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

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

Postby queequeg » Wed Mar 05, 2014 8:25 am

DaveOZ wrote:Autumn is here. It is dark in the mornings and it's getting cool.
It has been dark in the mornings for me every day except he brief couple of weeks before daylight saving started in October. It is staying dark for longer though, so I see the sunrise just as I come into the city now.
'11 Lynskey Cooper CX, '00 Hillbrick Steel Racing (Total Rebuild '10), '16 Cervelo R5, '18 Mason BokekTi

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

Postby jasonc » Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:11 am

Brisbane this morning - I got drenched.

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

Postby TonyMax » Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:37 am

I had a lovely time, CCR score +8, 1h15m to work, lovely morning albeit starting to get a bit crisp first thing.

Must start looking into some thermal gear.
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Summernight
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby Summernight » Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:30 am

alexander wrote:
Summernight wrote:
alexander wrote:Felt good up the hills, but long sustained flats on the big ring really took it out of me.
I'm the opposite - the hills take it out of me but I'm good on the flat.
Do you find that some weeks you're good on hills and rubbish on flats, and the next week it's the opposite? Or is it always great on flats, rubbish on hills, constantly?
Usually fairly good on the flats (obviously with some off days). Can sometimes be decent on the hill (the single hill) but usually not and significantly slow down and then once the hill is done I need a little time to catch my breath and get the legs back into flat mode. The fatigue on the hill might be because I go for a run in the mornings prior to the commute 3 days a week. Or because I don't usually push it on every hill I see so haven't built up the hill muscles.
InTheWoods wrote:I know I could shoulder check but this is either taken as a sign of weakness, or of deliberately holding them up (ie. I looked and could see them and didn't move over). By secretly looking, they just think I'm oblivious :)
Interesting thought that. Which might be why people think honking makes me aware they are there (because I haven't head checked due to my mirror telling me exactly what is happening).

I'd feel like I lost an eye if I rode without a mirror.

* * * * * * *
Yesterday morning (Super Tuesday) I had a MGIF on Baker St in Richmond. The dude driving the car decided he didn't want to wait behind me, so overtook me into oncoming traffic and then cut back in early to get back on the correct side of the road and THEN he braked right in front of me causing me to have to brake to avoid his rear. As he overtook me I saw his passenger window was down and it still was as we rolled up at the lights about 100m up the road. So he got a polite talking to about giving more room next time.

I'm pretty sure the bike counter on the corner of Lennox and Elizabeth Sts, Richmond, missed about 3 cyclists in a row - she counted the road bike rider in front of me, but as I went past (and came out from behind the left turning car) she had her head in the clipboard. I wanted to be counted. :(

I gave a sanctimonious talk to a lady cyclist who undertook a left turning ute on the corner of Albert and Hoddle St - the only reason she didn't get left hooked and forced completely into Hoddle Street by her actions was because there were cars blocking Hoddle Street about 5 metres after the intersection so the ute slowed down for a few split seconds which gave her the chance to wobble in front of it. Not smart. I reminded her about the road rules as I passed her further up Albert St. I probably sounded like a prig, but I was as friendly as I possibly could be considering the topic of conversation.

The ride home last night was hot. Got home and hadn't taken a sip of water as I was taking off the gear. Started getting heat/dry throat related breathing problems. Mental note to sip a bit of water every now and then on hot days.

This morning I had a SMIDSY on Cathedral Place near Parliament - he crossed the little side street that goes towards Treasury (and the hotel) and rolled over Cathedral Place as I was approaching. He also had his passenger window down and got a few loud "Ois' in warning before he turned his head to look at me and realised I was actually there (even though I had taken prime place in the road). I then told him to 'Look next time'. The peds nearby were looking on in bemusement.

Apart from that it was a beautiful ride.

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jules21
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby jules21 » Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:24 am

creepy or not?

i was riding to work on a fwy overpass and a young (6 yr old) girl was standing there on her own. i asked her "is your mum around?" and she said "yes" so i kept riding, then i saw her running back to her mum (i assume) who was down in the street below.

did i just trigger a manhunt for creepy cyclist(s)? :D

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

Postby TailWind » Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:29 am

Not my day yesterday, at least for the afternoon commute. Hot and headwind on the way back. Then, on taking off for a green right arrow at an intersection where I had filtered to the front of a line of cars, I had some sort of failure of the rear derailleur, causing the chain to skip all over the cassette without engaging. As a result, I pretty much rolled through the right turn at walking speed. :oops:
Closer inspection showed that the derailleur lost all tension, and the main body was pointing at the ground rather than being more or less parallel with the chain stay.
Couldn't figure out the whys and hows, so will have it serviced.
Unfortunately, my standby commuter is out of action because I'm struggling with the Alfine 8 equipped rear wheel. So I'm on the old duallie MTB at the moment.

My commute on the MTB this morning was a little more work than on the CX commuter, but had a bit of fun chucking it around the trails and over kerbs etc.
Will be using it for the remainder of the week.
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jules21
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby jules21 » Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:32 am

TailWind wrote:Not my day yesterday.. on taking off for a green right arrow at an intersection where I had filtered to the front of a line of cars, I had some sort of failure of the rear derailleur, causing the chain to skip all over the cassette without engaging. As a result, I pretty much rolled through the right turn at walking speed. :oops:
i did a similar thing this morning on the roadie. shoaled to the front of the queue to turn right, clipped in and ready to jump when the arrow came green - then went nowhere as toe overlap caused my foot to brake the front wheel :oops:

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

Postby WarbyD » Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:32 am

Not too bad a ride this morning.. Mostly uneventful (had a bus drift across into the cycle lane on hay St causing me to get on the brakes to avoid being cleaned up.. Grrrr).. Finally found a 40km route so will keep going this way in for a while then go looking for another 10km. Ride today was SLOW and took a damned long time though!

Pointless states for you to ignore:
ImageImage

Interesting that the two apps, both of which I start at the same time and both of which are using my phones gps, report different ride stats...

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

Postby jasonc » Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:33 am

TailWind wrote:Closer inspection showed that the derailleur lost all tension, and the main body was pointing at the ground rather than being more or less parallel with the chain stay.
Couldn't figure out the whys and hows, so will have it serviced.
Unfortunately, my standby commuter is out of action because I'm struggling with the Alfine 8 equipped rear wheel. So I'm on the old duallie MTB at the moment.
I have a similar problem on my commuter - my freehub just doesn't seem to engage and the cassette and chain just spin for a moment. The wheels have done over 18000kms.....

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

Postby cowled » Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:35 am

InTheWoods wrote:
WarbyD wrote:
cowled wrote: Do you think it is worth it? I've been wondering whether to get a mirror.

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Get one! You won't look back (heh)

Seriously, I am so much more comfortable on the road being able to see what's coming up from behind me.. I think it helps with avoiding driver aggression when claiming lanes too as you're able to choose your moment and move across earlier

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Pretty much this.
Ok, will get one. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Back on topic: the last two days of commuting have been great. I have child drop off responsibilities on tues wed & thurs, meaning that I'm on the road at the peak of the morning peak. Have had so much fun sailing past the masses of cagers. Even though I'm still a bit slow on the bike, I still manage to pass a whole lot of people.

I had a hydro physio session this morning after my ride. The physio is a lot more difficult and painful than riding a bike. I'm guessing that my good leg is probably doing most of the work on the bike.

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AndreB1972
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby AndreB1972 » Wed Mar 05, 2014 1:07 pm

jasonc wrote: I have a similar problem on my commuter - my freehub just doesn't seem to engage and the cassette and chain just spin for a moment. The wheels have done over 18000kms.....
That's sounds like the freehub pawls need a bit of cleaning and a re-grease. Fairly straight forward on most modern wheel sets (If you have the right tools)

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

Postby jasonc » Wed Mar 05, 2014 1:17 pm

AndreB1972 wrote:
jasonc wrote: I have a similar problem on my commuter - my freehub just doesn't seem to engage and the cassette and chain just spin for a moment. The wheels have done over 18000kms.....
That's sounds like the freehub pawls need a bit of cleaning and a re-grease. Fairly straight forward on most modern wheel sets (If you have the right tools)
have had the freehub off and clean it. the problem is inside the freehub

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

Postby TonyMax » Wed Mar 05, 2014 1:29 pm

WarbyD wrote:Pointless states for you to ignore:
ImageImage

Interesting that the two apps, both of which I start at the same time and both of which are using my phones gps, report different ride stats...

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Strava pauses the moving time if you stop IIRC.
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InTheWoods
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby InTheWoods » Wed Mar 05, 2014 1:31 pm

jules21 wrote:creepy or not?

i was riding to work on a fwy overpass and a young (6 yr old) girl was standing there on her own. i asked her "is your mum around?" and she said "yes" so i kept riding, then i saw her running back to her mum (i assume) who was down in the street below.

did i just trigger a manhunt for creepy cyclist(s)? :D
I hate that you have to think like that these days. A couple of years ago while commuting home I came across a young girl on an otherwise deserted back street, she was crying and very upset. Her parents weren't home when she got dropped back from school and she wasn't expecting that and was panicking. In a brainwave I asked if she was friends with any neighbours and we went to a house a few houses away who obviously knew her. Phew.

Another time while commuting in, I saw a child not too much older than a toddler on the footpath, alone. I rode past and then decided I couldn't leave him and stopped about 30m down the road to keep an eye on him, and to jump in if he headed for the road. After 30 seconds a panicked parent comes out of the house looking for him so I snuck off without embarrassing them. I know I've "lost" my kids a few times. A friend "lost" one of theirs once, he just decided to go for a walk early one morning to look at the tractors 500 meters down the (quiet) road. Mum and Dad had no idea he could unlock the doors! While they were running around the house being frantic, he comes walking back down the road in his PJ's.

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

Postby WarbyD » Wed Mar 05, 2014 1:41 pm

TonyMax wrote:
WarbyD wrote:Pointless states for you to ignore:
ImageImage

Interesting that the two apps, both of which I start at the same time and both of which are using my phones gps, report different ride stats...

Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk
Strava pauses the moving time if you stop IIRC.
Oh yeah, that bit I understand.. It's more the distance and elevation differences that puzzle me.

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jules21
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby jules21 » Wed Mar 05, 2014 2:01 pm

InTheWoods wrote:I hate that you have to think like that these days.
i hate it too, but i suppose vigilance is better than blind trust! i felt guilty riding off.. wondering if i'd put another dent in the child's innocence. it's probably my catholic school upbringing.. (EDIT: wait, i meant the guilt thing, not the whole catholic church thing.. you know what i mean..) :D

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

Postby alexander » Wed Mar 05, 2014 3:41 pm

already lots of talk about dark and cold, cue threads about arms/leg warmers, waterproof jackets, reflective elements, rain, slippery metal grates and bright lights.

stay safe everyone
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TailWind
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby TailWind » Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:38 pm

jasonc wrote:
AndreB1972 wrote:
jasonc wrote: I have a similar problem on my commuter - my freehub just doesn't seem to engage and the cassette and chain just spin for a moment. The wheels have done over 18000kms.....
That's sounds like the freehub pawls need a bit of cleaning and a re-grease. Fairly straight forward on most modern wheel sets (If you have the right tools)
have had the freehub off and clean it. the problem is inside the freehub
Thanks for the tip guys, I'll check it out
Soma Double Cross 2012 - Commuter || Giant CitySpeed (Alfine 8 IGH) - Commuter || Bakfiets Long 2011 - Cargo Bike

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

Postby DaveOZ » Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:54 pm

Big rain storm blew through about 1/2 hour before my ride home but it cleared up enough for me to dash home. Rain is headed for the coast now.

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

Postby Robinho » Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:04 pm

Relatively uneventful ride home this evening, my stomach has been feeling off all day, but the weather in Perth was glorious and, without wishing to be too graphic, I'd hit "dust" a couple of hours previously and was only producing gas by the time I left.

That said, I must offer sincere apologies to the fellow cyclist who was behind me waiting to cross the dual carriage way at the top of telford crescent, Stirling. I thought I was alone, and had not spotted or sensed the rider behind my left shoulder as I floated an air biscuit that was pretty unpleasant. So if you were that man, I apologise, I honestly didn't know you were there!

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

Postby singlespeedscott » Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:09 pm

Robinho wrote:...

That said, I must offer sincere apologies to the fellow cyclist who was behind me waiting to cross the dual carriage way at the top of telford crescent, Stirling. I thought I was alone, and had not spotted or sensed the rider behind my left shoulder as I floated an air biscuit that was pretty unpleasant. So if you were that man, I apologise, I honestly didn't know you were there!
:lol:
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby jasonc » Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:45 am

PERFECT weather in brissy this morning

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

Postby TonyMax » Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:46 am

Nice weather for a commute home yesterday, slow by other trips' standards but enjoyable. Headwind wasn't helping.
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rdp_au
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby rdp_au » Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:04 am

Interesting commuting day yesterday. On the way in, there was an elderly chap in an equally aged ute waiting at some lights as I rode past on the opposite side of the road. In an impressively loud voice, he boomed out – “Stay off the road… it’s dangerous on the road… I’ll run you down if you ride on the road!” To be honest I was quite non-plussed by the outburst – I was nowhere near him, hadn’t been on the same road as him, and wouldn’t be when we moved off as the lights changed. Seems that just the sight of an errant bicycle was enough to trigger quite a rant.

Peeled off early from work for the run home as the sky was filled with some pretty daunting looking black clouds complete with lightning flashes. Fortunately, I managed to stay in front of the weather and got home dry.

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

Postby Summernight » Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:04 am

Lovely ride in this morning. :)

Although as soon as I hopped off the bike at work I felt dizzy and it still hasn't gone away an hour later. :? I may have come down with something.

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