My Morning Commute

[Certifried]

sucked I drove today, despite knowing the weather would be nice. I ate at the “Original Pancake House” in Bethesda yesterday, and by afternoon was feeling pretty nauseous. I’m not sure it was the food, nor do I really have any idea what the issue was really. Still feeling a little “blech” today, and woke up way too late to ride.

Just another manic Monday.

Topic

[Geoff]

I would rather sweat than shiver, prefer to ride in sunlight than in the dark, and don’t like bumpy trails. Having said that, my favorite part of the commute is the morning ride on the MVT between Teddy Roosevelt and Memorial bridges this time of year, when the sun is just coming up.

[ebubar]

Relive my commute home with the following instructions:
1). Find the Glasgow Love Theme on youtube (from the Love Actually Soundtrack)
2). Imagine it playing on your headphones just as you round a corner of the trail you’re on.
A nice relaxing moment that became downright legen…wait for it…dary when I look up and see
3). A mother deer walking along the middle of the trail with her baby. I trailed them for a good five minutes
Until they turned off the trail when Captain Noise came barreling down the trail on his mountain bike.
Regardless, that is the most awesome commuting moment I’ve had this year and it made my week.
You just don’t get that kind of peace riding in a car or metro-ing.

[consularrider]

A twelve degree temperature drop in the rain over a period of one hour. Why?

[dasgeh]

@consularrider 71163 wrote:

A twelve degree temperature drop in the rain over a period of one hour. Why?

It was very sad to hear the weather report on NPR this morning: “It had been 60 degrees in the Metro area this morning, but temperatures are steadily dropping. We’re down to 56 in DC.” I hustled to get out before it got colder, then realized I needed to back some more clothes for tonight.

[consularrider]

@dasgeh 71165 wrote:

It was very sad to hear the weather report on NPR this morning: “It had been 60 degrees in the Metro area this morning, but temperatures are steadily dropping. We’re down to 56 in DC.” I hustled to get out before it got colder, then realized I needed to back some more clothes for tonight.

I packed a couple extra layers in the zipout side pocket of my rack trunk for this evening. Then I walked out in shorts and cycling jersey, but promptly turned around and went back inside for a rain jacket.

[hozn]

@consularrider 71167 wrote:

I packed a couple extra layers in the zipout side pocket of my rack trunk for this evening. Then I walked out in shorts and cycling jersey, but promptly turned around and went back inside for a rain jacket.

Yeah, that proved wise. I stepped out at 5:40 and was like “this is beautiful! I thought it’d be in the 50s and raining!”. Then after meeting Greg for pre-coffee hills, it did start raining. Then it dropped 10 degrees on the ride out west into a fun 15mph headwind. I thought of Dirt saying how he enjoys headwinds; I tried to adopt his upbeat perspective. Tried, but failed; I was cold by the time I got to Herndon. It sounds like that was a wonderful commute compared to what we have in store, though. So that’s nice. And I learned that Green Lizard has discounted their SS jerseys 20% for the holiday season; that brings them down to $80 which IMO is “still too expensive for a jersey but maybe I’ll buy one to support the shop” category.

[jrenaut]

I think the temperature dropped 10 degrees while I was at Friday Coffee Club. My ride there I was too warm in my rain coat, so I didn’t wear it when I left. Then I was cold and riding through a fine mist.

[Steve]

@hozn 71171 wrote:

Yeah, that proved wise. I stepped out at 5:40 and was like “this is beautiful! I thought it’d be in the 50s and raining!”.

I rolled out at the same time, but luckily for me, I head east, and so it stayed nice the whole time. Down on the SW Waterfront it was really really foggy, so much so that I had to cover my light because the fog made it blind me. I brought some extra clothes for the ride home, but something tells me it’s not going to be enough. Time will tell…

[cyclingfool]

I was in a mad rush this AM after sleeping through (or turning off in a sleepy stupor) my alarm, which meant I woke up at the time I had ideally needed to be out the door. Skipped breakfast, grabbing a few bananas to eat here at the office instead, threw some clothes in my panniers and got out as quick as I could. Still late, but not ridiculously so. Seeing the still warm temp of around 60, I thought winds must surely be out of the south, meaning a nice tailwind on the way in from Alexandria. WRONG! Alas…

I did pack an extra layer or two for the ride home, so I’ll be fine temperature-wise. The bigger problem is going to be if it’s raining hard, since in my rush to leave, I left my rain cape at home (I hadn’t tucked it back in my pannier after it dried out last time), and I don’t have nay jackets or anything here at work. Oh well, if it’s raining hard, it’ll just be time to HTFU, right?

[Drewdane]

@cyclingfool 71179 wrote:

I was in a mad rush this AM after sleeping through (or turning off in a sleepy stupor) my alarm, which meant I woke up at the time I had ideally needed to be out the door. Skipped breakfast, grabbing a few bananas to eat here at the office instead, threw some clothes in my panniers and got out as quick as I could. Still late, but not ridiculously so. Seeing the still warm temp of around 60, I thought winds must surely be out of the south, meaning a nice tailwind on the way in from Alexandria. WRONG! Alas…

I did pack an extra layer or two for the ride home, so I’ll be fine temperature-wise. The bigger problem is going to be if it’s raining hard, since in my rush to leave, I left my rain cape at home (I hadn’t tucked it back in my pannier after it dried out last time), and I don’t have nay jackets or anything here at work. Oh well, if it’s raining hard, it’ll just be time to HTFU, right?

It is, after all, just water.

[dkel]

My commute on the WOD seemed quite nice! I leave later than everyone else (my youngest doesn’t leave for school until almost 8:30; alas, no FMCC for me ) so I only counted eight humans, four dogs, and one bicycle over 7.5 miles. Light rain, but I was prepared for that (except I don’t get fenders installed on the new bike until I stop by the LBS on my commute home!), and the temp seemed stable. I guess I’m just lucky.

[MattAune]

No rain, shorts, and short sleeves in December makes for a pretty awesome morning commute.

The ride home will surely suck though.

[OneEighth]

@cyclingfool 71179 wrote:

Oh well, if it’s raining hard, it’ll just be time to HTFU, right?

Yarp.
But, on the plus side, if your already wet, you may as well extend the ride with a Hains Poin loop or something. Not like you’re gonna get more wet once you’re soaked.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@OneEighth 71209 wrote:

Yarp.
But, on the plus side, if your already wet, you may as well extend the ride with a Hains Poin loop or something. Not like you’re gonna get more wet once you’re soaked.

Hypothermia is temporary, Strava greatness is forever!

[consularrider]

@hozn 71171 wrote:

… And I learned that Green Lizard has discounted their SS jerseys 20% for the holiday season; that brings them down to $80 which IMO is “still too expensive for a jersey but maybe I’ll buy one to support the shop” category.

That’s what I thought when I bought the Bikekinetic jersey last summer. I really like the Green Lizard design, but its shade of green is too dark for me – gets lost in the summer folliage when I would be wearing an SS jersey.

[Author]

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