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

[jasonc]

got an email from facilities - bike cage was broken into this morning. waiting to hear what was stolen. i'm WFH so no impacted

[bychosis]

Bugger. Hope they’re got some security footage at least to ID the scumbags.

Fairly uneventful commute today, other than beginning to really dislike the big hill to work.it’S really humid at the moment. Grinding away in low gear slow and steady and still end up a ball of sweat at the top without enough downhill to cool off for the rest of the trip. That means a decent wait to cool down before getting dressed for work.

[P!N20]

Wet commute in Melbourne today. Got to work then realised I left my work pants at home. Grumble. Option 1: wear wet shorts with shirt. Option 2: ride to nearest K-Mart to get pants. Option 3: Ride home to get pants (22k round trip.) Chose option 2. $15 Chinos, not bad. All this with a bottom bracket that's about to explode.

[jasonc]

got an email from facilities - bike cage was broken into this morning. waiting to hear what was stolen. i'm WFH so no impacted

A flat bar roadie was stolen. The hole is still in the bike cage fence. Oh and the lock doesn't work. My bike was on my floor and will be till they fix their crap

[bychosis]

I’d hate to have to store my bike in a buildings bike storage cage. Too many randoms using it. I’m fortunate to be able to store my bike within my work area. No proper facilities, but no worries about theft either.

[jasonc]

bike was locked with a crappy cable lock
i've just ordered a chunky chain lock to go along with my d-lock for when the cage is operational again

[bychosis]

It’s heatwave conditions!

Had a bush bash on the way home one day last week. Saw plenty of wildlife too. 2 bush turkeys, couple of water dragons, heard a rustle or two in the bushes, pretty normal. But also spotted what I’m pretty sure was a land mullet (like a blue tongue but black) and unfortunately also spotted a domestic cat down near a creek.

Thursday last week on the commute bike and having a good time headed home along the cycleway feeling good despite the heat - until the rear tyre went down. Rolled a bit further then called the sag wagon and walked to a rendezvous as my spare tube has vanished. Changed the tube last night and found a failed patch so that’s a bin job.

This morning back on commuter for a sweat fest. Had several good motorists then some numbskull decided to wait for a bit before plowing on with a close pass while he was up against a median despite having plenty of space about 30m ahead. little bit further up passed a dumb cyclist riding so close to parked cars his pannier was almost brushing them - asking to get doored. It was also a section where I can claim the lane and keep ahead of cars fairly well because they need to slow for speed humps while I can ride over them at pace.

I like bike commuting. Always something different.

[familyguy]

It's getting quiet on the morning runs with less school traffic around. Nice easy ride in this morning, looking forward to an extended return leg this afternoon, pending heat buildup.

Next week will be better again, except I can't ride for at least 3 of those days due to work commitments.

[bychosis]

True. School holidays are much better for cycle commuting (and traffic in general). I’m fortunate enough to start early and have found I really don’t mind the extra 10-20mins to almost completely avoid roads and school pickup time traffic on the 2 different routes home.

[find_bruce]

Had a bit of fun with a mate on an e-bike yesterday - he smugly said hello as he cruised past me up the hill & I didn't have the legs to keep up. I know the light sequences well & I realised if I crossed Victoria Rd now I would get a green wave home, skipping 2 sets of lights & saving 2-5 minutes.

It was on!

I drew level by the Iron Cove Bridge & so took it easy from there - what's the point if my mate doesn't know I was in front. I was almost at his place before he caught me & the look on his face was priceless - had no idea how I'd got in front of him

[Mububban]

Stopped twice to throw large pieces of broken glass off the footpath and into the bushes (no bins nearby) before they turned into lots of smaller shards.
And reported a large tree branch down on the footpath to council, the jagged end of which is sticking out and blocking half the path. Too big and heavy and tangled with other branches for me to move myself.

[bychosis]

Stopped twice to throw large pieces of broken glass off the footpath and into the bushes (no bins nearby) before they turned into lots of smaller shards.
And reported a large tree branch down on the footpath to council, the jagged end of which is sticking out and blocking half the path. Too big and heavy and tangled with other branches for me to move myself.

You’re doing good work. I shoved one off the track on Monday. Been meaning to visit a different one with a chainsaw, but that means driving to work and not mountain biking on the way home!

[jasonc]

The garmin registered 41.5 degrees that I saw on the commute home this afternoon. Beat the start of the storm by 10 minutes

[bychosis]

The garmin registered 41.5 degrees that I saw on the commute home this afternoon. Beat the start of the storm by 10 minutes

Ouch. I drove yesterday and car told me it was 43oC.

Drove again today despite it being a bit cooler, but took the opportunity to take the battery chainsaw and cleared the fallen log from my Great North Walk bush route home for Monday. 2min walk from the road, 5min cutting and the path won’t need to be widened any more to go around.

As I was walking out to MTB riders passed. Wonder what they though of someone in thongs and hi-vis carrying a chainsaw!

[P!N20]

Three punctures this morning. Classic damp roads after a period of nice weather - glass and grit everywhere. Only had one spare tube, was close enough to walk after the second.

Admittedly the third was a repeat of the first as I failed to find a glass splinter 'in the field', but it sucked no less.

My lunch break was spent repairing tubes.

[bychosis]

Hate a puncture, three’s a nightmare.

Yesterdays commute really took it out of me. Late fish and chip lunch didn’t help but the heat and humidity pushed me over the edge. Extra bonus was a tree across the track that meant hopping off to climb over. Looks like another trace with a chainsaw required.

Still humid today but a lot cooler. Thunder rumbling all around for most of the afternoon but no rain in range. Clouds keep the temp apparent temp down a fair bit. Took it easy and focussed on enjoying being on a bike.

[jasonc]

Made it 2/3rds of the way home and the skies above opened. About 1.5kms from home the lightning was getting a bit too close for comfort. Made it home, drenched

[jasonc]

last commute day for the year. managed 163 commutes. between holidays and wfh when i either wasn't 100% or the weather was crappy, not too bad. now that i have a wet weather bike see if i can do a few more next year (sadly less holidays next year)

[jasonc]

Finally got some of the debris from the storm last weekend in my rear tyre. It's fine in between the outer and inner layer of the tyre. Couldn't get it out. Put a boot in. Just lasted till home where it's already deflated

[bychosis]

Nice work on the commutes. No idea how many I’ve done this year, but it’s a lot more than the last few years. Getting back into the groove and enjoying my non-road routes, especially the bush on.

[jasonc]

Nice work on the commutes. No idea how many I’ve done this year, but it’s a lot more than the last few years. Getting back into the groove and enjoying my non-road routes, especially the bush on.

I record it where I record my work times (yes I have to do timesheets)

Edit:
Forgot to say. Garmin got up to 47 degrees on the way home

[Retrobyte]

130 commutes for me in 2023

[jasonc]

rain when i got up so hopped on the trainer. radar showed the rain was finished. so i rode to work. turns out the rain wasn't finished. got smashed for the first 15 minutes of the commute

[jasonc]

Finally copped rain on the way home. Got drenched

[Retrobyte]

Looks like no commutes this week for anyone in Sydney until Thursday