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

[Summernight]

Re transparency, are we talking only of old knicks that have become see-thru with age?

'cos I spotted a fair bit of crack on a male butt-crack last week thru a panel that was obviously designed for my viewing DISpleasure. The guys rear looked like something you would see on the back end of a silverback gorilla. Certainly not something that I need not see again.

The nicks looked to be in good nick (sorry, couldn't resist ) so I may be exposed (sorry again) to it for some time.

I don't think it would matter - if they're see-through they're see-through. Old or new. I think the lady's weren't that old - just the wrong fabric. And the red man's knicks didn't look that old either, once again just the wrong fabric choice.

I forgot to mention a cyclist on my commute last night that I had to pass 3 times. He kept pushing ahead of me at the lights. The first time I passed him I had just caught up with him at a set of lights so that one was fine. The next time I was waiting in the right hand turn lane for the lights to go green and he came up behind me 25 seconds after I'd stopped in the right hand turn lane, magically turned into a pedestrian without hopping off his bicycle, crossed the ped path and then crossed against the light to get into the copenhagen bicycle lane for a 45 second head start to my legitimate right hand turn.

So I pass him again three blocks down and then three/four blocks later I stop at the Hoddle Street lights behind two other cyclists already waiting in the bicycle lane for the lights to change. 20 seconds after I get there this same cyclist comes up on my left (where I didn't think there was that much room) and pushes in front of me in the bicycle line... So once the lights turn green and we head off, precisely 20 metres down the road I have to pass him again as I'm going faster than him. This time I said "Passing... again". At least I amused myself.

I mean, it's not as if I blend in to all the other cyclists when I'm wearing a bright orange and rainbow skirt... Maybe he was of the opinion that because I was female he was automatically faster than me and should move further up the queue. But you would have thought that the previous two passings would have clued him in. Nope.

[VRE]

I'm looking forward to some cold and wet weather. Speed the day when the fair-weather cyclists put their Strava KOM attempts on hold for another Winter, because it's making some of them behave like complete idiots. The worst ones are those who refuse to slow down on shared paths, because they resent being slowed down even for a second. So they cut corners, overtake with insufficient clearance, and generally behave like they're trying to alienate everyone else, and probably don't even realise they're behaving exactly like the motorists who treat cyclists in the same manner on roads.

[Lizzy]

Today in my life as a cycle commuter:

So slow & tired heading in it wasn't even funny.
Forgot reading glasses, of course it's national "pull figures all day" day, ow
Spray leave-in conditioner stored too close to a similarly sized bottle of whiteboard cleaner, no good comes of this
Forgot wallet, ergo emergency tuna for lunch, at least now I smell a bit less like whiteboard cleaner
Finally I escape and get changed to go home, I feel strangely out of sorts walking to the bike cage but I can't put my finger on it. I reach for my pocket to get D-lock key out and realise shorts are backwards.
Forgot sunglasses, can't face going back to the office.

Uuuyy

[rheicel]

Today in my life as a cycle commuter:

So slow & tired heading in it wasn't even funny.
Forgot reading glasses, of course it's national "pull figures all day" day, ow
Spray leave-in conditioner stored too close to a similarly sized bottle of whiteboard cleaner, no good comes of this
Forgot wallet, ergo emergency tuna for lunch, at least now I smell a bit less like whiteboard cleaner
Finally I escape and get changed to go home, I feel strangely out of sorts walking to the bike cage but I can't put my finger on it. I reach for my pocket to get D-lock key out and realise shorts are backwards.
Forgot sunglasses, can't face going back to the office.

Uuuyy

That suck but hey, you are not the only one...

[jasonc]

Today in my life as a cycle commuter:

Uuuyy

lizzy - your posts are always gold. thankyou
legs had nothing tonight. was happy to make it home

[TailWind]

Multi-hop commute home via Eaglemont and Heidelberg yesterday afternoon, pleasant ride for the most.
A few drops of rain for the ride into the Melb CBD this morning, looks like there's some wet stuff on the way today.

[gretaboy]

I'm looking forward to some cold and wet weather. .

Your one sick man/woman/person VRE....cold I can understand BUT wet mmmmmmmmmmm

Think my long fingered gloves and jacket are going to come out soon...brass monkeys got a working over this morning. Fog was pea soup thick. I do get a little concerned when the fog is around as on some long sections of road I have less than half a metre to work with and B-doubles/cars flying past at 80+ k's. A split second lapse of concentration from one of these drivers and I am history. In saying that however..if it is my time then it is my time

After Monday being a wet day this week, the riding week has had glorious weather..am loving it

[jasonc]

agree with gretaboy - cold ok, wet no thanks
then again, in brissy, it's one or the other

dry when i rolled on the door then drizzle for about 20 minutes. so now I have a dirty bike. and the blinky on the front of the roadie is crapola. new front light is on "the list"
fast riverloop this morning with the gang in perfect weather (as the drizzle has cleared)

[Marto]

Today in my life as a cycle commuter:

So slow & tired heading in it wasn't even funny.
Forgot reading glasses, of course it's national "pull figures all day" day, ow
Spray leave-in conditioner stored too close to a similarly sized bottle of whiteboard cleaner, no good comes of this
Forgot wallet, ergo emergency tuna for lunch, at least now I smell a bit less like whiteboard cleaner
Finally I escape and get changed to go home, I feel strangely out of sorts walking to the bike cage but I can't put my finger on it. I reach for my pocket to get D-lock key out and realise shorts are backwards.
Forgot sunglasses, can't face going back to the office.

Uuuyy

I have more than a few days like those.

One morning I cleaned my teeth with Bepanthen (nappy rash and nipple care cream). It tastes how it smells.

I've been creeping forward on my saddle the last few days (unintentionally), which resulted in a saddle sore as I was on the narrow forward part of the saddle. You can get some bad habits, I guess. This morning I was concentrating on sitting further back, especially when sitting back down after higher cadence out of saddle efforts. I was checking this by observing where my handlebars intersected the front axle.

[Summernight]

Gravel and rocks on the Albert Street copenhagen bike lane last night gave me a shock on my road tyres. Kept everything straight (in my head was the mantra "no sudden turns, no sudden turns") and all was good. I think the gravel was from some construction but it wasn't pleasant. Pretty sure there was also some horse manure on the road further down. I think I missed that though. At least I tried to.

This morning, as posted in the Video thread, the GoPro froze twice in a row on startup. So no camera for the trip. I felt naked without it. But the trip was actually refreshingly uneventful. Got rained on, but not pouring so it wasn't too bad.

Oh and I won a Yarra Trams mini rhino in a giveaway - it even goes 'ding ding' like the trams. I'm thinking about mounting it to my handlebars. Might give the peds food for thought if they hear a tram noise instead of the usual bike bell.



(That image is from the Yarra Tram's facebook page so I hope it shows for everyone)

My rhino has half his front horn mangled - I think a poacher got to him.

[find_bruce]

Had a bit of a oh no moment yesterday - pulled up at lights, but my foot wouldn't release managed to avoid a clip stack & get my other foot out

Turned out a screw had fallen out of the cleat & so it was rotating. Took the cleat off & had the very weird experience of one foot clipped in & one not.

[VRE]

After nearly being sideswiped by a motorist who put getting ahead of the cyclist ahead of common sense (and barely missing an oncoming car), then having a cyclist on a shared path struggle to overtake me (because he didn't have the legs to go fast enough for it), then decide to start merging left when I was next to him, I'm beginning to think that careless disregard for rules is an Australian trait, not confined to any particular geographical location or even mode of transport.

I yelled at the cyclist to give me more room, but I'm not sure he even heard the words properly, because he had earphones on, and quite possibly his music was just too loud. The next time a cyclist does that to me, I won't be anywhere near as polite, because I've had a gutful.

[oxonabike]

Replaced the chain on the commuter after a bit over 6000 km, and it looks like it was left on just a bit too long. Two of the most used / favourite gears on the group set are jumping under load. Bugger - off to the just across the road LBS at lunch time for some new bits. Had to flog into near gale force winds yesterday, coupled decent rain being described as a late burst to the wet season. Thing is, with most of the heat of summer now gone, it is almost cold riding in the rain this time of year in Cairns.

[jasonc]

brookfield road commute with the fast guys this morning. the rain/drizzle held off

[gretaboy]

Big week of commuting for me this week...460 k's to date, with another 50 to go this arvo...my legs are pretty stuffed.

Was a lot warmer this morning due to some cloud cover, the best part was that the roads were wet from a down pour...which I missed..yeeeeha lol

Had another rider slip onto my tail at the 35k mark this morning and I think I have had him on my wheel another morning this week. What gives me the poops is that he dosesnt/didnt bother saying hi and/or taking a turn, instead he is happy to just sit on my tail. He certainly had the "legs" in him to get past and I wasnt going that fast. From his jersey he belongs to the Maitland Triathlon club. The video footage has him comfortably taking it easy behind me.

Think next week if it happens again I will slow right down.

The injustice of it all .......hahahahaha

[rheicel]

Had another rider slip onto my tail at the 35k mark this morning and I think I have had him on my wheel another morning this week. What gives me the poops is that he dosesnt/didnt bother saying hi and/or taking a turn, instead he is happy to just sit on my tail. He certainly had the "legs" in him to get past and I wasnt going that fast. From his jersey he belongs to the Maitland Triathlon club. The video footage has him comfortably taking it easy behind me.

Think next week if it happens again I will slow right down.

The injustice of it all .......hahahahaha

Lol, you are doing him a favour, you should be happy mate.

[Sparx]

Nice commute for me this morning, did a bit extra up to North Head, then sat on some roadies tail for a bit, got a bit of a tow. Didn't even say good morning and certainly didn't consider taking a turn!

[bychosis]

Yesterday caught up with my brother in law on the way home, I had headed off into the normal arvo headwind when I got a call. Quick turnaround and went back to catch up. Pedalled furious with the wind behind me and spotted 42 on the speedo, "nice" I thought, then when looking at Strava later saw top speed was 52, and not just a GPS glitch but a smooth 'speed' plot with several peaks over 50. cruised after that though.

[TailWind]

Grey and cool in Melbourne yesterday afternoon, but lots of activity on the trails.
Had a close call with a mutt on the Darebin Creek Trail at Alphington.
A dog had just crossed the path to the left and I was keeping and eye on it and the owners, when another shot out from behind a bush on the right of the path. Saw it at the last moment - the video show that less than a second had elapsed between the dog coming into sight and me being on top of it.

I'm focused on the left and have just caught the movement from the right:


The dog and I put on the brakes, but it ends up being very close at the end (less than 1/2m)

I'll put up a video later - it shows the suddeness of the whole event better than the pix do.

Good ride into the Melbourne CBD this morning, although I had a couple of motorists desperate to squeeze me at the top of Collins St, where the bike lane at the tram stop is abominably narrow. Wasn't going to let that happen and stuck to the car lane, was going close to the 40km/h limit for the CBD anyway.
Happy Friday!


Edit: Here's a linky to the clip

[Summernight]

Good ride into the Melbourne CBD this morning, although I had a couple of motorists desperate to squeeze me at the top of Collins St, where the bike lane at the tram stop is abominably narrow. Wasn't going to let that happen and stuck to the car lane, was going close to the 40km/h limit for the CBD anyway.
Happy Friday!

I do that part of Collins Street too - the right hand curve is what makes the cars panic and take over the gutter bike lane. To make matters worse for that section there's a lip in the middle of the bike lane that is the change between gutter and road and sometimes this lip guides a wheel where you don't want it. I usually take the car lane or don't go beside a moving car in that area as I don't want to be squeezed. Fortunately for me the cars there usually aren't moving as they're stuck in traffic.

Lovely commute in this morning although the legs were tired. I also had a pleasant morning jog prior to that and had a group of 5 male road cyclists all pass me on the Gipps St bridge going towards the Yarra Boulevard and the 3 front ones all said a friendly 'Good morning' as they went past! It was lovely!

[poohkies]

pushed hard this morning, thought i was doing so well, got to work, not so well, weather is alot nicer at the moment, can fell a bit of a chill when riding was nice hello dry season

[KonaCommuter]

My roadie is getting some LBS loving (trouble shifting gears) and I won't be able to pick it up 'til the weekend. So I'm rolling on my MTB. How's that going? Well let's put it this way. Yesterday I watched a bit of the Paris marathon. The lead pack were running at the same pace as I was riding o_O


I'm embarrassed to say that the chain on my road bike had some rust that's what I get for commuting in the rain and adopting the "I'll do it tomorrow" school of thought to basic maintenance.

[rheicel]

Morning commute today is excellent. I have everything except my bath towel! I commute in a backpack today, my wife will use the pannier to distribute junk mail. I thought I have perfectly squeezed my lunch, office clothes, shoes and ride home led lights inside my backpack. I knew something is missing.....

[TailWind]

I do that part of Collins Street too - the right hand curve is what makes the cars panic and take over the gutter bike lane. To make matters worse for that section there's a lip in the middle of the bike lane that is the change between gutter and road and sometimes this lip guides a wheel where you don't want it. I usually take the car lane or don't go beside a moving car in that area as I don't want to be squeezed. Fortunately for me the cars there usually aren't moving as they're stuck in traffic.

Yep, the cars tend to drift wide in the turn and into the sorry excuse for a bike lane. What never fails to amaze me is the speed with which they hit this narrow section, given that there's a good chance of peds stepping out from the tram stop.

Light rain and drizzle for most of the way into the Melb CBD this morning, had dressed for it, so no issues.

[gretaboy]

I am riding very "bare" at the moment. My rear mudguard decided to split in half on the weekend. I was in the process of cleaning the chain and associated parts when I noticed the mudguard had split in two.

The roads I ride have now claimed two steel drink cages and one mudguard. Just watch the rain pour down this week

Cold morning commute, put the jacket on and as usual it was welcome at the start but around the half way mark and some minor hills, it got a bit too much, but then luckily for me the low lands that came up next were cool so didnt make the jacket too much of a sauna.

There was a steam day on the weekend in Maitland. I didnt attend but riding home friday I saw some of the old girls they had and then this morning I rode past two beautiful old steam locomotives. Hopefully the gopro recorded them as I rode past. Simply majestic were these two old locomotives.