Beating the system - the cycling commuting section
by gretaboy » Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:42 am
find_bruce wrote: At least in my experience, the instability is probably caused by too much weight behind the rear axle.
fb = thanks for that, basic load organising which I just didnt think about, got home yesterday and moved the basket as far forward as possible. This mornings ride was so much better, stability had increased ten fold. I do not fear getting out of the saddle now...as the tail has stopped wagging the dog TailWind wrote:For the Lynskey? Titanium, I hope  - pix please! In terms of stability, if I have a lot of stuff in the panniers, with heavy items at the top, the center of gravity moves higher, and I get a pendulum effect when pedaling out of the saddle.
I actually had someone come up to me yesterday and ask where my dog was..due to the basket, all funny buggers here at my work. There will be no pics, it is too cool for pixs...on the bright side, I reckon I can get 6 or more wine bottles in it when I ride around the local wineries.
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by BNA » Tue Sep 25, 2012 2:54 pm
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BNA
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by ColinOldnCranky » Tue Sep 25, 2012 2:54 pm
Perth:
Despite looking like a storm as I was leaving, it proved to be as the forecasters said - Warm and showers. Overall, a good easy trip in with a little bit of annoying WNW wind. I hope the winds away away this arvo.
Unicyclist's don't need a training wheel 
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by Lizzy » Tue Sep 25, 2012 3:36 pm
Yep, bit of a gentle zephyr this morning, you might say - pretty pooped when I got in from trying not to get blown off path! The 'seabreeze' site is currently reckoning on a pretty consistent 22ish kts I'm afraid, and building to 30 tomorrow arvo First proper night time commute yesterday with the new headlight - on the positive side I almost never need it on full bore, on the negative, when I did need it on full bore, it gave me the battery warning after about 10 mins (forget how long between charges though; so jury is still out ...)
“Lexa”: 2012 Trek Lexa S; “Bluey”: 2006 Trek 7.0FX; “Eddy”: 198[?] Graecross Jackaroo
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by uglybob » Tue Sep 25, 2012 3:56 pm
into the wind for the majority of the ride in, a touch of rain as i got to the causeway, as well as a flat at the top of parliament hill, before the chain dropped off just as i got to work - not the most enjoyable commute in today 
Last edited by uglybob on Tue Sep 25, 2012 4:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by Hamster » Tue Sep 25, 2012 4:32 pm
I left work yesterday expecting to get drenched in a storm but with a good tailwind. Instead by the time I got to the station the storm had dissipated and the wind had swung around a full 180 degrees. Instead of being fast and wet I was verrrrrry slow but dry.
This is not a complaint as headwinds are really just an enhanced training opportunity but really; headwinds in the morning and then a headwind at night is just a little too much of a good thing.
Apart from whining about the weather really not much to report.
It would not be at all strange if history came to the conclusion that the perfection of the bicycle was the greatest achievement of the nineteenth century.
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by marinmomma » Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:12 pm
Slept in this morning, thank goodness for the tailwind for the ride in...which of course meant for headwinds for the ride home, which were very gusty this afternoon. It's been a while since us south sider commuters have had a headwind for the ride home, can't complain...just no Strava segments probably 
Last edited by marinmomma on Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lisa 
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by Comedian » Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:25 pm
marinmomma wrote:Slept in this morning, thank goodness for the tailwind for the ride in...which of course meant for headwinds for the ride home, which were very gusty this afternoon. It's been a while since us south slider commuters have had a headwind for the ride home, can't complain...just no Strava segments probably 
It was a lovely roll home for me 
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by jasonc » Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:37 am
Comedian wrote:marinmomma wrote:Slept in this morning, thank goodness for the tailwind for the ride in...which of course meant for headwinds for the ride home, which were very gusty this afternoon. It's been a while since us south slider commuters have had a headwind for the ride home, can't complain...just no Strava segments probably 
It was a lovely roll home for me 
bah to you.
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by gretaboy » Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:57 am
Went down yesterday afternoon....hit a semi head first it seems.
Was travelling along a busy road, dedicated bike lane/breakdown shoulder and cars were lined up next to me. Next thing I knew a truck came across my front from my right hand side, the cars had stopped to allow him to turn into a u turn area, I didnt see any break lights to warn me, guess the traffic was travelling too slow for them to brake.
Came as a bit of a surprise to me. I slammed on the brakes, rear end came up, and thats the last I can remember until I opened my eyes and found myself in somewhat of a foetal position on the road.
From eyewitnesses and photos it seems my head hit the third set of tyres, the rear ones, of the truck cabin. From the photos my partner took, you can see the "smudge" on the tyre where my head hit. Might have done a superman impression and flown through the air until my head hit the tyre it seems. Supposedly the bike landed on top of me, I have no recollection.
The helmet did its job though and is now a rightoff. My entire back is painful, will be interesting to see how badly I bruise.
I was very lucky it seems, 1. I didnt go between the pair of rear wheels on the cab of the truck..wasnt far from it. 2. The truck driver did a great job and pulled the truck up pretty quick and I didnt go under the trailer. 3. I didnt break anything and have got some bad aches and soon to be bruises...but someone was looking over me
Am yet to check the bike out yet to see what damage has been done.
Will be off riding for a bit until I recover but will get back to it as soon as I can.
Stay safe out there

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by Ozkaban » Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:07 am
Holy heck, sounds very dramatic and lucky/unlucky depending on how you look at it. Hope you heal well. Get your back checked...
Cheers, Dave
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2011 Orbea Onix | Giant Defy Commuter | Giant XTC 29er 
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by jasonc » Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:07 am
gretaboy wrote:Went down yesterday afternoon....hit a semi head first it seems. ...
Will be off riding for a bit until I recover but will get back to it as soon as I can.
Stay safe out there
ouch - get yourself right before you hop back on the bike. most painful day will probably be today or tomorrow. have a radox bath or two. and do some walking +1 to getting your back checked
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by Kenzo » Wed Sep 26, 2012 9:08 am
Holy cr@p batman! Heal well Gretaboy... Thankfully it sounds like your mostly OK for what could have been a lot worse. So now we can start joking about it on the endomondo thread ... 
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by jasonc » Wed Sep 26, 2012 9:15 am
Kenzo wrote:Holy cr@p batman! Heal well Gretaboy... Thankfully it sounds like your mostly OK for what could have been a lot worse. So now we can start joking about it on the endomondo thread ... 
he's got 1500kms commuting kms on me. that's 5.5 weeks of commuting.
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by Baalzamon » Wed Sep 26, 2012 11:00 am
ColinOldnCranky wrote:Perth:
Despite looking like a storm as I was leaving, it proved to be as the forecasters said - Warm and showers. Overall, a good easy trip in with a little bit of annoying WNW wind. I hope the winds away away this arvo.
Your not the only one. First commute again in months since I put the fairing on my trike figuring out how to get it into the building. Figured it out today after I cycled to work  I had checked the rain radar and I knew a shower was coming then a break to the next one. First one gets me 5mins into the ride. The next time it started to drizzle about 2km to work then quit and then started to pelt down 500m from work.... Typical Fairing + showerpass rainjacket keeps me fairly dry. Going to need booties on still tho...
Masi Speciale CX 2008 - Brooks B17 special saddle, Garmin Edge 810 
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by Dean Whittle » Wed Sep 26, 2012 11:28 am
Sydney:
After 5wks off work, but still rec-riding, I recommenced my daily commutes on Monday. I was pretty happy that I shaved 12mins off my morning ride and 10min off my home journey, this makes both journeys faster than catching public transport ...
Leaving home at 6.30am means there's not a lot of traffic on the roads and the weather has been perfect for the rides, albeit a little wet this morning.
Regards
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by find_bruce » Wed Sep 26, 2012 11:46 am
SWMBO & the little boy are away for 2 weeks so I have been bumping up my commutes from a 20km a day to 30-40km.
All that pales into insignficance though compared to gretaboy - I am horrified by your crash & happy that you are alive. Hoping that your recovery will be as quick as you are.
I was going to buy a fast, stylish bike, but I looked in the mirror & thought " you're not fooling anyone, you know" 
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by TailWind » Wed Sep 26, 2012 12:33 pm
gretaboy wrote:Will be off riding for a bit until I recover but will get back to it as soon as I can. Stay safe out there
Wow, gretaboy, that's not good news, hope you haven't done yourself any serious damage and that you are back in the saddle asap! Sounds like a pretty lucky escape you had there... Without you charging up behind me in the commuter challenge, the temptation to take the shorter route for a pub stop might get the better of me on a few occasions  Heal well, and quickly!
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by uglybob » Wed Sep 26, 2012 12:36 pm
uglybob wrote:into the wind for the majority of the ride in, a touch of rain as i got to the causeway, as well as a flat at the top of parliament hill, before the chain dropped off just as i got to work - not the most enjoyable commute in today 
repeat yesterdays - just add more rain & wind, and remove the dropped chain.
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by Max » Wed Sep 26, 2012 12:39 pm
Yowsa, gretaboy. Heal quick!
Max
One of the best things about bicycle commuting is that it can mitigate the displeasure of having to go to work. - BikeSnobNYC Cycling is sometimes like bobbing for apples in a bucket full of dicks. - SydGuy
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by Lizzy » Wed Sep 26, 2012 12:53 pm
Jaybus, gretaboy, that is far too close to the wheels of a truck for comfort - glad you came out of that OK. On a less hectic note, am I the only one who just can nevaaar get out the door in one hit each morning? Third time lucky today after forgetting office key, then drink bottle. Early onset alzheimers or something ... Blowing dogs off chains from the west again today, only caught a light shower about halfway along, although it's chucking it down now. All in all I had a better morning though than the owner of that yacht that dragged its mooring across from the anchorage near South of Perth YC to the river wall near the east end of Canning Bridge ... ouch.
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by bychosis » Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:14 pm
Yesterday morn was a good ride. A bit cool, with a light breeze. I had my usual shorts, shirt on and temp was quite comfortable. Thought I saw a Muslim lady walking along the PSP toward me. Nope, just a rugged up walker. Full jacket, zipped all the way up to the nose, hood on plus mittens. Only the glasses visible. I'm sure it wasn't THAT cold. Plenty of colder mornings along the commute and I've never seen anyone that covered up. It was probably around 13-15 degrees.
bychosis ( bahy-koh-sis): A mental disorder characterised by symptoms, such as delusions or hallucinations, that indicate impaired contact with reality not containing bicycles.
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by goneriding » Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:22 pm
@gretaboy - unlucky and lucky in equals parts. Heal fast.
The good form continues. Last night, my legs were sending all the right messages so I had a crack at one of the Strava's and took 10 seconds off my PB. Only 12 more to go to get the top spot (haha)!
Knocked over a second best commute to the CBD this morning and whilst feeling rather smug about it was handed a lesson on the Harbour Bridge by a guy on a fixie who must have been having a crack at a segment! He was flying!
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by find_bruce » Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:36 pm
Lizzy wrote:On a less hectic note, am I the only one who just can nevaaar get out the door in one hit each morning? Third time lucky today after forgetting office key, then drink bottle. Early onset alzheimers or something ...
I often get out the door in one hit - it's not until I get to work that I realise I have forgotten my keys, phone etc 
I was going to buy a fast, stylish bike, but I looked in the mirror & thought " you're not fooling anyone, you know" 
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by Jonno » Wed Sep 26, 2012 2:10 pm
Wow... the truck, so lucky. I got swooped by magpies, took my eyes off the path for a second to swat them away.. clipped a pole, got some air, and then slid out. Lucky no one saw me. Front wheel now buckled, jacket ripped, and some bark off the leg.
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by marinmomma » Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:14 pm
gretaboy wrote:Went down yesterday afternoon....hit a semi head first it seems.
Stay safe out there
Wow, GB, very lucky there by the sounds of it...heal well and get your back checked out ASAP, especially if there might be a police report if the driver is found at fault.
Lisa 
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