How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
- kb
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby kb » Wed Mar 20, 2013 10:50 pm
Mt Pleasant Rd Eltham was slightly less pleasant than usual due to resurfacing. My poor sticky tires..
- Summernight
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby Summernight » Wed Mar 20, 2013 11:03 pm
Oh my... He needs a better pick up line. Arkle, do not emulate this guy.TigerFilly wrote:Riding on the bike path, stopped at lights to cross a main road, one guy took off in front of me going slightly slower than i prefer, but i figured I'd wait until the next straighter section of path to go past. At the next road crossing a mate of his pulled in front of me then they settled in to chat, one on each side of the path, travelling slightly slower again. Feeling rather peeved that they obviously thought I wouldn't want to go any faster than them, I went onto the road for the next section of path and steamed past them. 5 mins later the first guy had ditched his mate and caught me up waiting to cross a main road, and asked me if I'd just started riding, because my bike looked new. Hmmph.
Just think of it as a good weight loss day. I would have been eating my wooden desk and all my files if I didn't have food. I leave a few sachets of noodle soup in my desk just so this doesn't happen as I apparently turn into the Incredible Hulk if I'm hungry.Lizzy wrote:A few vexing incidents this week, one near-pandemonium experience approaching the Canning Bridge underpass (big oncoming bunch screaming through cutting the blind corner, what else is new ). On the way home I experimented with a detour through Manning / Salter pt to see if it was worthwhile to remove myself from the whole dynamic, and got muscled in on at a roundabout for my trouble (first I saw the bull-bar, then the p-plate ... sigh).
Monday I discovered that Sistema clip-lock containers are not airtight worth a metric pinch of showtime, just ask my cucumber raita infused cardigan! Yummy. Today, managed to forget to pack either my lunch or my wallet, subsisted on a crumpled sachet of instant porridge I found at the back of my filing cabinet.
::POUT::
...
... mind you, still better than sitting on the freeway I go past. Neener neener, suckers!
Today was a headwind again on the way home, as predicted, except this one hit on the uphill section as well as the flat just before home. Stuck my head down and pedalled. And now I think I've pulled a muscle in my side from playing a friendly match of water polo tonight. I think I did it when I dived in the pool and it got incrementally worse over the hour. I'm getting old. Might be interesting riding tomorrow.
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby Lizzy » Wed Mar 20, 2013 11:13 pm
Yeah, thinking about it now my collegial diplomacy was starting to fail me by about 3 ... Under normal circumstances I have a better emergency ration but just moved office.Summernight wrote:Just think of it as a good weight loss day. I would have been eating my wooden desk and all my files if I didn't have food. I leave a few sachets of noodle soup in my desk just so this doesn't happen as I apparently turn into the Incredible Hulk if I'm hungry.
Hope you're not too sore in the morning
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby TailWind » Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:10 am
The BoM radar looked pretty grim for greater Melbourne, and had me anticipating an extremely wet and warm ride at 22C. I pondered the correct wardrobe for the ride - winter/rain boots? Too hot. My regular shoes? No point getting them soaked. So on went the SPD sandals . Debated the spray jacket, but as rain seemed certain, I opted to put it on despite the warmth.
Had light rain when I headed out, but apart from a few drops and gusty winds, I ended up having a dry ride. Felt a bit silly about my choices then.
Had a nice chat with another rider going along Heidelberg Rd towards the CBD. G'day, if you're on here!
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby jasonc » Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:45 am
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby Summernight » Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:50 am
The side was sore this morning when I woke up but I went for a morning swim prior to riding to work and the gentle exercise of doing all 4 different strokes (free, back, butterfly and breaststroke) for about 1.2km seems to have worked miracles on it.
This morning looked ominous with darkish clouds, but I risked it and it was dry into the Melbourne CBD. I almost got blown off my bike a few times with the really strong gusts of wind though. It was very nice when the wind turned and blew from my tail at some points. Not so nice when it then swung around and pushed me back or to the sides.
And there were no cars on the road, it was really weird. Where did everyone go? It was chock-a-block in the CBD itself and I had to manoeuvre around a fair few cars who were blocking intersections, but usually busy streets in Richmond and East Melbourne were deserted. Made for a very pleasant ride in those areas.
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby Bob_TAS » Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:40 am
- FuzzyDropbear
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby FuzzyDropbear » Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:55 am
Haha, don't you love victorian weather, I often head out in late Autumn with a jacket because it's going to rain and yep, no rain, no wind... and then you turn around and do the reverse and it pours down Gotta laugh.TailWind wrote:.... I pondered the correct wardrobe for the ride - winter/rain boots? Too hot. My regular shoes? No point getting them soaked. So on went the SPD sandals . Debated the spray jacket, but as rain seemed certain, I opted to put it on despite the warmth.
Had light rain when I headed out, but apart from a few drops and gusty winds, I ended up having a dry ride. Felt a bit silly about my choices then....
Great ride in this morning, had a tailwind 20-30 km/hr which made riding in a breeze. Wind has picked up, so might be a tough ride home.
Had an awesome ride last night, work decided that they needed to use my desk for another staff member, so I got to knock off early, so took the advantage to go and do a few laps of the Crit. on the way home. Slicks were a bit skittish on the dirt, but great fun Excuse the dodgy editing, I'm just learning.
- kb
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby kb » Thu Mar 21, 2013 11:38 am
I think escaped rather than wild. Nice change from cows, llamas and rabbits though.Lizzy wrote:Wild peacocks?! Cool!
- Lizzy
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby Lizzy » Thu Mar 21, 2013 12:28 pm
Ended up taking myself on a magical mystery tour further south, after my usual duck-through the Fiona Stanley site was blocked off - ended up looping round via the Farrington / Murdoch Drive roundabout and holy living goo I am NEVER doing that again As I was halfway through, a P-plater in mum's camry waiting to enter on my left looked me fair in the face and entered anyway. Vocal cords got a workout, I live to ride another day ...
- familyguy
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby familyguy » Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:08 pm
Jim
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby casual_cyclist » Thu Mar 21, 2013 2:05 pm
On my MTB today and no, I don't have a spare tube, patches, tyre levers or pump but I do have a phone in case
- KonaCommuter
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby KonaCommuter » Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:24 pm
Still, I'm happy with my PB and that was achieved with zero risk taking. Just peddling the Oppy for all it was worth
i won't say what that PB is because it's pretty low by BNA standards
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby Kenzo » Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:30 am
Oh right... Forgot about that..jasonc wrote:brisbane ride to work day today so rode in via a free brekky in town.
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby jasonc » Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:40 am
EDIT: was talking to a lady this morning with a Trek 7.7FX. Nice bike - carbon flat bar with Tiagra.
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby TraceyG » Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:53 am
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby TailWind » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:09 am
Rode into the CBD via the Darebin Trail again this morning, expected all sorts of drama riding in the dark with debris on the path, but it wasn't all that bad after all.
Happy Friday!
Edit: spelling.
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby AndrewBurns » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:18 am
Even if you don't use the extra power you can exert by pulling up you'll notice it's easier because you don't need to spend any energy keeping your feet on the pedals, there's a reason why foot retention has been around nearly as long as bicycles.TraceyG wrote:First commute since going clipless and I made it in one piece. Riding felt easier but not sure if that's a placebo effect of the price sticker on the shoes and cleats (I told hubby they would make my riding easier so now they have to).
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby yolk » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:49 am
Thought it was just me that experienced the crazy head winds on the ride back. Was not fun at all.TailWind wrote:Mad mad wind in Melbourne yesterday afternoon for the ride back - up to 70km/h gusts. Saw a substantial branch snap off a tree on the MYT along the Yarra and land on the path about 20 seconds before I got there. There was a tree down across the Darebin Creek Trail as well. I usually enjoy riding along the treed sections of the trails, but with these crazy winds it was a bit of a nervous time. The rain hit about 10kms from home, but was pretty patchy, so didn't get soaked.
Rode into the CBD via the Darebin Trail again this morning, expected all sorts of drama riding in the dark with debris on the path, but it wasn't all that bad after all.
Happy Friday!
Edit: spelling.
- Summernight
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby Summernight » Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:15 am
Congrats on the purchase and first clipless commute! I love my clipless pedals - I can put my foot in the correct position ready for take off at the lights and not have to worry. When I've been trying out new things at home (ie. when I installed the new rear vision mirror) I pedal the bike with thongs on and stop a lot to adjust - I hate having to move my foot off the pedal to put it in the correct position for take off.TraceyG wrote:First commute since going clipless and I made it in one piece. Riding felt easier but not sure if that's a placebo effect of the price sticker on the shoes and cleats (I told hubby they would make my riding easier so now they have to).
I really, really like my clipless pedals. Clipped in and feet forgotten. Heaven!
Yesterday home was uneventful, apart from the wind. I really enjoyed cruising past all the cars stuck in traffic on their way home.
I went to the theatre that evening and drove the car back into the city. My gods it was an absolute nightmare - took 20 minutes to move 20 metres in one section (due to the building of another apartment skyscraper in Southbank they've closed two of the three lanes that lead onto the freeway from the bridge near Crown Casino, and these lanes also lead into City Road and the theatre district so that area was stuffed). It would have been faster to walk from home, that's how bad it was!!! Then had to find a park and feed the ravenous partner - I ended up dropping him off while we weren't moving anywhere fast, he went to get food and then I almost got him lost trying to find the theatre as he was walking and I was getting stuck in traffic trying to park. Whoops!
This morning had an idiot motorcyclist change lanes without looking or indicating. He looked in his mirror halfway through the manoeuvre and got a fright when he saw me there. Good thing our trusty steeds are so easy to manoeuvre.
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby Xplora » Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:30 am
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby FuzzyDropbear » Fri Mar 22, 2013 3:27 pm
This morning was a pretty good ride in, I like those crisp type mornings where it's chilly but you warm up on the bike. Had a near miss with old mate on a bike this morning though, had no idea he was behind me until I heard a random noise behind me, so turned around (when I got a bit wonky [somehow] on the vid below). Worryingly he didn't brake for the intersection, which I've seen many people go through at 40-50 km/hr without looking, and I did, thus nearly collecting me... Oh well, shows you have to watch out for everyone. I dunno, I rekon he was a little close to me for my liking (could at least have called out 'bike behind you' or something, I usually do, so people don't get a shock when they turn around). I worry about people doing that maneuver into the roundabout as well, the car you're passing isn't concentrating on you because they're looking at what's in the intersection and what's about to enter, not at someone sneaking up the side. I dunno, I will cut up the inside when safe and I'm not going to impact on traffic, but not past that first car, traffic's not really that big an issue here. But that's just me.
Cheers and safe cycling for the weekend everyone!
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby jasonc » Fri Mar 22, 2013 3:49 pm
I head-check regularly looking for who/what is behind me. still important to do on downhill runsFuzzyDropbear wrote:Had a near miss with old mate on a bike this morning though, had no idea he was behind me until I heard a random noise behind me,
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby FuzzyDropbear » Fri Mar 22, 2013 3:57 pm
Yep, I do so all the way along my ride, this guy just popped up because I didn't see him coming around the roundabout (focused on traffic entering the intersection), and then when I headchecked exiting the intersection, he must have been just behind my bag so didn't spot him.jasonc wrote:I head-check regularly looking for who/what is behind me. still important to do on downhill runsFuzzyDropbear wrote:Had a near miss with old mate on a bike this morning though, had no idea he was behind me until I heard a random noise behind me,
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Re: How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...
Postby find_bruce » Fri Mar 22, 2013 5:14 pm
Did you say SMIDSY ?FuzzyDropbear wrote:Yep, I do so all the way along my ride, this guy just popped up because I didn't see him coming around the roundabout (focused on traffic entering the intersection), and then when I headchecked exiting the intersection, he must have been just behind my bag so didn't spot him.jasonc wrote:I head-check regularly looking for who/what is behind me. still important to do on downhill runsFuzzyDropbear wrote:Had a near miss with old mate on a bike this morning though, had no idea he was behind me until I heard a random noise behind me,
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