Author Topic: October Cycling Challenge 2016  (Read 4585 times)

jordanread

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October Cycling Challenge 2016
« on: October 01, 2016, 07:15:06 AM »
The cycling challenge for October 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!!

ohyonghao

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #1 on: October 01, 2016, 11:57:43 AM »
I'm going to try and get as many miles as I can in, but it may be hard with a move coming up at the end of the month.  We're moving across the ocean to Taiwan!  There will be a couple weeks split between October and November where I don't have a bike.

FunkyStickman

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2016, 04:11:45 PM »
I'm back in. Didn't ride enough last month because I was pulled from the office to work 11 hour days on the factory floor... was too tired to ride home!

Since my job is now being eliminated, we'll see... LOL

Cherry Lane

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #3 on: October 02, 2016, 04:23:27 PM »
I biked today for the first time in many months.  It was my third time on the bike this year... I think the first two were in May.  10 miles today.  I drove my bike to the path because I'm too out of shape to make it up the steep hill back to my house on the way home.  I figured I'd do what it takes to get me on my bike, and as my fitness improves I can start tackling the Hill.  I haven't signed up for the monthly challenge yet, but I did want to announce to someone that I ACTUALLY BIKED TODAY!

jordanread

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #4 on: October 02, 2016, 05:50:52 PM »
I biked today for the first time in many months.  It was my third time on the bike this year... I think the first two were in May.  10 miles today.  I drove my bike to the path because I'm too out of shape to make it up the steep hill back to my house on the way home.  I figured I'd do what it takes to get me on my bike, and as my fitness improves I can start tackling the Hill.  I haven't signed up for the monthly challenge yet, but I did want to announce to someone that I ACTUALLY BIKED TODAY!
Go CT!! Amazing ride for the third time this year. That's how it starts. Soon, you'll be laughing that you used to struggle with the hill.

TrMama

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2016, 11:04:50 AM »
I'm going to try and get as many miles as I can in, but it may be hard with a move coming up at the end of the month.  We're moving across the ocean to Taiwan!  There will be a couple weeks split between October and November where I don't have a bike.

Very cool! Think of all the new rides you'll get to tackle :-)

I biked today for the first time in many months.  It was my third time on the bike this year... I think the first two were in May.  10 miles today.  I drove my bike to the path because I'm too out of shape to make it up the steep hill back to my house on the way home.  I figured I'd do what it takes to get me on my bike, and as my fitness improves I can start tackling the Hill.  I haven't signed up for the monthly challenge yet, but I did want to announce to someone that I ACTUALLY BIKED TODAY!

Good for you! It won't be long until you're blasting up that hill.

Rubyvroom

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #6 on: October 04, 2016, 07:19:57 AM »
Congrats Cherry Lane! Your "I ACTUALLY BIKED TODAY!" made me think of this haha...

Cherry Lane

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #7 on: October 05, 2016, 07:43:30 AM »
Congrats Cherry Lane! Your "I ACTUALLY BIKED TODAY!" made me think of this haha...
Thanks!  I'm pretty sure that was not the expression on my face, but I'll try harder to emulate that next time.

mm1970

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #8 on: October 07, 2016, 01:27:43 PM »
I biked today for the first time in many months.  It was my third time on the bike this year... I think the first two were in May.  10 miles today.  I drove my bike to the path because I'm too out of shape to make it up the steep hill back to my house on the way home.  I figured I'd do what it takes to get me on my bike, and as my fitness improves I can start tackling the Hill.  I haven't signed up for the monthly challenge yet, but I did want to announce to someone that I ACTUALLY BIKED TODAY!
Sweet!

My husband and I started biking to work 3 weeks ago.  We bike Mon/Wed and because we work near each other (and have kid dropoff/pickup duties), we each only bike one way.

So my very first day was 10 miles, with a barf-inducing hill to get home (I live on a hill).  I wanted to die.

But this last Monday, the third one, I wanted to die less!

And I finished 2 minutes faster! (54 min instead of 56 min).  I refuse to believe better traffic light karma was the reason.

Kmp2

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #9 on: October 07, 2016, 02:41:16 PM »
Woke up to that dreaded s-word today :)

So I put the 3 year old in her snow suit, and biked to get milk and came back with our thanksgiving turkey too!

Note: your fingers get colder when you have to do up kids buckles and helmets as well as your own before you can put your gloves back on...

Did I win the first winter ride of the season? It's really really too early for snow...

mm1970

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #10 on: October 07, 2016, 05:04:47 PM »
Woke up to that dreaded s-word today :)

So I put the 3 year old in her snow suit, and biked to get milk and came back with our thanksgiving turkey too!

Note: your fingers get colder when you have to do up kids buckles and helmets as well as your own before you can put your gloves back on...

Did I win the first winter ride of the season? It's really really too early for snow...
Um...I live in Santa Barbara.  What's winter?  (Though I did grow up in the northeast.)

the lorax

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #11 on: October 10, 2016, 11:22:31 PM »
sounds pretty epic! Can you drive part way and then cycle the rest? that's what I do, works well

TrMama

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #12 on: October 11, 2016, 10:56:30 AM »
That does sound like a challenging ride. What's the distance from home to work? Does getting off the bike and walking across the bridge make it less terrifying? What about traffic during your commute times? Would that make it more or less intimidating?

My route also takes me along a 2 lane highway shoulder, including having to navigate left hand turns on two different overpasses. It's actually less terrifying during peak traffic because the extra volume forces all the cars to slow to a crawl.

However, you're correct that not all routes are safe and manageable for all riders.

Rubyvroom

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #13 on: October 22, 2016, 11:49:32 AM »
Surpassed September with a whole 6 more commuting days left, woo hoo!

Who all is planning to ride through winter? This is only my second month cycling... I'm not sure I'm going to have the gumption to take on a Minnesota winter. For those of you badasses that ride through winter, any tips or tricks? Do you have to find a different commuting route based on the season? In Minnesota, we get snowpack and snowbanks so badly that I'm wondering if my nice, calm (but smaller) street that I ride on won't be ~more~ treacherous once we lose some road space to snowbanks. I'm wondering too if it won't be plowed as well as the more busy streets, so it might be more icy. I may just have to revert back to the car once in a while unless the roads are in good shape. We're having a (rare) nice long fall though, so I've been riding my butt off while I still can :)

ontheroaderic

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #14 on: October 24, 2016, 10:57:36 AM »
I'm planning on (mostly) riding through the winter this year. There's a Facebook group - Icy Bike Winter Challenge - it's great resource for helping you with the ins and outs of winter commuting. I tried to complete it last year but wussed out when the real cold came. Not this year though! Got some better clothing, some studded tires for icy days and a fat bike for the snowy days, bring it on!

TrMama

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #15 on: October 24, 2016, 11:07:52 AM »
Surpassed September with a whole 6 more commuting days left, woo hoo!

Who all is planning to ride through winter? This is only my second month cycling... I'm not sure I'm going to have the gumption to take on a Minnesota winter. For those of you badasses that ride through winter, any tips or tricks? Do you have to find a different commuting route based on the season? In Minnesota, we get snowpack and snowbanks so badly that I'm wondering if my nice, calm (but smaller) street that I ride on won't be ~more~ treacherous once we lose some road space to snowbanks. I'm wondering too if it won't be plowed as well as the more busy streets, so it might be more icy. I may just have to revert back to the car once in a while unless the roads are in good shape. We're having a (rare) nice long fall though, so I've been riding my butt off while I still can :)

I ride through the PNW winter, but it rarely snows here. If you post your questions on the Ask a Mustachian board, I bet you'll get some useful feedback. I think the general plan of attack is studded tires and making sure you rinse the salt off the bike once/day. A bucket, or watering can, of hot water should do the trick. I also use some heavy duty chain lube that's designed to stay on, even during wet weather. I think you'd want something similar.

As for dealing with narrow roads, do some reading on "taking the lane" if you haven't already. It's a general strategy for dealing with any narrow section where it's not safe for cars to pass you. I really like this website for learning about bike safety, http://cyclingsavvy.org/. Check out some of the examples they use for navigating tricky sections of roads. It's pretty easy to apply their examples to whatever challenges you have on your route.

jordanread

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #16 on: October 24, 2016, 04:16:07 PM »
Fuck it. I ride year round. There is a huge amount of threads that provide this knowledge. I will make one tomorrow. It will also be forever linked in the initial post, along with ohyango's strava group. Please give me a few days, and it will happen. You all kick ass. Let nobody tell you differently.

Cherry Lane

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #17 on: October 24, 2016, 04:25:10 PM »
I biked today for the first time in many months.  It was my third time on the bike this year... I think the first two were in May.  10 miles today.  I drove my bike to the path because I'm too out of shape to make it up the steep hill back to my house on the way home.  I figured I'd do what it takes to get me on my bike, and as my fitness improves I can start tackling the Hill.  I haven't signed up for the monthly challenge yet, but I did want to announce to someone that I ACTUALLY BIKED TODAY!
I biked twice more - Friday (12 miles) and Sunday (9 miles).  For Friday's ride, I drove again to avoid the hill (and cut down on total distance biked).  I rode into the city for only the second time ever.

Sunday I biked to a MMM Meetup, and biked home UP THE HILL!  I had to stop twice on the way up, but I made it without walking.

jordanread

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #18 on: October 24, 2016, 04:31:41 PM »
Sunday I biked to a MMM Meetup, and biked home UP THE HILL!  I had to stop twice on the way up, but I made it without walking.

Kick ass CL!! Besides the hill, what did you see? What did you appreciate? Birds. flowers, other? Regardless of how you answer this, you still kick ass.

Cherry Lane

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #19 on: October 24, 2016, 04:48:10 PM »
Sunday I biked to a MMM Meetup, and biked home UP THE HILL!  I had to stop twice on the way up, but I made it without walking.

Kick ass CL!! Besides the hill, what did you see? What did you appreciate? Birds. flowers, other? Regardless of how you answer this, you still kick ass.
Thanks!  What did I see?  On the hill, not much aside from the pavement in front of me.  When I stopped, I saw kind but confused drivers who wanted to wait for me to cross the intersection (both times I was at a 4-way stop), but I wasn't ready yet.  I waved them on in appreciation.  I saw another cyclist going up the hill with apparently much less effort than me. 

Before the hill, I saw wildflowers and lots of water in the creek.  I noted with pleasure the absence of trash on the creekside trail (compared to my neighborhood which is remarkably trash-filled).

Thanks for the question, and forcing me to focus my memory on more than just the hill.

duck-duck

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #20 on: October 29, 2016, 10:28:32 AM »
I'm late to join the thread, but added my stats to the spreadsheet. I've been commuting by bike 95% of the time since starting my new job and keeping track on my own spread sheet. My employer actually compensates those who do not drive alone to work, $240 per year which will be nice too.

ohyonghao

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #21 on: October 29, 2016, 04:27:06 PM »
I'm late to join the thread, but added my stats to the spreadsheet. I've been commuting by bike 95% of the time since starting my new job and keeping track on my own spread sheet. My employer actually compensates those who do not drive alone to work, $240 per year which will be nice too.
That's awesome, great to have an employer that encourages better commutes.

---
Great weather came back here yesterday and had a wonderful ride outside, climbing 2000ft.

jordanread

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Re: October Cycling Challenge 2016
« Reply #22 on: November 01, 2016, 05:57:41 PM »
Sorry for the delay folks. The new challenge is up Here!