Author Topic: May Cycling Challenge 2016  (Read 26090 times)

jordanread

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May Cycling Challenge 2016
« on: May 01, 2016, 10:59:34 AM »
The May Cycling Challenge 2016 is up and ready for you to start (or continue) riding!!
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 last month, or are a new participant
Click here to fill out the form.
You can access the sheet directly at this link.
I can 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, PM, or just comment on this thread.
Happy biking!!


jordanread

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2016, 11:00:41 AM »
Side Note: This will not persist, but it's an option to get more accurate numbers for the cost if driven(if you have that selected). On your personal sheet, there is a Car Metrics box starting at column T. You can change the value used for cost per mile to anything you want if you edit U6. Right now, it's set on average MPG for this year, divided by the price of gas of today. If you get better or worse gas mileage, or prefer to use the IRS amount (already loaded in that box) you can do so. Everyone calculates that differently, so I don't want you to think that you are stuck with that amount.

the lorax

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2016, 01:26:39 AM »
Thanks for doing this every month, that spreadsheet has pushed me into biking on some days I would have found an excuse not to :)

jordanread

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2016, 01:52:57 AM »
Thanks for doing this every month, that spreadsheet has pushed me into biking on some days I would have found an excuse not to :)

Glad I could help!

Eric222

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2016, 04:52:14 AM »
This month, my goal is 150 miles commuting....and go!

aetherie

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2016, 06:31:15 AM »
Starting things off for May with a rainy ride to work... why is it that when people talk about how great biking to work is, nobody ever mentions having to scrape fragments of dead earthworm off your frame, tires, pants, etc... ?

EngineerYogi

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2016, 11:29:11 AM »
I did so-so last month, I did not get any rides in last week though. Any tips for becoming more consistent with riding?

aetherie

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2016, 11:46:57 AM »
I did so-so last month, I did not get any rides in last week though. Any tips for becoming more consistent with riding?

Make it part of your daily routine. For example:
  • Set out the clothes you wear for riding the night before
  • Pack your work stuff into your pannier bag
  • Figure out when you need to set your alarm in order to leave the house at your preferred time for riding

I mean, what's worked best for me is not having a car available - if I don't bike, I either have to bum a ride from my boyfriend or I don't go to work - but there are less extreme options!

Jack

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2016, 11:51:05 AM »
I did so-so last month, I did not get any rides in last week though. Any tips for becoming more consistent with riding?

If you find yourself thinking "I don't really feel like riding today; one day of driving wouldn't be that bad, right?" -- ride anyway.

If you find yourself thinking "oh no, I slept in a few minutes and now if I ride I'll be late, so I'd better drive instead" -- ride anyway, and be late.

If you find yourself thinking "this rainy weather sucks; maybe I should drive" -- ride anyway, and be wet.

jordanread

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2016, 01:55:43 PM »
Starting things off for May with a rainy ride to work... why is it that when people talk about how great biking to work is, nobody ever mentions having to scrape fragments of dead earthworm off your frame, tires, pants, etc... ?

Oh, cause you are doing it wrong. You can focus on the scraping, or capitalize on the fact you're getting free protein . Seriously though, I've never mentioned it because I've never had that issue. Is it earthworms on the path or what?

aetherie

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #10 on: May 02, 2016, 02:07:43 PM »
Starting things off for May with a rainy ride to work... why is it that when people talk about how great biking to work is, nobody ever mentions having to scrape fragments of dead earthworm off your frame, tires, pants, etc... ?

Oh, cause you are doing it wrong. You can focus on the scraping, or capitalize on the fact you're getting free protein . Seriously though, I've never mentioned it because I've never had that issue. Is it earthworms on the path or what?

They're all over the path, the road, the parking lot... you know, because they come out when it rains and then flop around sadly on the asphalt. And then I accidentally run them over.

EngineerYogi

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #11 on: May 02, 2016, 03:49:08 PM »
I did so-so last month, I did not get any rides in last week though. Any tips for becoming more consistent with riding?

If you find yourself thinking "I don't really feel like riding today; one day of driving wouldn't be that bad, right?" -- ride anyway.

If you find yourself thinking "oh no, I slept in a few minutes and now if I ride I'll be late, so I'd better drive instead" -- ride anyway, and be late.

If you find yourself thinking "this rainy weather sucks; maybe I should drive" -- ride anyway, and be wet.
I did so-so last month, I did not get any rides in last week though. Any tips for becoming more consistent with riding?

Make it part of your daily routine. For example:
  • Set out the clothes you wear for riding the night before
  • Pack your work stuff into your pannier bag
  • Figure out when you need to set your alarm in order to leave the house at your preferred time for riding

I mean, what's worked best for me is not having a car available - if I don't bike, I either have to bum a ride from my boyfriend or I don't go to work - but there are less extreme options!

I believe combining these strategies will do the trick. Thanks! :)

Nancy

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #12 on: May 02, 2016, 06:14:30 PM »
Thanks!

Eric222

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #13 on: May 02, 2016, 09:05:20 PM »
This month, my goal is 150 miles commuting....and go!
17 today...I think I'll make my goal...

Jakejake

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #14 on: May 03, 2016, 08:39:56 PM »
The National bike challenge started this month again, for those who are new to it and want the extra motivation. The website for it is still messed up from their upgrades downgrades, but they should eventually get that sorted out.

EngineerYogi

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #15 on: May 04, 2016, 08:43:59 AM »
I biked to work today! Had to bring a towel and change of clothes, I definitely get too sweaty just biking the 13 minutes it takes to get here, stupid hill. Thankfully there are showers and lockers at my office and I've got a good timeline of time to work, time to shower and change and be at my desk by 7am.

change_seeker

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #16 on: May 04, 2016, 10:49:37 AM »
Not the greatest start to the month.  I stayed up all night on Saturday, and have had trouble waking up in the morning.  On Tuesday I woke up late and then was puttering around the house helping my wife when I realized I had a meeting in 15 minutes (my commute is 6.5 miles, 20-30 minutes by bike). Bike clothes off, work clothes on, drove like mad to arrive for a meeting that did not end up happening.  And then I ran out of gas at lunchtime while running an errand :(

yenoM

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #17 on: May 04, 2016, 10:05:29 PM »
All-day-every-day.

EngineerYogi

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #18 on: May 05, 2016, 08:39:04 AM »
I must say that I love the extra field on the summary page for "badass conditions." It reminds to me to not whine and just suck it up. It also makes me pre-plan, "what would I do if I had to ride in those conditions?"

jordanread

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #19 on: May 05, 2016, 08:55:41 AM »
I must say that I love the extra field on the summary page for "badass conditions." It reminds to me to not whine and just suck it up. It also makes me pre-plan, "what would I do if I had to ride in those conditions?"

I'm assuming you are not referring to the badass conditions column on your own sheet, but the one on the main sheet since you said summary. Is that correct? If you like that one, I change up the question every month or two, just to keep things fun. You can look through the previous months to see some of the other questions I've put on there. Also, I'm more than happy to take suggestions if there are additional things you think it would be fun to ask.

TrMama

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #20 on: May 05, 2016, 09:56:19 AM »
I must say that I love the extra field on the summary page for "badass conditions." It reminds to me to not whine and just suck it up. It also makes me pre-plan, "what would I do if I had to ride in those conditions?"

I'm assuming you are not referring to the badass conditions column on your own sheet, but the one on the main sheet since you said summary. Is that correct? If you like that one, I change up the question every month or two, just to keep things fun. You can look through the previous months to see some of the other questions I've put on there. Also, I'm more than happy to take suggestions if there are additional things you think it would be fun to ask.

I think a fun question would be, "Number of cars passed during rush hour". Passing cars by the dozen (hundred?) while coasting downhill is always the most fun part of my commute.

Ugh, my mileage last month completely sucked. I'm going to blame the horrid back spasm that attacked me and the number of kid-related chauffeur days. I vow to do better in May and June. July and August always suck because I end up driving the kids to camp every day.

Jakejake

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #21 on: May 05, 2016, 10:10:27 AM »
I'm donating all my good karma today to change_seeker. Running out of gas when you wanted to be on your bike - but drove for a canceled meeting - would make me want to go home and pull the blankets up over my head for the rest of the week.

Potential future questions - I like most cars passed, and also maybe most interesting thing witnessed while on the bike, and most interesting or valuable object found/scavenged while on the bike.

change_seeker

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #22 on: May 05, 2016, 11:05:24 AM »
I'm donating all my good karma today to change_seeker. Running out of gas when you wanted to be on your bike - but drove for a canceled meeting - would make me want to go home and pull the blankets up over my head for the rest of the week.

Thanks Jakejake!

To continue my tale of woe, today I have an appointment that is 19 miles from work in the afternoon.  In order to not take as much time off from work, I decided to drive.  Earlier this morning my wife called and asked if I wanted her to come pick me up and take me to my appointment as she needs to run errands in town anyway.  I could have rode my bike to work and then put it on the minivan rack...

I just realized that I am supposed to put my miles on MY sheet, not the summary sheet.  Corrected my error.

Eric222

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #23 on: May 05, 2016, 01:57:47 PM »
...
I think a fun question would be, "Number of cars passed during rush hour". Passing cars by the dozen (hundred?) while coasting downhill is always the most fun part of my commute.
...
This is one of the favorite parts of my day. :) 

Also:  60 miles already this month.  Average of 15/d for the last 4 days.  This is the most I've biked since I did triathlons a decade ago. :) 

jordanread

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #24 on: May 05, 2016, 02:01:01 PM »
...
I think a fun question would be, "Number of cars passed during rush hour". Passing cars by the dozen (hundred?) while coasting downhill is always the most fun part of my commute.
...
This is one of the favorite parts of my day. :) 

Also:  60 miles already this month.  Average of 15/d for the last 4 days.  This is the most I've biked since I did triathlons a decade ago. :)

Kicking Ass.

Keep the suggestions coming folks. It's fun!!

EngineerYogi

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #25 on: May 05, 2016, 05:12:37 PM »
And I had my first ride in the rain today. Of course it was on my way home and mostly unavoidable, unfortunately I didn't pack a rain coat and I don't have fenders on my bike. All in all it was just wet and cold and not that awful. *Cue the irony* The second song to play on my randomized playlist was "I'm Walking on Sunshine" :P at least my music has a sense of humor.

hollis

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #26 on: May 05, 2016, 07:39:33 PM »
2 days in a row getting caught in the rain on the way riding home from work!

jordanread

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #27 on: May 06, 2016, 12:19:56 PM »
So I rode to an interview this morning. On my way back, on a whim, I stopped by the one Jimmy John's that delivers by bike and applied. They just lost one of their delivery people, and this can potentially work around any real job I get. It's only $8/hr I think, but holy shit I might get paid to ride bikes!

hollis

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #28 on: May 06, 2016, 06:32:49 PM »
So I rode to an interview this morning. On my way back, on a whim, I stopped by the one Jimmy John's that delivers by bike and applied. They just lost one of their delivery people, and this can potentially work around any real job I get. It's only $8/hr I think, but holy shit I might get paid to ride bikes!
Sweet! You will also score some tips so it will make you a couple bucks on the side.

ender

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #29 on: May 06, 2016, 06:39:36 PM »
signed up!

FIreDrill

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #30 on: May 07, 2016, 08:33:42 AM »
I just signed up as well.  We are on vacation so I'll miss the fist half of May.  Still want to do 200 commute miles by the end of May though.   

I have a 28 mile round trip commute to work so if I can commute 8/12 work days that I have this month then Ill be able to do it.

Here goes nothing!

Sent from my klte using Tapatalk


prefixcactus

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #31 on: May 07, 2016, 05:23:12 PM »
I first tried biking to the uni about a year ago, and since then only did it several times. The whole biking experience was more of a joyride type thing. This spring though I actually timed it and it turns out it's 5 minutes LESS than via the subway. Woo! So, my goal would be to miss no opportunities to ride during what's left of the semester, barring problems with the bike and/or myself, of which there unfortunately are some right now. The first logged ride turned out to be fatal for the left crankarm. . Gonna resume the commute as soon as I get the bike back, though. Might even cancel my student subway pass, heh.

Eric222

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #32 on: May 07, 2016, 07:06:59 PM »
I first tried biking to the uni about a year ago, and since then only did it several times. The whole biking experience was more of a joyride type thing. This spring though I actually timed it and it turns out it's 5 minutes LESS than via the subway. Woo! So, my goal would be to miss no opportunities to ride during what's left of the semester, barring problems with the bike and/or myself, of which there unfortunately are some right now. The first logged ride turned out to be fatal for the left crankarm. . Gonna resume the commute as soon as I get the bike back, though. Might even cancel my student subway pass, heh.
What I find amazing is how much faster biking is for me.  Car, bus, subway - they all are on average slower than my bike.  :D  Amazing what not having to wait in traffic does!

jordanread

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #33 on: May 07, 2016, 07:42:10 PM »
Can I join but track hours instead of miles? Until I start biking to work, I go in random directions and don't know how much mileage I'm getting.
By all means. Join in and modify your sheet as needed. There won't be any comparison or history available success since it's all distance based. You can also use Google fit or something to track if you want. I know it's not really what you are asking, but just an option.

EngineerYogi

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #34 on: May 08, 2016, 01:03:22 PM »
Can I join but track hours instead of miles? Until I start biking to work, I go in random directions and don't know how much mileage I'm getting.

I use the app "jogtracker" on my cell phone which uses GPS and gives you your mileage. The paid version gives incline, speed and some other info.

prefixcactus

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #35 on: May 08, 2016, 03:44:59 PM »
Can I join but track hours instead of miles? Until I start biking to work, I go in random directions and don't know how much mileage I'm getting.
Get yourself a bike computer. They can be found dirt cheap on craigslist or whatever second-hand-trading-platform-thing you have locally, or even buy a new cheap one, they're not  that expensive. Forgo all the fancy features, the only ones that actually get used are the speedometer and odometer, and every model has those. (Maybe the average speed too, but you can do that one yourself with the odometer and a stopwatch and almost every one has that anyway)
As an added bonus you'll automatically know when to perform scheduled maintenance on your machine, which means a significantly longer, cheaper and happier life for your bike.

However you can always use a GPS, either together with the computer  or as a substitute (as I am currently doing because I seem to have lost mine during the winter, heh)

I use the app "jogtracker" on my cell phone which uses GPS and gives you your mileage. The paid version gives incline, speed and some other info.
You can use any GPS-logging application, there are tons of them available. Most are also combined with mapping software, which is useful. My favorite used to be (and in some cases still is) Maverick for its ability to save tons of different maps&store them offline, plus a no-nonsense interface.
Spoiler: show
It is freemium, meaning there is a limit on track-recording, though, something like 500 points max and you can view no more than 10 or so, but no cap on recording, bwahaha. Currently trying to find a better alternative, though.
. Make sure it stores its tracks in gpx format, since most of the stats are interesting after the fact, and gpx is the de-facto standard for all kinds of powerful software, so you can later load that into your computer and get all the stats you want.
There's also Strava which I've personally never tried but was told that it's great. This seems to be an all-in-one biking stats aggregator.

ohyonghao

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #36 on: May 11, 2016, 11:49:45 PM »
Wow, I don't log in for 11 days and this thread is hot.  Great job everyone with joining the challenge and putting in the miles.

I've been slacking a little bit this month, but I'm still continuing the user study riding a bike 3 days a week.  It's great on Friday they generally don't have anyone scheduled after me so I can ride as long as I like.

Today I rode 46 miles with the commute, ride, and commute back.  I rest a bit, get some things taken care of around the house and get a text from a friend asking me if I'd like to go for a ride.  He takes me out for a 30mi 2400ft ride, plus an additional 10 for my commute to the rendezvous and back.  Total mileage today, 86.7mi.

Working on getting the video copied over and edited.  You'll get to see my friend do a bunny hop over the railroad tracks. :-D

Also, I really enjoy Strava for both running and riding.  With my Garmin GPS it tracks all my miles easily, and you get to compete with yourself and others over segments of road.  This Sunday I went out and was pushing up a road with a tough head wind and thought, "I bet I could get a pretty good time going the other way."  I decided to take a different route so I could head back on that road and ended up with the KOM (king of the mountain) record for a different segment, and 3rd overall on the one I was thinking of, just 3s shy of taking a second KOM.

Plus you get cool analysis after the ride to see how you were doing.  Like the ride I mentioned with 2400ft of elevation: Awesome ride up skyline

Eric222

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #37 on: May 15, 2016, 02:39:27 PM »
I have a ten mile ride going from my place away from town that I do about once a month.  It's got some good hills (small hills, not real hills...) and a lot of good straightaways (my normal rides are mostly short intervals in town).  Last month I only switched up to the big front gear a few times.  This month, I only switched down from it a few times.  Damn, I'm finally getting faster! :)  Feels good to fly like a bat out of hell. 

The automated speed sign pegged me at 20mph...I wish that sign was near a steep downhill. ;)

I finally got a proper repair stand and cleaned all the nooks and crannies in my bike, oiled the chain, adjusted the breaks, and tuned everything up.  This was the test ride to make sure I hadn't fucked anything up before tomorrow's commute. 

Mileage for week:  56. 
Milage for month:  124.
Non-negotiable milage for Monday and Tuesday:  32.  I'll hit my goal of 150 for May on Tuesday.

prefixcactus

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #38 on: May 20, 2016, 01:30:39 PM »
Today's achievement: finally got to under 1 hour  on my commute, which means an average speed of >19 km/h (19.2 to be precise).
Next goal: hold the under-hour time for a week;  get above 20 kmh avg.

aetherie

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #39 on: May 20, 2016, 01:40:00 PM »
Today was Bike to Work Day so I went to the local "pit stop" event - free crepes for breakfast, a bag o' swag, and raffle prizes (I didn't win anything though). There were over 300 people there, which was awesome, because I very rarely see any other cyclists on the road and I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one in this city.

Jakejake

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #40 on: May 20, 2016, 01:55:25 PM »
no free breakfast for me, but I found $8 by the side of the road today while biking.

FIreDrill

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #41 on: May 20, 2016, 03:11:36 PM »
Biked to work 2 out of 4 days this week.  Worked one day from home.  Was really hoping to get in 3 days but it was raining this morning and I had no motivation.

Week total    = 56 miles
Month total  = 56 miles


Hoping to pull at least 84 miles next week.  Stretch goal would be over 100 or 4/5 days commuting to work on the bike.

ohyonghao

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #42 on: May 20, 2016, 07:35:10 PM »
Great day for commuting, got a second run out of the house with having to go to city hall and file some paperwork so I can "legally" work at home on my computer.  Makes 36.2 mi for today.  Taking it a bit slower, recovering from last nights training session.  Was going to do a team time trial tomorrow, but so far no one else on the team has gotten in touch with me, so it may be more trainer sessions as the forecast shows rain.  The other option is a century ride, tempting, but damn it I have to adult a bit tomorrow and can't just ride all day.  We have two tenants coming in and have some final preparations.

Did have a fun time at the races on Tuesday, took video of it here.  I came in 17th out of 33.

Eric222

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #43 on: May 21, 2016, 07:05:51 AM »
My legs feel like wet spaghetti. 
Last 6 days:  78 miles.  I went to see an injured friend yesterday, which was an unplanned 21 mile round-trip ride.  Today is an easy 4 to watch my son play t-ball, and stretch my legs. 

First technical difficultly on a ride yesterday.  The bar that goes through the hub and holds my back wheel in place had the screw on the end pop off.  The threads on the screw (not the bar) were a bit stripped, and I'd removed some rust the day before with wd-40.  I even had the thought that I needed to replace it while I was working on the bike.  So either it screwed off or popped off.  At least I didn't get thrown from the bike - everything got all wobbly instead of the bar flying out and the wheel coming off.  Luckily I was 0.5 mi from the nearest bike shop.  2$ to replace the part.   Whoops. That could have been much, much worse in many ways.  The more I ride, the more paranoid I'm getting of mechanical problems. 

ender

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #44 on: May 21, 2016, 07:07:29 AM »
It's impressive how fast just 4.5 miles each way for a commute adds up.

Eric222

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #45 on: May 21, 2016, 08:42:19 AM »
It's impressive how fast just 4.5 miles each way for a commute adds up.
Well....and the 15 mile commute for the moonlighting 2x a week. :)

EngineerYogi

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #46 on: May 22, 2016, 08:52:40 AM »
A coworker of mine and her husband heard I ride my bike to work and also that I enjoy drinking beer so I got invited on a bar hopping via bicycle trip. I loaded up my bike in my car and met at their place (they live 23 miles away from me). We left from their house and rode 14.2 miles to a local brewery. The ride was beautiful and through some of the back country, it was a little overcast and there was rain in the forecast but that kept it much cooler out than typical, about 65 degrees. There were a handful of hills but all manageable. We completed the 14.2 miles in an hour and six minutes. Considering I've never ridden further than 5 miles I'm pretty happy I handled this just fine. I was amazed when we got to the first bar that I'd been riding for an hour, it didn't feel like it all. We stayed for a bit and had a beer and some snacks, and then hit another brewery about a mile away. It started raining while we were there but cleared after we had a beer and a taster so we then rode 4 miles to a third place that is a public house. We stayed the longest at this place because it is the couple's favorite and they were friendly with all of the employees. I had a couple of beers and split a small pizza and an order of nachos with them. It poured while we were at this place but stopped in time for us to ride home. Total for the day was 29.1 miles, 4 beers, and some bar food. ;) We're planning on getting together next month to do this again.

FIreDrill

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #47 on: May 23, 2016, 09:34:11 AM »
I tested an electric fatbike yesterday and was extremely impressed.   Thinking about dropping some cash on one in the next year.   It should enable me to do my 28 mile commute in the winter when there is snow.  Could also use it in the summer for when I'm feeling lazy....  Lol

I'm usually always for muscle over motor but I think this would result in less car miles and more bike miles overall.  Especially since my commute can be grueling at times.

What do you all think?

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Jakejake

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #48 on: May 23, 2016, 09:50:02 AM »
Considering I've never ridden further than 5 miles I'm pretty happy I handled this just fine. ... Total for the day was 29.1 miles, 4 beers, and some bar food. ;)
I am impressed that you went from 5 miles to a 29 mile ride!

aetherie

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Re: May Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #49 on: May 23, 2016, 11:23:10 AM »
Looking for advice:

I have one of the VW diesels that caused a big kerfuffle over the last year. I love my car and it's perfect for us but DH and I have agreed that if they offer us enough of a buy out on it we'll sell it back. We may know next month what they end up doing. I'm toying with the idea of not getting a replacement car. I live <3 miles from work and DH is ~6, my route is awesome, his not so much. We do have another car and worst case scenario is we share the car adding 15 minutes to the commute.

How do I prepare for biking in all weather? What do I need? Right now I don't even have fenders so I know I should get those. I have just been wearing my work clothes when I ride since it's so short, I supposed I should keep an extra outfit or two and a towel at the office just in case? I have long, thick, wavy hair that is unmanageable when wet, how would I keep it dry in the rain? What about riding in the winter? I just bought my bike in August after not riding in over 15 years so I'm really a newb who knows nothing

For starters, you could plan to carpool on days where the forecast calls for rain, at least until you feel prepared. And you won't have to worry about riding in the winter for 6 months - one thing at a time! Just know that it's definitely possible, especially for <3 miles and with the option to carpool if the roads get too icy.

But as for preparing for rain:
  • Keeping extra clothes and a towel at the office is a good idea. Make sure to include shoes and socks.
  • I have a rain jacket and pants, similar to this, and honestly they work well enough that I haven't bothered putting on fenders yet.
  • You'll also want a waterproof bag for whatever stuff you're carrying back and forth with you.
  • I just let my hair get wet and then put it up in a bun, but I'd imagine you could easily wear a shower cap under your helmet to keep it dry.
  • Get some good lights for visibility on the roads - but you'll want those regardless of the weather.

Source: For the last year I've been doing what you're considering doing. I bike the 3.5 miles to work almost every day, but on the worst weather days FH goes slightly out of his way to drop me off and pick me up. It's been working great for us!