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

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

Postby Aushiker » Sun Jul 05, 2009 2:06 am

wombatK wrote:
martinjs wrote: This is what I wear to keep me warm on these cold days, I have a Ground Effects top underneath as well. :D
Aero bars and air zounds added since your June 11 pic. Not sure about how the air zound will keep you warmer :? , but does getting more aero help keep you warmer ?
Why do you need an Air Zound in Leeton? Didn't think there was much happening :)

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

Postby martinjs » Sun Jul 05, 2009 5:03 pm

wombatK wrote:
martinjs wrote: This is what I wear to keep me warm on these cold days, I have a Ground Effects top underneath as well. :D
Aero bars and air zounds added since your June 11 pic. Not sure about how the air zound will keep you warmer :? , but does getting more aero help keep you warmer ?
That was last years winter picture, thought I'd update it :) As for the Air Zound, it's more for the pedestrians, they tend to walk around in a daze never looking when they walk out on to the road.
On the way home on Saturday I was riding down the main road leading in to Leeton and some silly kid was riding his scooter down the centre of the road so I waited till I was next to him and gave him a toot. Scared the heck out of him and left me with a smile on the dial. :lol:
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby martinjs » Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:20 pm

Cold old day for riding today, measured temps never made 10c and app temps never made it above 7c. Just have HTFU and ride faster. :D
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby ruscook » Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:29 pm

martinjs wrote:Cold old day for riding today, measured temps never made 10c and app temps never made it above 7c. Just have HTFU and ride faster. :D
That's harsh. It was 0 when I got up this morning and 2 when I went in to work. Froze as I only had the motorbike jacket and a shirt on. Had to buy a sloppy joe at lunch time. Lucky for me all the junk shops in Liverpool - $3.50 for a sloppy joe LOL.

Tomorrow will be a touch warmer, but I'm due to commute on the pushy again, not the motorbike so while I'll get warm from the exercise I'll be out in for 2.5 times longer!

Don't know how you do that open weather down there Martin.....(used to go to Uni with a guy from Leeton many years ago)..

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

Postby wombatK » Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:04 pm

martinjs wrote: Scared the heck out of him and left me with a smile on the dial. :lol:
Aha - smile on the dial => warm inner glow. Just what you need on a sub-10 ride. :)

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WombatK

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

Postby bigfriendlyvegan » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:13 pm

After 10 days off the bike due to the flu, it was great to be back on it. Even though it was bloody chilly, I would still rather be riding than driving.

David

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

Postby ruscook » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:45 pm

bigfriendlyvegan wrote:After 10 days off the bike due to the flu, it was great to be back on it. Even though it was bloody chilly, I would still rather be riding than driving.
I empathise with that, although for a different reason, I've got holidays over the next fortnight, it will be my turn to be away and miss out the riding :(

To make up for it some small way I commuted today and then did 50% of the Tues night FPR ride - Sunnyholt Rd to Elizabeth Dr. A new PB on a workday 118km in total. 84km of this was after work in one run (albeit with a couple of short breaks)... Tomorrow I shall sleep - well I wish, but I'll definitely taking the Triumph tomorrow not the Giant LOL.

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

Postby martinjs » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:56 pm

ruscook wrote:
bigfriendlyvegan wrote:After 10 days off the bike due to the flu, it was great to be back on it. Even though it was bloody chilly, I would still rather be riding than driving.
I empathise with that, although for a different reason, I've got holidays over the next fortnight, it will be my turn to be away and miss out the riding :(

To make up for it some small way I commuted today and then did 50% of the Tues night FPR ride - Sunnyholt Rd to Elizabeth Dr. A new PB on a workday 118km in total. 84km of this was after work in one run (albeit with a couple of short breaks)... Tomorrow I shall sleep - well I wish, but I'll definitely taking the Triumph tomorrow not the Giant LOL.

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

Postby ruscook » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:03 pm

martinjs wrote:
ruscook wrote:
bigfriendlyvegan wrote:After 10 days off the bike due to the flu, it was great to be back on it. Even though it was bloody chilly, I would still rather be riding than driving.
I empathise with that, although for a different reason, I've got holidays over the next fortnight, it will be my turn to be away and miss out the riding :(...
Don't be slack :wink: take the bike with you, that's what I do. :)
hehe actually I'm hoping to take the mountain bike and sneak in a few km. It won't be many or often as we're doing a fair bit of travelling. Also not sure if I'll get time to prepare it as it's a touch dirty and has been sitting since about Nov last year.....
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby martinjs » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:07 pm

I find it more relaxing riding on Holidays, as when I'm commuting and doing my lunch time rides it always to a time and a set distance. :D
On my holidays I don't tend to push as hard but still manage nearly the same amount of k's as normal. Also worried about dropping the ball and not being able to do the commuting k's. :oops: :oops:
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby ruscook » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:09 pm

Yes that last is definitely on my mind too :D
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby dewulf » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:26 pm

saw this thread whilst looking for an active thread on the tour and was inspired to contribute (cmon, anything to get my post count up!)...

so my commute today was "educational". I now know that even on a 1.6 mountain bike (slick) tyre, one must cross tram tracks at more than a 15% angle...would suggest 20 at least. Next car along did stop to ask if I was ok tho, very nice to see :D

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

Postby Runjikol » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:26 pm

Great commute today. First time I've done the whole distance on my Bad Boy. The Cateye V3 reports 33.5km to Bikely and Bikemap.net are only 1km out. The new Hope Vision One LED Light is pretty spectacular but it is very unforgiving of battery voltage. Its performance with my batteries has pointed out that there's a weakness in my current charger. So I've splashed on a smart-charger to deal with that (which puts me over the cost of Ay Ups in total... sheesh... could have just bought those at the start but I do like having ALL my lights use the same batteries). Back to the commute.

The ride in was pretty cold. Frost on the grass and lingering mist around the creeks. I was dismayed that my freshly charged batteries only lasted 20minutes in the Hope Vision 1 before the light said, "Uh-uh. You little AA's are not putting out enough electricity for me. I'm off." The Spiderfire didn't let me down and I understand more why Audax insist on two independent lights.

Passed and was passed by more cyclists than I've seen to date on the paths. It was almost like a Sunday afternoon except the sun hadn't risen and it was about 2 degrees! All were very polite, particularly the person who was crossing a bridge and stopped to give way. Hats off to that cyclist. When I arrived at the Burwood Hwy. and Mountain Hwy. intersection a 'roadie' shot over across red lights. I was a little unimpressed but I thought if Connect East or whomever it is would pull their collective thumbs out and finish the bridge we could avoid that all-together.

The climb southward from Burwood Hwy. to High Street Road is probably the toughest for me. My HRM said I hit 188 bpm which is 5 over my 'maximum' but it was for only a few seconds. :oops: Gave a feeble chase of the 'roadie' up the hill but he was far too fit for me to get near. Maybe in a few months. :twisted:

Passed someone who appeared to have Ay Ups and I was converted on the spot - incredibly bright but as I got closer I felt 'high beamed' and had to guess where the path was. Thing is, at that time, there was more than enough light to see by. Perhaps he needed some inner-glow of blinding the unsuspecting passer-by? :P When I passed the paddocks south of Brady Road it felt the coldest part of the ride. The horses didn't seem to mind.

Returning I was a determined to make it all the way. I'd fitted some spare batteries, mixing mAH ratings (apparently not a good idea because the weakest one will upset the arrangement) and the Hope seemed happy with this. In fact it got me to within 5 metres of my back gate - no exaggeration. On the way saw some lovely sights - the moon was gorgeous, horses heads down munching grass in clouds of their own breath back lit by the lights of the freeway, rabbits dashing off from the edge of the path, two ducks standing on the path and gawking about until the last minute, and another cyclist who climbs much better than I do. 8) At the last part of my trip, doing a right hand turn into my driveway, a lovely man in a 4WD decided he didn't want to stop accelarating for the one second it would have taken to let me take the turn according to the road rules and overtook me a few inches from me extended right arm. I gave him a serve but he wouldn't have heard anything in that huge vehicle with a diesel engine. Ah well. It didn't ruin my trip. I was stoked to do the full thing on the bad boy.

Total kms: 67
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby wombatK » Wed Jul 08, 2009 5:51 am

Runjikol wrote:Great commute today. First time I've done the whole distance on my Bad Boy. ... I was stoked to do the full thing on the bad boy...

Total kms: 67
Congrats on the milestone - the low temp has gotta be worth extra points too. My Sydney commute had a warm 7 deg min, dunno if I could handle 2 deg.

Shame about the trouble with the lights - but for the length of your commute maybe Ayups would still be a good investment and you could get something for the old lights on ebay. There's not much you can do about inconsiderate motorists - on a long commute like yours, you're bound to get one or two. Just have to keep your guard up, and maybe get an Air Zound to make your presence clear to the errant few. At 105db, it can be heard easily over the noisiest 4WD and trucks engines.

Cheers
WombatK

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

Postby Runjikol » Wed Jul 08, 2009 6:42 am

I considered an Air Zound but they're so loud they aggrivate my tinnitus (too many rehearsals standing next to the drummer's crash cymbal). :shock:

I may still get the Ay Ups. I ordered a smart-charger and hope to get it tonight. That's the final straw to get all these lights working properly. If it fail then they Ay Ups are giong to be purchased. :idea:
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby martinjs » Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:13 am

Runjikol wrote:I considered an Air Zound but they're so loud they aggrivate my tinnitus (too many rehearsals standing next to the drummer's crash cymbal). :shock:

I may still get the Ay Ups. I ordered a smart-charger and hope to get it tonight. That's the final straw to get all these lights working properly. If it fail then they Ay Ups are giong to be purchased. :idea:
Air Zounds can be adjusted so the volume is not as loud. :)

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

Postby fitnhealthy » Wed Jul 08, 2009 11:37 am

I started commuting again 1 June and have only missed one day since.

It has got very cold and I have had to really rug up. On the way to work it is fantastic, mostly downhill, there is only one dodgy intersection I have to ride as fast as I can to get through (no bike lane, only bus lane, which I ride in and very messy)

Riding home is mostly uphill, but a great way to unwind. I get overtaken many times in a ride by other other cyclists and find cars enjoy driving over partly in the bike lane...

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

Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:39 pm

No work today :D Slept in to 0830. :mrgreen:

Went to get the MTB from the shed at about 0915 for a quick heart starter, the 10mm of ice all over the smokebox and yard and the ache in me knee sorta stopped that. Ah well, productive day in the shed.

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

Postby Runjikol » Thu Jul 09, 2009 8:31 pm

Was very hard to get moving today. Temperatures felt close to zero. I checked the BOM and the 'apparent temp' was 1.8 when I hit the road about 7:15 this morning. Was hard to keep a good pace. My cadence stayed in the 90's, which I like, but I couldn't push 5th and had to work in 4th. I figured with the massive hi-calorie dinner I had last night I'd be all fuelled to do today's commute. Nope. Was a real struggle. And running late I didn't get a good chance to test my batteries charge results from the new Maha smart charger in the Hope Vision 1 light. It did run for about 20 minutes on high. (The settings are low, medium, high, max, flash)

After about an hour in the saddle I settled in for a long-haul. I was already running over half-an-hour late a few extra minutes was nothing. The hill from Burwood Hwy. to High St. Rd. proved less destructive today. I approached it with high cadence and kept that up by shifting down as my RPM slowed. Worked pretty well and I was happy with my speed not dropping into single digits.

One thing that was new is having to stop for a toilet break. Even just a number one. Have to get the waterproof jacket off, then remove the waterproof gloves, and post-bizzo, put it all back on again. Considering this gave me a bit of a rest overall didn't stop at my usual bench in Tirhuatan Park. Just after I left the toilet block I saw someone who passed me back at Boronia Road heading back on his return. Rolling along about 33kph with knobbies; I was impressed.

As I crossed Power Road and got into Dandenong proper it smelt like someone had opened a sewer. I don't know what happened but I hope it's not a regular feature for future commutes.

Return trip was hard - energy was very low. Every hill put a burn in my legs and the only thing that kept me going was the thought of a hot chicken kiev and rice waiting for me at home. The Hope lasted about 1:40 on Max. Much better performance but still a bit off spec. I'll put the batteries through a "condition" cycle and see how they perform next time. The Spiderfire has turned out to be an excellent performer. Very happy with that. If I'd had it through heavy rain I'd do a review.
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby fitnhealthy » Thu Jul 09, 2009 9:48 pm

Very slow commute today (and the last few days) as my tires have gotten very flat so the ride was very sluggish and a lot of hard work. Luckily my sisters husband has pumped up both tires for me and I am really looking forward to the commute tomorrow. Should me much quicker and easier. Just hope they aren't too tight and I get a puncture.

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

Postby gdl_gdl » Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:54 pm

First commute for 4 weeks today and I chose the coldest day of the year for Perth! :shock: :shock:

I left the house at 6.10am and temps hit a low of 1.5 C. The numbness in the fingers hit only a couple of kms away from my house and then spread to my feet.

When I was showering at work the warm water was actually stinging my feet which gives an indication of how cold I felt!

Great ride though and it felt good to be back! :lol:

Cheers,

Gary

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

Postby Runjikol » Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:52 pm

Funny part of my commute this morning: when I hit the Heatherton Road underpass I saw all these minors and ducks fly out of the underpass. My brain didn't have time to cognate what had happened. There was about 10 inches of water in the underpass. I hit the brakes but was into the water anyway and it splashed up my non-waterproof shorts. My Pro H2O Tarmac booties did their job well, though - as did my Altura jacket, having the water just run down to my butt. :)

Not so funny part is when I donned the Pro H20 Tarmac booties again the seam came out on the right zipper. :cry: Lcuky for me my wife will stitch them back up. 8)

Overall I can feel an improvement in cycling fitness and I can see it with my HRM. All my hill-climbs are 10-20bpm lower than my first commute with the HRM.
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

Postby martinjs » Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:14 am

Not a bad ride at all this morning, no wind to speak of and almost warm at 7c. :) Cruising down one road and some ducks were walking across the road and wouldn't move, it drove me quackers :lol: when the finally took of I quacked up for no reason at all, :lol: but it left me feeling pretty good, all in all a good mornings commute. :D

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

Postby fitnhealthy » Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:29 am

It was a freezing cold morning 5 degrees I think I heard on the radio, and I was almost to work, when a full rainbow appeared, which was beautiful and then the rain started... I thought I was going to make it this morning without getting wet, but no luck. It was a great ride in.

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

Postby ave a go » Wed Jul 15, 2009 2:19 pm

Hi All,

Just started commuting to (and from) work yesterday :D

My ride is pretty much 20km each way (19.81km on the way in and 20.21 on the way home).

I am going from Blacktown to Penrith mostly on the Great Western Highway. and then back the other way in the arvo/evening, it is pretty good as the majority of the traffic is heading in the other direction.

Have done pretty much no riding at all and am feeling pretty good although I did have a great, and long sleep last night......

I though I would be be sore this on this mornings ride but seemed to be ok, except for my fingers feeling like they were about to drop off, not sure what the temp was but is was definatley colder this morning compared to yesterday. Time remained consistant with my average speed actually increaseing from 24.23km/h to 24.95km/h. My commute home last night had an average of 25.56.

I am hoping to be able get this up to about 30km/h. Is this possible, at the moment it is hard to imagine travelling 20% faster than what I am at the moment, I think my legs would drop off.....

Anyways, better get to work.

Looking forward to the ride home.

Cheers,
Matt
Riding: 2009 Giant CRX Four

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