First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
- Orion
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First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby Orion » Sat Oct 15, 2011 2:33 pm
End of trip facilities are basic but at least there is a shower and somewhere to store my gear. Only thing I'm a little concerned about is the parking situation. Whilst there is fairly high pedestrian traffic, it's still "out of the way". I will keep an eye on it as much as possible but if I make this a habit (which I'm hoping to) I may ask for more secure parking.
I'm looking forward to the ride but a little apprehensive as well. Hopefully it will work out well.
- HappyHumber
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby HappyHumber » Sat Oct 15, 2011 3:06 pm
The routine will be forever being tweaked and tuned as you figure out what works or may work better for you. Routes chop and change and lessons get learned. Just get into it and enjoy....
Hit me up via the BNA dm; I'll get an alert. If y'know, you know.
- DaveOZ
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby DaveOZ » Sat Oct 15, 2011 3:12 pm
- Mulger bill
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby Mulger bill » Sat Oct 15, 2011 9:57 pm
London Boy 29/12/2011
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby teamdanby » Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:05 pm
that is the quote of all quotesDaveOZ wrote:You'll love it and soon wonder why you didn't do it before. If you have a shower at work, who cares if it rains?
it is the question i have been asking myself since i started the bike commute to work followed by "wonder why no one else seems to do this?"
some tweeks here and there for what you need for your commute and how to carrie it to and from work but once that is sorted and your used to the ride like most of us you then will be working out how to make the ride in and home a bit longer
enjoy the rides champ
Gaint XTC mtb
city slicker wheels for the week
kenda nevegal for the tracks on the weekends
- Orion
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby Orion » Sun Oct 16, 2011 2:04 pm
I've got the bike and gear ready. I have a small issue working out how to fit the rear light in place. It's normally on the seat post, but the bag sitting on the rack will cover it so it's not much use there. I'm riding in day light but would like the extra bit of safety from the rear light.
I'll leave around 7.30am and should get to work just after 8am so that's a good half-hour ride to start the day.
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby teamdanby » Sun Oct 16, 2011 2:26 pm
so maybe your able to clip it on the bag sitting on the rack or even maybe onto your shirt or shorts somewhere
Gaint XTC mtb
city slicker wheels for the week
kenda nevegal for the tracks on the weekends
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby Sydguy » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:37 pm
Rear lights can often be mounted on your helmet with a zip tie, or on the back of your rack again with a zip tie.
Recently at work we have been asked to register our bikes to park them in the loading dock in the designated bike parking. However I'm hesitant to park $3,000 there and take it up the goods lift to a nook near my desk at work. No one even notices it.
Best of luck on the roads!
JM
- DavidS
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby DavidS » Sun Oct 16, 2011 11:55 pm
DS
- blossy84
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby blossy84 » Mon Oct 17, 2011 12:53 am
- Orion
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby Orion » Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:53 am
The ride took me about 40 minutes which was a bit longer than the trial rides. But I didn't consider the extra weight of my gear (work clothes, lunch, etc, etc - will have to wittle it down I guess). Also, there was a pretty stiff headwind all the way but at least that will be a tail wind on the way home....
I forgot a couple of things like deodorant but that's no big deal. The shower has only cold water but since the weather is warming up it's okay - just takes the breath away for a few seconds. I was even encouraged to store my bike in a storeroom in a secure building here on campus (I work at a University) instead of at the bike racks outside so it will be protected from the weather and light fingers.
I still haven't worked out the rear light situation yet. There is no provision to mount a light on the rear rack (though there is a mount for the reflector). I'll see what I can work out.
It was a good ride overall and I'm feeling pretty good. Like DaveOz said, I don't know why I didn't do it before. Looking forward to the ride home.
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby MattyK » Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:18 am
Here is a pic of the two lights on the back of my rack. They came with a bracket that had two parts screwed together - the dovetail clamp for the light and the ring clamp for the seat post. I unscrewed the two parts, then found a nut and washer to put on the other side. The rack bracket can be bent to aim it. It sits low enough that it doesn't interfere with my Topeak MTX bag.Orion wrote:I still haven't worked out the rear light situation yet. There is no provision to mount a light on the rear rack (though there is a mount for the reflector). I'll see what I can work out.
Let me know if you want a better pic.
This is the model of light I have, can be found under various brands:
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby jasonc » Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:29 pm
well done btw
- Orion
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby Orion » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:58 pm
I will have a good look this afternoon when I get home and see if I can come with something for the rear light.
- Comedian
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First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby Comedian » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:59 pm
+1 on the radbot 1000 ... Best tail light I've seen.
- goneriding
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby goneriding » Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:47 pm
Well done and welcome to the outside!
- Schmenz
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby Schmenz » Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:50 pm
Only problem is that they are not rechargable but whack some rechargeable aaa's in and your sweet.
- Lizzy
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby Lizzy » Mon Oct 17, 2011 5:05 pm
My tail-light system is a work-in-progress too - have an el cheapo clip-on blinky that migrates between backpack / saddlebag / rack-bag depending. Doesn't sit very securely on the rackbag so I've stuck one of those little stretch-silicone ones on my helmet, all the better to be visible at "urban assault vehicle" eye level. Living to tell the tale so far, but yeah, that radbot does look pretty ... *gulp* ... "flash"?!
I'll get my coat ------------->
- MattyK
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby MattyK » Tue Oct 18, 2011 10:43 am
Nicest light on the market I have seen is the Niteflux Redzone, not cheap but very durable and has excellent beam spread.
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby jasonc » Tue Oct 18, 2011 12:07 pm
the reason for the radbot is if that batteries fail you have an inbuilt reflector.MattyK wrote:Radbot looks OK but nothing special. I like having two independent lights for two reasons: one, redundancy if one fails or the batteries die, and two, they flash at slightly different rates which sets up an unusual "beat" pattern between them which is very attention grabbing.
i'd like the add a rear helmet light. the niteflux looks interesting
- Comedian
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby Comedian » Tue Oct 18, 2011 8:12 pm
Plus... by law (at least in QLD) you are required to have front and rear reflectors. On a road bike with limited options you can do both with one gadget with these. Plus... shining a car light back at the source is always going to beat what you can do with an LED.jasonc wrote: the reason for the radbot is if that batteries fail you have an inbuilt reflector.
- Orion
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby Orion » Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:58 am
I've clipped the rear light onto the back of my helmet for now but I will look at getting a brighter light like the Radbot in the near future (Hmmm, Christmas ain't that far away )
I've already noticed a difference in how I feel during the day. When I drive to work usually I start to slump by midday but after riding the bike I feel alert almost all day. I also look forward to the ride home in the arvo. It gives me a chance to work off a bit of stress and it gets me moving after sitting on my rear end for most of the day.
Thanks again for the encouragement. I intend to keep riding
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby jasonc » Wed Oct 19, 2011 11:04 am
bad news, you're hooked. welcome to the clubOrion wrote:I've already noticed a difference in how I feel during the day.
- blossy84
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby blossy84 » Wed Oct 19, 2011 11:12 am
Great to hear that gives noobies like me encouragement too.Orion wrote: I intend to keep riding
Ps. I'm hoping for Christmas I'll get a new jersey
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Re: First ride to work on Monday - wish me luck!
Postby jasonc » Wed Oct 19, 2011 12:25 pm
ask for full zip and long sleeve. i didn't care about names so I've got 3 from the abcoutlet (.com.au)erin wrote:Great to hear that gives noobies like me encouragement too.Orion wrote: I intend to keep riding
Ps. I'm hoping for Christmas I'll get a new jersey
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