The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: jordanread on June 02, 2015, 12:16:59 PM
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The cycling challenge for June 2015 is up and ready for you!!
If you logged miles last month, and selected "Remember Me" on the form, you have been added to this month's sheet already.
If you didn't log miles, or are a new participant
Click here to fill out the form. (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1u_FfEiLUpsySlQO_oNUCGf_Xa74MCcSMYWyVbaa6jMw/viewform)
You can access the sheet at this link (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NYX4hqIrWiEmEo99vJbmv5rTsQGXtzNBPf3LTH3ouLk/edit?usp=sharing).
I've made some behind the scenes changes (which is why I'm so late with this Gauntlet) due to some reported issues on miscellaneous devices. I can also manually grab your historical data too, so if it's off, just let me know. If they aren't there within a day, or you have any other issues with the sheet, hit me up via email, Google+ Hangouts (http://gplus.to/jordanread), PM, or just comment on this thread.
Happy Cycling!!
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Thanks for setting up the monthly spreadsheet jordanread!
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Thanks for setting up the monthly spreadsheet jordanread!
Not a problem. Sorry I was late this month. It won't happen again.
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Thanks, Jordanread! You rock.
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I am signing up!
I rode 14 miles in the rain this morning to avoid a $.50 library late fee.
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Thanks! Jordanread, much appreciated :)
It was bike to school day in my hometown today - I passed a parade of youngsters going the other way, must've been 40+ kids and parents on every type of bike imaginable! Hopefully some keep at it!
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Off to a fine start with some great riding weather today!
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Started the month off with a very soggy ride in, both on the way in to work and the way home. It rained pretty hard on the way home and I was a bit muddy when I got home, but still happy I did the ride.
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Happy cycling everybody! Hopefully I can get a decent training schedule in this month, and hoping I can get my middle daughter back to being more comfortable on the bike after her crash last month, but that's a work in progress.
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Thanks once again, Jordan!
Stay safe out there, everyone!
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I almost caved and rode my motorcycle in but I grabbed the bike instead. Some days it's tough to not ride the Harley in but it's only two miles I tell myself.
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We already have 515 miles. Way to go everyone. I'm working on some script consistencies, since SateFeSteve has been my test subject (no big deal...just doing the coding I love...although he is rocking it!!!). Those script inconsistencies might cause an issue while I'm working on it. I'll post here when I'm done. In the meantime, if you are looking to join, remember your miles, and just wait until I post here saying I'm done.
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Proud of my oldest. Together she and I (youngest two were in the trailer) biked into downtown to do a free museum day, then took the scenic route back out. 18 miles total!
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I biked to work every day this week! Even on Wednesday with it's pouring rain. I had a rain poncho that didn't keep much dry except my backpack, chest and shoulders. Any tips on how to keep dry biking in the rain?
Also, my name isn't up on the June spreadsheet yet. I just added it on the previous one during the last few days of May.
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I've just joined the challenge. I'm a pretty beginner cyclist but getting more comfortable with it. I'm loving my new strategy to get around my chronic lateness in the morning that stops me riding into work. On the day i take DD to school, I have to be late to work no matter what I do (drop off is after work start time) but that means I can take the bike on the train. So take bike in on Tuesday, ride home on Thursday. As I get faster with the riding I should be able to ride in and home on Fridays too, but that's a stretch goal at the moment.
For now I'm just enjoying the sunset over the river, trying to race the cars on the freeway (they are beating me but not by much, traffic is pretty slow in peak hour), and meeting by killer hill goals. First it was getting up without stopping and having to walk the bike, then it was getting up without having to go down to my very lowest gear, next I'm aiming for keeping my speed in double digits. Slowest I got today was 8.5kph, so I'm nearly there. My other short term goal is to average over 25 kph on the long flat section of my ride, and long term goal is to actually overtake someone for once! (Most of the riders on my route are in lycra on proper road bikes, so in my casual gear, with baby seat and bulky hybrid, I'm not in the same league.)
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I biked to work every day this week! Even on Wednesday with it's pouring rain. I had a rain poncho that didn't keep much dry except my backpack, chest and shoulders. Any tips on how to keep dry biking in the rain?
If it's a heavy downpour, you're going to get wet no matter what. Breathable waterproof (GoreTex and the various cheaper materials) gear can help, but you also have the fine line of "keeping my dry from rain but if I cycle hard, I'll be just as wet from sweat". I'll generally still wear the jacket, pants, and boots when temps are below 70F, otherwise you'll get chilled, but if the temp is warmer I'll just get wet and plan a clothing change at destination. (I have waterproof panniers.)
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I biked to work every day this week! Even on Wednesday with it's pouring rain. I had a rain poncho that didn't keep much dry except my backpack, chest and shoulders. Any tips on how to keep dry biking in the rain?
If it's a heavy downpour, you're going to get wet no matter what. Breathable waterproof (GoreTex and the various cheaper materials) gear can help, but you also have the fine line of "keeping my dry from rain but if I cycle hard, I'll be just as wet from sweat". I'll generally still wear the jacket, pants, and boots when temps are below 70F, otherwise you'll get chilled, but if the temp is warmer I'll just get wet and plan a clothing change at destination. (I have waterproof panniers.)
Yeah, that's what I did. It was raining much worse on the way home so I just stripped as soon as I got in the door, jumped in the shower and changed. On the way to work the rain wasn't as bad and my shoes didn't get wet. On the way to work I always bring a change of clothes anyway (except I didn't expect the back of my underwear would also get soaking wet with the puddle splashes) and I keep an old pair of shoes at work for emergencies.
I have rain pants and a jacket that might have worked better, but I didn't want to wear the pants and wreck them getting caught in the bike gears. My backpack has a rain cover too that should keep it mostly dry except the shoulder straps.
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Damn, it's hot as shit today. (about 31°C = 88°F). I still rode, but on the way back I had emptied my watter bottle after 8km (17 to go...). No fun! But I was very happy when I was finally home :-)
And now I'm wondering whether this makes me sound like a complainypants to all you Americans who are probably used to riding in temperatures where the air turns to plasma...
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Haven't really gotten on the bike yet this month as I had to drive to work due to changing locations. Going to try to bike to get the kids from daycare this afternoon.
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You know you bike a lot when . . .
on the one day you drive to work, you have to stop yourself from using arm signals, rather than your car's fancy built-in blinky signals.
Sigh, stopped myself just in time.
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You know you bike a lot when . . .
on the one day you drive to work, you have to stop yourself from using arm signals, rather than your car's fancy built-in blinky signals.
Sigh, stopped myself just in time.
I do that sometimes while walking down the hallway.
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I biked to work every day this week! Even on Wednesday with it's pouring rain. I had a rain poncho that didn't keep much dry except my backpack, chest and shoulders. Any tips on how to keep dry biking in the rain?
Also, my name isn't up on the June spreadsheet yet. I just added it on the previous one during the last few days of May.
I have a pair of shoulder-season cycling pants that are sort of like splash pants. They unzip on the sides so you can vent them without water getting in. I also have a k-way-ish jacket that works well as a rain jacket. Both of these were bought years ago on good intentions so I have no clue how much I paid for them way back when. It was probably a lot. They are also good outer layers for X-country skiing and snowshoeing.
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Haven't really gotten on the bike yet this month as I had to drive to work due to changing locations. Going to try to bike to get the kids from daycare this afternoon.
You're not alone. I only biked in twice this week. Too many remote meetings.
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Had a soggy M-W, missed going to the races on Monday, and no group ride on Wednesday. Still been doing fairly well at getting to work early, but haven't been getting up nearly as early as I would like. Helping my dad move this weekend, will probably ride out there, which will be a good 25 miles, then debate on how I want to go back, a great thing about our location is many modes of transportation to choose from, I could bike the entire way back, or take the light rail, or bus. Might even decide to take the light rail through the mountain and ride the 9 miles from there to my place. Will have to see how I feel after moving.
I see this month there is already some stiff competition going on, I'm going to have to up my game to stay near the top. Next 10 days look to be 80F+, so should be able to get some good rides in.
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[...]
Also, my name isn't up on the June spreadsheet yet. I just added it on the previous one during the last few days of May.
Cookie78, when I first implemented the 'remember me' functionality, the sheet grew a lot with people who weren't participating or didn't log miles. To that end, I only move forward people who have mileage. You will need to fill out the form again. Once you get mileage on there, it will bring you forward every month.
For the rest of you, I did get the manual import of history working. If for some reason your history is not showing up, I can get it imported manually if you let me know. I re-imported SanteFeSteve's history, but that was the only one I noticed.
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Summer's here and I got my first soaking of the rainy season. Also happened to be on a day when I was wearing padded bike shorts, so it felt like I had a wet diaper on by the time I got home. =/
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Today the 4 year old, 7 year old, and I rode the Victoria Rail trail from Lindsay to Fenelon Falls. Sat at the lock station and watched boats come and go while eating ice cream then got on our bikes and rode back. 47 km is pretty impressive for a 7 year old on a Schwinn that's a size too small. I think he's due for a better bike.
The 4 year old napped in the trailer the whole time.
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Today the 4 year old, 7 year old, and I rode the Victoria Rail trail from Lindsay to Fenelon Falls. Sat at the lock station and watched boats come and go while eating ice cream then got on our bikes and rode back. 47 km is pretty impressive for a 7 year old on a Schwinn that's a size too small. I think he's due for a better bike.
The 4 year old napped in the trailer the whole time.
47km for a 7 year old is impressive on ANY size bike. And I thought my kids were badass! ;)
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47km for a 7 year old is impressive on ANY size bike. And I thought my kids were badass! ;)
Thanks - He's pretty good on the bike as long as you don't expect him to set any speed records. Then again, he loves doing "Jet - Pack - TAKE OFF!!!" and scooting so far ahead he has to stop and wait for you to catch up (I hit the brakes when he takes off) while complaining that I can't go that fast. Its fun for everyone.
I think the round trip was just under 4 hours for 47 km - which puts him at about his average 12 km/h. When we were done he went to play at the park while I loaded the car for the drive home. The kid is made of pure energy.
What was great about this trip was that it acted as a feeler for my end of summer ride from Toronto to Algonquin Park. having done this section of the route as a day trip, I am now more confident that I can do the whole thing as a bike trip. That trip will be around 300 km - not sure I'll take the kids.
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Finally convinced my GF to do errands with me today. Considering we have a Walgreen's within 2 miles, a 7-11 within 1 mile, and a full on grocery store within 4 miles, and a liquor store within .7 mile, I don't know why I haven't been able to convince her before. We did just put slicks on her bike, so she is going faster now, plus I kind of talked up a trip I made to Walgreen's for drugs this week. Hopefully it sticks. I did get a chain that is big enough to lock up both our bikes (there is a hardware store next to the grocery store...I just got chain and had a padlock laying around).
I still can't dismount worth a crap (broken jaw - balance and equilibrium is all off), so I have all kinds of new scabs and injuries, but it hasn't stopped me. Keep on rocking it!!
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Last week i finally biked to work 2 days. Maybe this challenge will keep me at that level. Only 1 day so far of temps over 100 ( this is the dry heat of Phoenix) so we'll see what the rest of the summer will be like. Between biking and telecommuting, i only drove to work 1 day.
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Prospector - my kids are a bit faster on their current bikes. On a rail trail they'd probably be ~16-18 km/h. The closest thing to that we've done they averaged 16 including street crossings. Before my middle one had her crash, we averaged 12 on mixed terrain with traffic lights and whatnot. These days we're a bit slower than that while she regains comfort level.
What seems to work best is to have my oldest not go over a certain speed (otherwise she'd be WAY ahead) and act as a rabbit to encourage her younger sister to chase her. Still working on the fear level, but I'm hopeful.
Doing multi-day trips would be fun. I've gotten addicted to reading touring journals on CGOAB.
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Goblinchief, 'Thing 1' is funny. Sometimes I take off ahead and then force him to catch up. Sometimes he wants to lead. On the same trip we can be any combination of ahead, behind, and alongside each other.
I find that if I can get him absentmindedly yammering about something he'll match just about any speed I go, up to whatever his bike can handle. Yesterday the two of them spent over an hour calling me a variety of -----head names. Cheesehead, iguanahead, bananahead, etc.
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I rode about 20 miles total with my wife Saturday riding around to farmers markets and an art festival.
Today, I put in 40 miles, but that 40 miles had a stretch of about 3,000 ft in elevation gain (see attached elevation profile). On the bright side, the locals leave coolers full of cookies and Gatorade at the top for weary cyclists such as myself.
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My bike in this morning was in the pouring rain--I was soaked to the skin after a couple of minutes. Luckily it's a warm day, and it honestly put a grin on my face. Felt very badass.
I should probably get a cheap rain poncho or something (at least to protect my phone), but there's something so lovely about getting soaked when it isn't cold--walking, biking, or just going out to splash in the puddles.
(Of course, I may be singing a very different tune when I put my damp jeans back on to bike home ...)
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I'm in! We moved on Saturday so today is Bike Commuting Day 1. It's 3.2 miles each way, so hardly anything compared to some of you, but it's a big deal for me.
My goals are:
1. bike to work every day
2. don't die
Today the ride in was very pleasant (65-ish degrees at 8 am) but we'll see how I feel after riding home when it's 85-90 and humid. :D
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2. don't die
The only serious injury I've ever had has been in a car. I still love my bike. That being said, thanks for all the awesomeness you contribute!! You are a badass, and Bike Commuting is great!!! You've got this.
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My goals are:
1. bike to work every day
2. don't die
Today the ride in was very pleasant (65-ish degrees at 8 am) but we'll see how I feel after riding home when it's 85-90 and humid. :D
Like everything else, it will get easier with more practice. Keep at it, we’re rooting for ya! And there is a camaraderie amongst bike commuters that is hard to find elsewhere in life. Just tonight a fellow cyclist and I stopped 30 ft before a stoplight to take advantage of the shade (it was 104F here). Turns out she lives a couple blocks south of me so we spent the rest of the commute chatting with each other and didn’t pay attention to the heat. That kind of stuff happens all the time on bikes.
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Thanks for the welcome, guys! wileyish, that's awesome. I have yet to see another cyclist on my route.
So far so good - I've been following the rules of the road and drivers have been respecting my space. Today I'm a bit sore in the sitting-down area but it's not terrible.
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Rode my bike home 15 miles in 91 deg. F. Everyone thought I was crazy for doing it, but the heat wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact I improved my time by 10 minutes!
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This weekend I rode out to my dad's place again, 27 miles, to help him move. It's gotten easier every time, and what was once a huge hill to crawl over now feels like it takes almost no time at all. I was climbing up it and saw the "Stop sign ahead" sign and was like, "Really? I'm that close to the top, I thought it would take longer."
In other news, I finally placed well in the races on Monday, took 3rd place. I called my wife afterwards to tell her and her first response was, "Oh, were there not many people out there today?"
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I am new to the forums and this is just challenge is just my jam! I love biking and have an amazing bike that up until now, I've ridden at the most 5 miles on the weekend. Traffic scares me a little but what scares me more is sitting on my butt wasting gasoline.
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I am new to the forums and this is just challenge is just my jam! I love biking and have an amazing bike that up until now, I've ridden at the most 5 miles on the weekend. Traffic scares me a little but what scares me more is sitting on my butt wasting gasoline.
It's hard for me also. Now that it's warm and the snow is gone I could be riding my Harley. It's only two miles I am not saving that much in gas and maintenance. Now I use it as a fitness goal to ride my bicycle. A side benefit is I don't have to fight for a parking spot.
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Yesterday there was rain in the forecast so I wimped out and drove to work. It ended up being sunny all day long. I felt so bad for the missed miles.
I made sure I rode in today. I'll put in extra miles at teh end of the day to make up for yesterday - or something.
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Yesterday there was rain in the forecast so I wimped out and drove to work. It ended up being sunny all day long. I felt so bad for the missed miles.
I made sure I rode in today. I'll put in extra miles at teh end of the day to make up for yesterday - or something.
My big month (January) I made it a point not to look at the forecast so I wouldn't be tempted to drive. Had a few uncomfortable 4° days, and it made for a slow pace, but made me feel like a badass.
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The local weather prediction for this afternoon is "gusts of 40-60KPH." This could be an interesting commute home ....
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Woke up with vertigo this morning (WTF!) so I decided to walk/take the subway rather than ride. And unless it resolves itself today I'm thinking I may be going to the Dr. rather than work tomorrow (which is also walkable fortunately). Ugh, stupid falling-apart body.
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The local weather prediction for this afternoon is "gusts of 40-60KPH." This could be an interesting commute home ....
If it's a tail wind it could be really fun!
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The local weather prediction for this afternoon is "gusts of 40-60KPH." This could be an interesting commute home ....
If it's a tail wind it could be really fun!
I keep hearing about these alleged tail winds. For some reason, on my old route, the wind would shift while I was work and it was always a head wind.
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The local weather prediction for this afternoon is "gusts of 40-60KPH." This could be an interesting commute home ....
If it's a tail wind it could be really fun!
I keep hearing about these alleged tail winds. For some reason, on my old route, the wind would shift while I was work and it was always a head wind.
We have 2 storms daisy-chained to each other. I'm really hoping its all blown over by 5:00... OK maybe I'll work an hour of OT and try for 6 or 7 or 10:30.
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The local weather prediction for this afternoon is "gusts of 40-60KPH." This could be an interesting commute home ....
If it's a tail wind it could be really fun!
I keep hearing about these alleged tail winds. For some reason, on my old route, the wind would shift while I was work and it was always a head wind.
One thing I say to myself for motivation when climbing is "I'd rather be climbing than going into the wind." But I think the powers that be must have a bit of earwax and hear "I'd rather be climbing and going into the wind" every time...
June will be a slow month for me, with some paternity leave as our family grows. Finally got out for a decent ride today, the first "recreational" riding in a long while for me, though also stopped at a few stores along the way. Plus badass points to my 3 year old. He complained that it was too cold when we went into the grocery store with AC!
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The local weather prediction for this afternoon is "gusts of 40-60KPH." This could be an interesting commute home ....
If it's a tail wind it could be really fun!
I keep hearing about these alleged tail winds. For some reason, on my old route, the wind would shift while I was work and it was always a head wind.
There are strong headwinds on my ride home almost half the time. They're coming in from the north, so I'm assuming it's northern Canada getting back at us for the gorgeous spring this year.
(And as it turned out, we had a tremendous storm midday, and another one in the evening, but it was clear, hot, and breezy while I was biking home. Phew!)
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Do any of you seasoned bike commuters have advice on weight-triggered traffic lights? The first light I hit on the way home, coming out of the office park, apparently doesn't change unless a car pulls up. (I sat there by myself through an entire cycle yesterday.) It's a large intersection - two-lane office park road crossing six-lane road - with no crosswalk. Are my options pretty much just "find an alternate route" or "accept the possibility of having to wait a while for a car to show up"?
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Had two negative experiences lately, but I'm going to focus on the positive ones: made a toddler laugh hysterically while we waited at a long red light (love when kiddos realize I can see them too); chatted with a 12 year old girl cyclist about her bike/biking in the city; chatted with a nice woman at another red light (people don't really talk to strangers where I'm from, which has always made me sad-that's why these experiences were great).
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Do any of you seasoned bike commuters have advice on weight-triggered traffic lights? The first light I hit on the way home, coming out of the office park, apparently doesn't change unless a car pulls up. (I sat there by myself through an entire cycle yesterday.) It's a large intersection - two-lane office park road crossing six-lane road - with no crosswalk. Are my options pretty much just "find an alternate route" or "accept the possibility of having to wait a while for a car to show up"?
Yes. A few different strategies. Both as a cycle commuter and as the guy who makes the lights work.
1. Call in to the works/engineering/planning department of your town/city/county and ask them how their system works. Most systems are on induction loops which rely on the magnetism (for simplicity's sake) of the metal in a car or motorcycle to trigger the lights. Some work on video detection, and some on infrared. I would guess that 90% of north america is on induction loops. If that's the case, you may be able to cycle the lights by putting a rare-earth magnet on the bottom of the lowest point on your bike and stopping directly over the sawcut square in the asphalt. Be sure that the magnet is right over the cutline. Preferably at a corner of the square. Tricky. It is important to call in because the more calls your engineering department gets, the more likely they are to adapt to the needs of their road users. We are constantly improving the roads for cars with a small budget for bikes. Be vocal to get more budget - this stuff gets political fast.
<EDIT: Note - our traffic operations group give a pie in the sky answer to this inquiry saying that the metal in your chain is enough to trigger the loops even if you have a composite frame. I disagree.>
2. Give the push button a press. Often I give up on the signals and just hit the walk button - but if you do this, the law says to walk your bike through the intersection - and that is important. If you push and ride, drivers stop seeing a need to wait for the red light and start running it - especially at pedestrian signals. Please walk your bike if you put in a pedestrian call. Pedestrian buttons work differently in different jurisdictions, but they always force the light to cycle. Often you will have to wait through a clearance interval which could be anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds before you get the green light.
3. Alter your route - if you switch to a road with heavier auto traffic, the loops will be triggered more often meaning that you don't have to deal with the issue since the cars are triggering the light for you.
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Thanks, Prospector. There's no crosswalk at this one, so #2 is out (that would have been my first choice). But I had no idea that most lights used induction loops - that's cool! I'll try to call and confirm. Sticking a magnet on my bike sounds like just the sort of solution I wanted. There should usually be enough traffic that it's not an issue - the first two times I went through there were cars waiting with me, and yesterday I only had to wait through one cycle - but I don't want to risk being stuck there forever if it's raining, you know?
Other than that, my first 3.5 commutes have gone really well. Yesterday a guy pulled up next to me at a light, windows down, looked over and said "wanna race?". I thought it was funny.
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No problem - we are just in the process of considering cyclist detection on our network. And its funny that its only been discussed since I started biking to work back in April. I am the only guy in my office that bikes to work.
Within the municipal branches there is a big disconnect between planning, engineering, economic development, and the health department on the benefits and costs of cycling. Getting the ear of one department doesn't mean you have everyone on side, but the engineering and planing department are the ones that will make changes at street level. Ec Dev and health will apply pressure. We have a problem right now where our (engineering) safe cycling routes don't match Ec Dev's preferred routes so there are conflicting maps circulating about cycling in the area - one takes you past bike shops, cafe's, and hardware stores. The other takes you on roads with wide shoulders and bike lanes. Too bad one group didn't talk to the other when putting this stuff together.
FWIW, cyclist detection usually uses video (sucks in snow/rain/dust/dirty conditions - plus maintenance to keep the lens clean) or infra red (can have lots of false positives from critters) or a compact, denser, more sensitive induction loop. Since we are used to induction loops and they are cheap and easy, thats probably the direction our guys will go in - not that its the perfect solution.
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2. Give the push button a press. Often I give up on the signals and just hit the walk button - but if you do this, the law says to walk your bike through the intersection - and that is important. If you push and ride, drivers stop seeing a need to wait for the red light and start running it - especially at pedestrian signals. Please walk your bike if you put in a pedestrian call. Pedestrian buttons work differently in different jurisdictions, but they always force the light to cycle. Often you will have to wait through a clearance interval which could be anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds before you get the green light.
Prospector, do you mean it's illegal to ride the bike through the crosswalk, or in general if you ever hit the button and go back into the street? There is one light that I will occasionally get stuck at, so I turn into the 7 11, ride up to the light, push the button, and then use the parking lot entrance to turn back out on the road and wait for the light to change as I'm in the lane.
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What you are doing is legal here, but really poor practice.
Seriously, call in the location and see what the local Eng. Dept. says.
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What you are doing is legal here, but really poor practice.
Seriously, call in the location and see what the local Eng. Dept. says.
Oh I have. I was just curious as to your take on it. This intersection is hardly worth my time. There is never any traffic on it, and it does shift okay on the rare occasion cars show up. It actually makes sense for cars, since it mostly an entrance to a park coupled with a regularly busy-ish road. I only ran into issues on it super early in the morning. I can run it (even though that is even worse practice). I have one light where the path comes out mid-block, and you are supposed to use the ped signal, even though I always take the road. I don't know whether to feel sad right now. Back in 2013, Colorado Springs was number 9 in the country. Now we are 109. That means that 100 additional cities have rocked the infrastructure development, which is great news, and my city still rocks for bikes. I do call the engineering department on occasion, but I'm on paths most of the time instead of streets, so it's not a big deal for me.
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Oops. Forgot to post the link to the stats. I meant to do that in the last post.
Redfin did a good study this year on it. Here (https://www.redfin.com/research/uncategorized/2015/bike-score-2015-supplemental-data-full-ranking-and-new-cities.html) is the link.
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In Oregon they recommend to place the bottom bracket over the circle, or on the bicycle inductive loops, to put it on one point of the square.
One thing you may consider is looking up your state/province/local municipalities laws on bicycles.
In Idaho there is the Idaho stop, where red lights/stop signs, can be treated as yield signs.
Recently though they passed a law that says after one full cycle, like the situation that aetherie ran into, you are allowed to proceed with caution into the intersection and run the red light, but that any accident resulting from such a maneuver is your own fault. It was originally pushed by a motorcyclist who sometimes ran into the same problem (so much for the bicycle chain being enough), and then was picked up by some of Oregon's bicycle advocates who added in the bicycle language. Though it's hard to say what a full cycle is when the light just doesn't change.
Back in 2013, Colorado Springs was number 9 in the country. Now we are 109. That means that 100 additional cities have rocked the infrastructure development, which is great news, and my city still rocks for bikes. I do call the engineering department on occasion, but I'm on paths most of the time instead of streets, so it's not a big deal for me.
Looks like Portland, OR has dropped from #1 to #19 even while improving it's bike score from 70.3 to 72 respectively.
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We have a "dead red" law here, but that doesn't help if you're on a minor street trying to cross a major one. Another option would be taking a right on the major road, biking up to the next controlled intersection, assuming it has a crosswalk or better triggered light, and crossing then, and backtracking.
My area has a mix of induction loop and infrared, with pretty much 100% of new intersections being IR.
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In Oregon they recommend to place the bottom bracket over the circle, or on the bicycle inductive loops, to put it on one point of the square.
One thing you may consider is looking up your state/province/local municipalities laws on bicycles.
In Idaho there is the Idaho stop, where red lights/stop signs, can be treated as yield signs.
Recently though they passed a law that says after one full cycle, like the situation that aetherie ran into, you are allowed to proceed with caution into the intersection and run the red light, but that any accident resulting from such a maneuver is your own fault. It was originally pushed by a motorcyclist who sometimes ran into the same problem (so much for the bicycle chain being enough), and then was picked up by some of Oregon's bicycle advocates who added in the bicycle language. Though it's hard to say what a full cycle is when the light just doesn't change.
Back in 2013, Colorado Springs was number 9 in the country. Now we are 109. That means that 100 additional cities have rocked the infrastructure development, which is great news, and my city still rocks for bikes. I do call the engineering department on occasion, but I'm on paths most of the time instead of streets, so it's not a big deal for me.
Looks like Portland, OR has dropped from #1 to #19 even while improving it's bike score from 70.3 to 72 respectively.
It's still a good thing!!! As I said earlier. The fact that these awesome places have increased their score, but still dropped the overall ranking, is good news for the rest of the country. Never thought I'd be as proud to be here as I am.
We have a "dead red" law here, but that doesn't help if you're on a minor street trying to cross a major one. Another option would be taking a right on the major road, biking up to the next controlled intersection, assuming it has a crosswalk or better triggered light, and crossing then, and backtracking.
My area has a mix of induction loop and infrared, with pretty much 100% of new intersections being IR.
TGC, here in the springs, we have that law too I think. Also, the good majority of our lights (that I run into) are based on either infrared or cameras. When the issues arise (like I mentioned earlier) it's usually due to broken cameras. That being said, we're still rocking the bikers here, and it makes me so happy, I can't even explain.
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Today I was riding to work, and was on a bike lane that is on a one-way street. I came up to the major intersection, and on the other side of the intersection was a road closed sign because they started re-surfacing the road today. I was upset because I had one of two options as I saw it: go backwards on the bike lane against traffic or turn onto the very busy road during rush hour.
What I ended up doing was turning onto the major road during our green and then hopping onto the sidewalk that no one was using after a half block, before turning back the way I came on another road. Technically illegal to use the sidewalk, but seemed the safest route. I backtracked a ways and got over to the next usable bike route. Added about 1.5 miles to my commute.
I think they really should have had a notice of the road closed before that, because this is a highly-used bike route.
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Today I was riding to work, and was on a bike lane that is on a one-way street. I came up to the major intersection, and on the other side of the intersection was a road closed sign because they started re-surfacing the road today. I was upset because I had one of two options as I saw it: go backwards on the bike lane against traffic or turn onto the very busy road during rush hour.
What I ended up doing was turning onto the major road during our green and then hopping onto the sidewalk that no one was using after a half block, before turning back the way I came on another road. Technically illegal to use the sidewalk, but seemed the safest route. I backtracked a ways and got over to the next usable bike route. Added about 1.5 miles to my commute.
I think they really should have had a notice of the road closed before that, because this is a highly-used bike route.
On one of the roads here they are doing some construction, I think to widen the road, but they had to block off one lane. What they did though was to block the bike lane, and only half of one car lane while leaving about a bike lanes worth of road. Glad someone thought of it rather than blocking both bike and one car lane.
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No biking to work today. Rain all last night and this morning, and the bike trail currently is better suited for kayaking in most places. View of the trail from my office window.
(https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t1.0-9/11390350_817838499168_1109586674591968505_n.jpg?oh=68f1c9585dde3961cd7c67a84cad8c08&oe=55F7FB0A)
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Wow jorjor - I suppose kayaking to work could be a whole different kind of fun! Hope it dries up for you soon.
Update on my favorite traffic light: yesterday I looked for a square in the asphalt and didn't see anything obvious, but someone in a car came along soon after I stopped there (and may have wondered why I was staring at the pavement...). Today I emailed the county traffic engineering dept and got this response:
Good Afternoon Ms. ___,
That particular phase (commercial entrance) of the intersection traffic signal at ____ Parkway and ____ Road is activated by an in-pavement magneto-inductive loop. While they are designed for cars, providing your bicycle is not a non-metal composite, it should pick up your presence if you sit on it long enough (i.e. not roll ahead or behind it). We can spray paint/outline the general area of the loop wire early next week if it does not rain.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Traffic Division
___ County
So I wrote back to say yes, please do spray paint it so I can find it, and thanks for the quick response.
Guess I'll try sitting on it like they say, and then get a magnet if that doesn't work!
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Glad you sent it in! I'm hopeful that enough others do that you get better detection!
In my earlier response I forgot to include microradar - which is a really good system to detect cyclists - look for a dot on the asphalt if your city uses this:
http://www.sensysnetworks.com/products/microradar
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Can I just vent for a moment? I absolutely hate coming across whacko drivers and being their verbal punching bag. If you think I'm doing something wrong, report me to the police. Please do not scream obscenities at me or expect me to ride in an unsafe way that requires ignoring the time-space continuum.
Further, I find it hilarious when you act all surprised that you're not anonymous. You're name (aka your license plate) is clearly displayed on the part of the car you're trying to intimidate me with. I love calling out the number to you to remind you of this fact.
Breathe in, breathe out. Remember that 99.99% of drivers here are very kind and respectful.
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Today I'm going to complete my first full week of commuting from work by bike. I've found that my biggest issues are:
1. Saddle sore-I've been a bit sore since Wed. and I'm even wearing cycling shorts.
2. Sore wrists-I try to move my hands into different positions (road bike handlebars) to mitigate this, but I imagine I will gain more endurance over time.
3. Dehydration/low energy- I've started taking a water/snack break around mile 9 for about 10 minutes. This has helped considerably.
Any of you vets have any advice? I imagine that most of these problems were caused by me just jumping into this and doing 15 miles every day.
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Today I'm going to complete my first full week of commuting from work by bike. I've found that my biggest issues are:
1. Saddle sore-I've been a bit sore since Wed. and I'm even wearing cycling shorts.
2. Sore wrists-I try to move my hands into different positions (road bike handlebars) to mitigate this, but I imagine I will gain more endurance over time.
3. Dehydration/low energy- I've started taking a water/snack break around mile 9 for about 10 minutes. This has helped considerably.
Any of you vets have any advice? I imagine that most of these problems were caused by me just jumping into this and doing 15 miles every day.
Saddle soreness is just based on inexperience. The longer you regularly ride, the less it happens (especially if you are already wearing cycling shorts). Once you get through it (I think the worse I've heard was 3 weeks), you'll never have to deal with it again unless you take a super long break from riding. I ride a mountain bike so I'm not that familiar with drop handle bars, but I did notice a huge improvement in my endurance when I started wearing padded cycling gloves. I didn't specifically notice things in my wrists, so you might just be more observant than me. Drinking while you ride is a good way to stay hydrated, but if you have good spots to take breaks, and they've been helping, by all means keep on going with the breaks. You might want to try reducing the length of your breaks if you are worried about the time. Biggest advice I have is to keep on riding. It's a great feeling overall.
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Brag: Never done a century ride before - just got in from 106 km on the Waterfront trail. I had wanted to ride in to Toronto for the meetup yesterday, but life conspired against me, so I did it today. The Waterfront trail is really nice!
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I went five days without cycling (illness and out-of-town family stuff over the weekend)! And then yesterday I only rode a mile and a half. I think the last time I was this bike-less was in February. It felt good to be back on the bike this morning even though it was raining.
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I'm not set up for rain yet so I have missed a lot of days. I rarely ride my Harley in the rain unless I happen to be on a trip and have to in order to reach my destination. It's only a 2 mile drive to work so I'll wait for a nice day to ride again.
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So yesterday I finally got around to tuning up my bike for the season. I've been riding it 2.5 weeks each day to work already.
I checked the tire pressure and it was about half of the lowest recommended level (yikes). Filled them up and had a much easier ride in to work this morning. I cleaned it up a bit and adjusted the seat up another inch. It still might be a little bit low. Also I need to get some oil for the chain. It's filthy and I wiped off lots of black gunk. What's the best way to go about cleaning it?
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So yesterday I finally got around to tuning up my bike for the season. I've been riding it 2.5 weeks each day to work already.
I checked the tire pressure and it was about half of the lowest recommended level (yikes). Filled them up and had a much easier ride in to work this morning. I cleaned it up a bit and adjusted the seat up another inch. It still might be a little bit low. Also I need to get some oil for the chain. It's filthy and I wiped off lots of black gunk. What's the best way to go about cleaning it?
I use a citric degreaser for my bike with an old tooth brush. I got the degreaser from Nashbar. I pour it into a yogurt cup and dip the toothbrush in and apply it over the chain and the gears. I then use a nice dish soap, which happens to be recommended for home brew beer cleaning, and wash down the entire bike, and remove the degreaser. Once that is done I then oil the chain back up. I check tire pressure every Saturday on both bikes before I take my road bike out. Usually I'll be down about 10-20 psi from the week before.
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Another vote for citrus degreaser. However, I've learned you can get giant jugs of it for cheap from Home Depot. It's marketed for cleaning grease off your garage floor, but it also works great on bikes. I use a "tile brush" (same isle at HD) to scrub the gears and also use one of these for the chain. http://www.mec.ca/product/4007-008/mec-chain-cleaner/?q=chain%2Bcleaner.
If your bike has rim brakes (rather than disk brakes) don't forget to wipe off the rims regularly. The grit that gets between the brake pad and the rim acts like sandpaper and wears down the surface of the rim.
I also use an old rag dipped in degreaser to wipe down the frame and then hose all the degreaser, and dissolved grease, off with the garden hose. Takes about 10 minutes.
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The last two days a truck belonging to a local business has rudely honked, and I felt dangerously sped up and over-swerved (the right tires ended up in the dirt from unsafely swerving back into the lane) while passing me on a 2 lane road that doesn't have much of a bike lane in the direction I was traveling. This time of year, there's not much traffic, so I generally feel safe in the road since cars have plenty of space to go around me without impeding traffic. The county I was riding in recently passed an anti-cycling harassment ordinance, which makes harassing cyclists (and pedestrians) a crime. So in my mind, this truck has now committed a crime two days in a row.
What should I do?
1 - call the business and report the driver? It's a local business and there is a truck regularly parked a couple of blocks from my house so this guy (or one of his coworkers) may work in my neighborhood. I'm reticent to make trouble with neighbors, but part of me thinks the business owner should know if the employees are doing such a disservice to the business' reputation.
2 - call the police and report the driver? I have no proof, since I don't have a go-pro or anything like that. Also, I've heard the police aren't all enthusiastic about the new ordinance, so I'm not sure the reception I'd get calling the complaint in.
3 - ignore the harassment.
4 - modify my route by going on the other side of the road where there is an off-road path. It's less convenient since it's shared with dog walkers and pedestrians walking both directions, has quite a few pot holes, and isn't all that wide. This is the route I take when there's traffic during snowbird season, but I really enjoy riding straight through on the road in the summer, so it'd be a bummer to switch just because some driver is a jerk.
What would you do? What should I do? FWIW, I'm a relatively small blonde girl, and the idea of someone pulling over and getting out of the car to harass me even more is terrifying.
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Speaking as a business owner, I'd say call the business and report it, at least as a first step. You can always escalate if the owner doesn't take your report seriously.
I'd basically sell it as this person is damaging the business' reputation, endangering people, and risking serious liability. Imagine a truck branded with their logo seriously hurting someone? There's an insurance and lawsuit risk, particularly if the driver had a history of being aggressive around bikes--and especially if you'd told the owner and it didn't stop. For those reasons, the owner will probably try to stop it.
You don't need to identify yourself when reporting it to the owner, IMO. Just an "I live in the area and this is happening."
That said, I'd say for the few days after you report it, consider taking the modified route, just in case. Then you can switch back to your regular route.
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I agree about the liability to the business owners - and in one of these cases lawyers can kill a small business quickly - especially if they are only minimally insured, but not knowing the whole story, there is some risk that the driver IS the business owner. Especially if the business in question is a microbusiness - for instance a roofer or a an upholstery shop that is limited to just a guy, his hands and his truck.
I would start the call by asking who does deliveries for the business, just to find out whether you are talking to the driver or not. Having that extra arms length is a safety item for the caller. If the owner is the driver, then it is up to the cyclist to feel out how to proceed.
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Ok I'm in the challenge, seem to be on top, but this isn't strictly fair as my bike is electric (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu0IHH8EAvQ). I do pedal almost constantly when I cycle, and in terms of saving cash an electric is more cost efficient as electricity is cheaper per mile than food, so it is very mustachian. Actually more so for me as I charge at home and at work on the communal circuits, so the electricity is free.
So am I allowed to challenge or should I be handicapped?
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Ok I'm in the challenge, seem to be on top, but this isn't strictly fair as my bike is electric (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu0IHH8EAvQ). I do pedal almost constantly when I cycle, and in terms of saving cash an electric is more cost efficient as electricity is cheaper per mile than food, so it is very mustachian. Actually more so for me as I charge at home and at work on the communal circuits, so the electricity is free.
So am I allowed to challenge or should I be handicapped?
Depends on how you look at it I guess - If we are talking about getting cars off the road and saving cash, then yeah, your miles count probably even more than the 'recreational miles' the rest of us are logging (If it weren't for recreational miles, that chart would look very different).
If you see this as a competition for who has the gruelling-est way of getting to work, or who get the best workout, then you are cheating.
Finally, if you see this as a communal effort to up the non-car miles each month, get cycling mainstream, and get rid of cars, then welcome to the team, and you are boosting us all. Thankyouverymuch!
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1 - call the business and report the driver? It's a local business and there is a truck regularly parked a couple of blocks from my house so this guy (or one of his coworkers) may work in my neighborhood. I'm reticent to make trouble with neighbors, but part of me thinks the business owner should know if the employees are doing such a disservice to the business' reputation.
2 - call the police and report the driver? I have no proof, since I don't have a go-pro or anything like that. Also, I've heard the police aren't all enthusiastic about the new ordinance, so I'm not sure the reception I'd get calling the complaint in.
I would do 1 and 2. Where you able to get the plate# of the truck? Even if you weren't, if you can say a truck from company X harassed me at this location and time, that should be enough for the police to call that business and have a chat with them. Even if the police don't like the new harassment law, it was passed for a reason and you have the right to be protected by it.
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Ok I'm in the challenge, seem to be on top, but this isn't strictly fair as my bike is electric (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu0IHH8EAvQ). I do pedal almost constantly when I cycle, and in terms of saving cash an electric is more cost efficient as electricity is cheaper per mile than food, so it is very mustachian. Actually more so for me as I charge at home and at work on the communal circuits, so the electricity is free.
So am I allowed to challenge or should I be handicapped?
We've had e-bikes in this challenge before, so I see no issues with it. Last time, the person used a username and appended E-Bike to it, but they eventually started riding a regular bike, so changed back. If you have no desire to separate them out before, I'd just say use your username.
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I really want an ELF but I'm not paying $5,500 for a tricycle. I could buy a really nice used car for that kind of money.
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There was another cyclist on the road today! That literally hasn't happened since I started bike-commuting in April. There are often people biking on the sidewalk, but no one else ever seems to be on the road. This guy rolled right past me at a stop light, which is a pet peeve of mine, but to his credit, I only managed to keep up with him for most of the rest of my ride, so he wasn't entirely wrong about being faster than me (just mostly wrong ;).
Here's hoping it starts a trend. Maybe a few years from now there'll be bike lanes painted on my route ...
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I have moved all my belts down one notch since I started cycling back in April. I thought it was just in my head but its sustained across all my pants and belts now. I wasn't trying to lose weight, but its still nice to see that I'm down by whatever one belt hole is.
Also my legs are gaining noticeable definition. Lazy office worker syndrome is being beaten back.
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This week I started carrying a little speaker plugged into my phone and listening to some tunes on the way to/from work. I really like it! #1, I get to listen to music without headphones (which I think are a little dangerous, and which pedestrians and drivers are always shaming cyclists for on the local social media), and #2 pedestrians and other bikes can hear me coming! Not cars, though, unless the windows are wide open and the radio is off.
On the down side, got stuck behind a garbage truck for a while today. Fun fact, garbage trucks and bikes go just about the same speed on that stretch of road.
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Not cars, though, unless the windows are wide open and the radio is off.
This reminded me of a story from yesterday morning. There is a stretch on the way to work where I have to use the overpass to cross a freeway. Almost all the bikes use the sidewalk, protected by a concrete barrier, because traffic is dangerous here. There are three crosswalks for the off/on ramps. Mostly vehicles stop for bikes to cross, occasionally they don't, especially if they are going at high speed. Yesterday traffic was extremely slow and I watched to see if the next car was going to stop for me. She was playing with the radio instead (going less than 5mph 3/4 of a car length from the car in front of her) so I slowed down to a near stop. At this point my front tire was about 3 feet from the front driver side headlight. Her window was open, so I just said 'Hello'. She slammed on the brakes immediately. I think I may have startled her. lol. I said 'Thank You' and continued on my way.
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Just got back from biking from Washington DC to Pittsburgh via the C&O Canal Towpath and The Great Allegheny Passageway. (No cars the whole way!) Including to and from the trailheads and getting off the trail for food and drinks it came to 384.7 miles. It was a pretty mustachian trip. I camped along the the way, but I think I might be getting too old to sleep on the ground. The worst was Day 3 from Hancock to Cumberland. It rained and the towpath doesn't drain well at all. My bike and I were covered with mud and I rolled into Cumberland. The C&O Trail Outfitters right downtown had a free bike wash and cleaned me up real nice.
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Thanks, Prospector and MLKnits. I gave myself one more time to get a truck number or plate number to use when calling the business, but the truck didn't appear again. It's been two days without. Hopefully this means their job that put them on that route is over and I don't need to worry about that truck.
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Just got back from biking from Washington DC to Pittsburgh via the C&O Canal Towpath and The Great Allegheny Passageway. (No cars the whole way!) Including to and from the trailheads and getting off the trail for food and drinks it came to 384.7 miles. It was a pretty mustachian trip. I camped along the the way, but I think I might be getting too old to sleep on the ground. The worst was Day 3 from Hancock to Cumberland. It rained and the towpath doesn't drain well at all. My bike and I were covered with mud and I rolled into Cumberland. The C&O Trail Outfitters right downtown had a free bike wash and cleaned me up real nice.
Congratulations on the epic trip TheContinentalOp! I was going to do STP this year, but ultimately decided to focus more on racing. I did get a century ride in twice this year, and might try another couple during the summer. I find that I hit the wall at about 70mi.
I have entered my first road race (as compared to my Monday night closed circuit races) and look forward to a 48mi route, 2200ft of elevation gain on a cloudy Sunday morning.
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Posting to follow.
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Posting to follow.
Just a quick heads up: a new post is created every month. I always post the link to the next month as the last (ish) comment on the current month.
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Oh, forgot to say, tonight is the starlight spectacular. 22 miles after dark, with over 1000 other riders. So much fun.
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Posting to follow.
Just a quick heads up: a new post is created every month. I always post the link to the next month as the last (ish) comment on the current month.
Or we can favourite your profile, and find it through your signature.
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Drove half way and bike the remaining way the other day (30 k total biking) strictly speaking not much savings as I normally only drive 10 k rather than 30. Think I'm going to start biking all the way - 30 k, leave my bike overnight and then bike it home the next day. Have garage parking at work. That will actually make a cost savings of about $3.5 per bike part.
Biked 20 k to and from a park today as our family activity.
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I've ridden 93 miles commuting this month. Haven't put it in the sheet, just been too preoccupied. But I'm riding.
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Finally stopped storming here so I was able to ride the bicycle again.
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Unbelievable headwind on my bike home yesterday afternoon. It was wretched, but also had some of the classic hallmarks of badassity; I felt pretty damn good after I got off the bike (including the pride of some effort-related soreness in the old gluteus muscles), and also found myself wanting to understand the mechanics of wind better than I currently do. Inside my car, I might have some awareness of the wind (though less than SUV drivers), but it's of minimal importance, and never stirs my curiosity. It's nice to spend a chunk of each day really interacting with the natural world ... even when it's damned exhausting.
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I was really hoping to get some more miles this month than I did in May but I had a minor surgery Monday so I'm not allowed to exercise for the next handful of weeks. That'll take me to halfway through July, and I've got a big move at the beginning of August. But once I'm settled in for that I'll finally be commuting by bike again, so I should start putting up some real miles.
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My cycling numbers are sucking this month, but a couple good things have come up...
Our department took my bike for a day and went around testing loops with it. Surprise! Some can't pick it up no matter what they try. So yeah, detection may suck. Viva la push button!
Also, I went to an engineering-for-bikes workshop. It was fun to be in a room with a bunch of like-minded people in the same profession. Hopefully we see things change over the next few years.
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Temperatures are to reach 100* on Saturday, planning to start riding by 7am to beat the heat. I have a 6mi uphill TT coming up mid July and what the road race last Sunday taught me is that I suck at climbing hills.
Last night on a group ride my chain got trapped between the lower jockey wheel and its cage. That shoved the jockey wheel out of alignment causing that problem to happen over and over again until we realized what the problem was. Forced the jockey wheel back over and heard a click, so hopefully it stays put, but the question is what caused the original incident?
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Looks like my goal to bike each day to work this month is going to succeed. One and a half more days to go. The first 2 weeks it took some perseverance, but the rest of the month it would have taken a LOT for me to want to take the bus instead. This morning I got on my bike after a long weekend (I had Friday off) and within a 1/4 block I had a smile on my face and a happy feeling in my chest. What a pleasant ride in this morning. So much so that I was even feeling happy to get to work on a Monday morning. :)
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FYDK, we've got one more badass in our ranks!
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Thanks to forgetting my laptop at home this morning and having to double back, I'm (just barely) on track to beat my January and March numbers, but nowhere near my April and May totals. A few out-of-town family events really cut into my weekend riding, and I missed a few days of work due to illness, which cut into my commute miles. We're entering July with some beautiful cycling weather, though (highs only in the 70s) so hopefully that will get me back out there.
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Looks like my goal to bike each day to work this month is going to succeed. One and a half more days to go. The first 2 weeks it took some perseverance, but the rest of the month it would have taken a LOT for me to want to take the bus instead. This morning I got on my bike after a long weekend (I had Friday off) and within a 1/4 block I had a smile on my face and a happy feeling in my chest. What a pleasant ride in this morning. So much so that I was even feeling happy to get to work on a Monday morning. :)
Congratulations on making it a full month!
On Friday I took my road bike back out a gain, and had the same problem happen while climbing a 17% hill, but this time I know the culprit. Recently I had added some links back to my chain because I think I took too many off. I guess the action of doing that so many times caused one of the link's pins to become loose. The loose pin had worked itself out a ways, pushing itself against one side of the cage, and the link this time got split on the other side, causing the jam. Luckily I happen to carry a multitool which includes a chain link tool. So I got to the side of the road, pulled off the now bent link, and got the chain put back together. I've ridden 70 miles since and no trouble.
The best feelings have come recently in the midst of adversity, where I had bike trouble and instead of getting discouraged, figured out how to fix it. Flats used to be discouraging, now they are just a temporary delay. I also was having noise in my bottom bracket on my commuter. I washed both bikes this weekend, and was looking into what could be the problem. I took apart the bottom bracket, and when I got to one bolt which holds the left crank arm on I noticed it was extremely loose. This is the one which is responsible for keeping the two arms together. After cleaning everything, greasing things that should be greased, and putting it back together I now have no noise. Didn't even need a Youtube video this time.
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I don't mind cycling in the pouring rain- as long as one is careful of potholes. Its actually preferable over a strong headwind any day.
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Holy Hades it's hot out. How on earth do people survive in hot climates? I'm in the PNW and it was 87F for my ride home yesterday. There was also a nice headwind that made it feel like riding in a blast furnace.
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Holy Hades it's hot out. How on earth do people survive in hot climates? I'm in the PNW and it was 87F for my ride home yesterday. There was also a nice headwind that made it feel like riding in a blast furnace.
I think we adapt to it. I've actually found the weather quite enjoyable, and was disappointed it never reached 100F. Inside it's gotten up to 80F or so and we find it nice inside. Sometimes we'll turn on a fan. So far we've gone 18 months and no AC.
I did do my Saturday ride at 6am so I could finish before it got hot outside. Got back shortly before 9am and it was still below 80F outside. I think of 87F as pleasent, and I don't need to bring a coat just in case, unless I'm going somewhere inside that will be air conditioned. It became apparent that I'm the weird one when I left a fast food place with take out and was putting everything in my bike and the other guy exclaims upon leaving, "oh this is awful, stepping out of that air conditioned place to this heat!" and all I'm thinking is, "this feels so much better, I was freezing inside, glad to be out in the sun."
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Added my numbers, but full disclosure, it's may (320) and june (120 km) together as I wasn't able to update earlier.
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Final tally was 472 miles for me. Not counting library trips. Those are just fun and shouldn't count!
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Holy Hades it's hot out. How on earth do people survive in hot climates? I'm in the PNW and it was 87F for my ride home yesterday. There was also a nice headwind that made it feel like riding in a blast furnace.
Eh, you go slower when it's really hot, but don't worry too much about getting sweaty on the ride home and just concentrate on moving so the breeze is maintained. If it's truly insanely hot, jump in the pool or shower immediately upon arrival at home. But that's a rarity for biking.
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Team, I'll get the new month up first thing tomorrow. Remember your miles for today.
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The new challenge is up!!! (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/july-cycling-challenge-2015/).
Join in and happy cycling!!!