My Morning Commute

[KayakCyndi]

I needed some nature before heading to, what is sure to be, another silly day in the office. Work might be nuts but the canal is lovely. Only bad part was turning around and coming into the office.

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[dasgeh]

First, my pannier broke (not a huge fail, but enough to scare me and pop a can of soda inside my bag). Finally got to work, and found the screen on my phone cracked.

Luckily, it was such a beautiful ride, I’m not nearly annoyed as I should be.

[cyclingfool]

@hozn 69735 wrote:

Actually breaks like that are apparently very easy to repair on carbon frames…

I stand corrected then, much as it pains me to have a what is apparently a steel frame myth busted. 😮

[Terpfan]

Coworker asked me today if there was any temperature I would not ride in? I realized the answer was “no.” I explained four things keep me from riding. One, ridiculous amounts of precipitation, especially in the frozen form. Two, being physicially sick myself (especially colds). Three, after work plans that aren’t in a close enough commute. Four, bicycle mechanical issues because I have failed the n+1. Then I said, I’m slowly working on solving items one and four.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Carpooled with the wife today…she’s switching jobs, so today she’s cleaning out her office (hence the need for the car) and her co-workers are throwing her a happy hour party. I was told I was not allowed to show up to the party in my bike clothes, so I tagged along in the car

[jrenaut]

@TwoWheelsDC 69775 wrote:

Carpooled with the wife today…she’s switching jobs, so today she’s cleaning out her office (hence the need for the car) and her co-workers are throwing her a happy hour party. I was told I was not allowed to show up to the party in my bike clothes, so I tagged along in the car

Surely you have something non-bike but still embarrassing to wear?

[dasgeh]

@TwoWheelsDC 69775 wrote:

Carpooled with the wife today…she’s switching jobs, so today she’s cleaning out her office (hence the need for the car) and her co-workers are throwing her a happy hour party. I was told I was not allowed to show up to the party in my bike clothes, so I tagged along in the car

You get an ELITE for not throwing happy hour clothes in the pannier

[hozn]

@cyclingfool 69765 wrote:

I stand corrected then, much as it pains me to have a what is apparently a steel frame myth busted. 😮

Heh, don’t worry; it doesn’t mean steel isn’t better! I think I would still choose steel over carbon for my commuter frame. And someday I will win the lottery and buy an IF steel road bike.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@dasgeh 69782 wrote:

You get an ELITE for not throwing happy hour clothes in the pannier

I suppose I could’ve made it work, but truth be told, part of the reason I was pressured into carpooling was so I could be the designated driver. Also, it just seemed silly to do those logistical gymnastics when my wife was going to drive regardless…

[hozn]

@TwoWheelsDC 69792 wrote:

I suppose I could’ve made it work, but truth be told, part of the reason I was pressured into carpooling was so I could be the designated driver. Also, it just seemed silly to do those logistical gymnastics when my wife was going to drive regardless…

I was trying to figure out how I was going to meet some friends for mountain biking tomorrow AM *and* still be able to pick my kid up in the trailer after school on the way home. I was working through whether the Burley trailer hitch is going to work on the horizontal drops on my single speed (concerned over my hub bolts sliding when they’re not clawing into the [steel] frame dropouts) and how long it would take me to ride the 15 miles on my mildly geared 29er SS, so counting backwards from 6:45 AM (the meetup time), and how early I’d have to leave work, and whether that would leave me short on hours for the week. Or I could ride the cross bike, but I always flat or go over the bars (hopping logs) trying to keep up with the guys on mountain bikes …. And then I had this epiphany: “I can just f***ing drive! [and take my mountain bike on the car] I used to do it all the time when I wanted to mountain bike before work.”

It felt like a huge weight of complexity was just erased from my day. Don’t get me wrong, I love riding my bike to work. But I do it to relax (and get exercise) and when it becomes a stressful tangle of logistics, it’s really not worth it.

[ShawnoftheDread]

^^^^ ELITE’d for the variety of bike options mentioned.

[dasgeh]

@hozn 69803 wrote:

And then I had this epiphany: “I can just f***ing drive! [and take my mountain bike on the car] I used to do it all the time when I wanted to mountain bike before work.”

It’s all about having options, right?

[jrenaut]

@dasgeh 69831 wrote:

Plus, the more people who do bike for their normal commute, the easier it’ll be to drive when you have something odd to do.

I’m always smug about this one the rare occasions I’m driving during rush hour – “I do this maybe twice a month so I still get to look down my nose at you”

[jabberwocky]

@hozn 69783 wrote:

Heh, don’t worry; it doesn’t mean steel isn’t better! I think I would still choose steel over carbon for my commuter frame. And someday I will win the lottery and buy an IF steel road bike.

My main issue with steel is I’ve ended up breaking almost every steel frame I’ve ever owned (including my fancy custom steel mountainbike, which I’ve broken twice). Never broken a carbon or aluminum frame, though I have snapped a set of carbon MTB bars in a crash.

[hozn]

@jabberwocky 69836 wrote:

My main issue with steel is I’ve ended up breaking almost every steel frame I’ve ever owned (including my fancy custom steel mountainbike, which I’ve broken twice). Never broken a carbon or aluminum frame, though I have snapped a set of carbon MTB bars in a crash.

Yeah, I guess I’m in a similar boat. I’ve broken a steel mtb frame (though I have another one now) and have broken a ti cx frame, but haven’t broken an aluminum frame (granted, I only owned one–my first mtb–for a couple years) or carbon (but also on my first carbon frame this year). Maybe steel is not better I think bikes just break — especially when ridden off-road.

Maybe I wouldn’t mind a carbon commuter (Foundry Auger!), but I do love my ti commuter! Ah, what a tough life

[Author]

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