or Velocity. Hope my wheel holds out for another few days...always nervous times while riding when one knows that there's a problem with the bike somewhere.

Happy Friday!

20,000km! That's a lot of pedalling.

Out of interest, how many km's would you have expected them to get?

[TailWind]

And Tailwind, your rims have held up until now. I'm sure they will hold on a bit longer... Hopefully.

Thanks Summer, fingers crossed that I don't have to pen a tale of woe on Monday ...

[TailWind]

20,000km! That's a lot of pedalling.
Out of interest, how many km's would you have expected them to get?

I would have hoped to get a couple of years out of them, so that would be in the region of 28 000km, so I'm about 60% there, I suppose.

jason, gretaboy - what sort of life do you expect to get out of your rims?

[gretaboy]

20,000km! That's a lot of pedalling.
Out of interest, how many km's would you have expected them to get?

I would have hoped to get a couple of years out of them, so that would be in the region of 28 000km, so I'm about 60% there, I suppose.

jason, gretaboy - what sort of life do you expect to get out of your rims?

A long one lol...I lost a rear wheel due to the same issue you got TW...except I found out I had the issue on a commute home one arvo

This wheel came with the bike and I would have done 17000 plus on it when it failed, but dont know how many k's the previous owner had done with them. New rear wheel has already done 10000 k's since May 3. I would expect the wheels to last for all of next year as well. I certainly dont try and bash them around whilst riding

So a minimum of 30000 + I would personally expect from them

[find_bruce]

Had a laugh on my commute today. On the way back home from dropping the little man at day care, I am passed by a cop. Couple of hundred metres later he is caught in traffic & I ride past. I turn off, go home, drop the trailer off, faff about, ride off, about to rejoin Lyons Road Drummoyne 3.2 km closer to the CBD when I am passed by another cop - just checked the video, same cop. Checked my GPS - with all my stuffing about it was 21 minutes - jeez I hope the cop stopped for a donut somewhere, otherwise it took 21 minutes to travel 3.2 km = 9 km/h.

And some people wonder why I ride my bike to work

[find_bruce]

Jeez Gretaboy I would have thought a rim would last more than 2 years

[gretaboy]

Jeez Gretaboy I would have thought a rim would last more than 2 years

All relative isnt it...how much wear and tear does something get will decide how long it lasts I am thinking. Considering I am most likely looking at 17-18 000 k in commuting this year alone means that rim is getting a fair work out...add another year like that and suddenly the k's have added up.

Will see how well the Pro-Lites hold up in time. Nearly forgot, I am also close to 100 kilos, so my fat backside is putting some strain on it

[jasonc]

jason, gretaboy - what sort of life do you expect to get out of your rims?

A long one lol...I lost a rear wheel due to the same issue you got TW...except I found out I had the issue on a commute home one arvo

This wheel came with the bike and I would have done 17000 plus on it when it failed, but dont know how many k's the previous owner had done with them. New rear wheel has already done 10000 k's since May 3. I would expect the wheels to last for all of next year as well. I certainly dont try and bash them around whilst riding

So a minimum of 30000 + I would personally expect from them

My pro-lite comos passed 15000kms last month. At $179 delivered for the pair, anything over 20k and I'd be happy
It's worth noting that I am not kind to these wheels, they do get greased ever ~5000kms but apart from that, the brake surface gets cleaned.

[TailWind]

Ahhh, new rubber on Friday....what a difference. Smooth and like riding on rails. The only cloud hanging over me was the fact that my rear is in the process of failing, so the commute was somewhat tentative.
Checking the rim over the weekend did show some more movement on one of the suspect spokes - starting to pull out of the rim ever so slightly. New wheel on order, hoping for a speedy delivery.
Did a few shopping trips on the cargo bike this weekend - off to Bunnings to swap out a couple of 9kg gas cylinders and pick up a couple of other bits and pieces. Always a hoot riding that bike.

8C start this morning, copped some rain at Alphington, but it dried out closer to the CBD. Hopefully the southerly hangs around until this afternoon.
Tried not to load the rear wheel too much, spinning up sharp climbs rather than standing up and mashing the pedals...need to nurse the wheel through another couple of days.

[gretaboy]

My commute was uneventful. Now changing how I ride my commutes. Am pushing hard for sections then backing off a little. My aim will be to keep myself above the 30+ speed average for my commutes, especially the mornin ones. Am trying to build up speed and conditioning.

Very overcast, strong potential for rain today and the wind was up...37 k/h headwind this morning for me..what joy