My Morning Commute

[mstone]

@jrenaut 38335 wrote:

I did notice that you could see tracks in the wet road from at least two illegal u-turns on the block of PA Ave where I was hit last week. Glad to see DC is still making excuses rather than enforcing the law.

Well, cyclists never obey the law, so what are you complaining about? Buy a car. :rolleyes:

[Greenbelt]

Beautiful out this morning, with the sunrise, the broken mid-level clouds, the spots of fog. Didn’t get any pictures because I had to get to work on time, but the mental pictures are still resonating.

[jrenaut]

@mstone 38338 wrote:

Well, cyclists never obey the law, so what are you complaining about? Buy a car. :rolleyes:

I HAVE a car, I just try not to ever move it because there’s no parking in my neighborhood because of all the dang bike lanes .. . I mean because no one uses the dang parking garage at DCUSA because there’s so much free parking nearby.

[Certifried]

I woke up about 2:00 and felt pretty rested, thinking I had woke up maybe a bit later than 2:00. I was excited about riding in! Looked at my phone, 2:00. Damnit. Took me forever to get back to sleep. Woke up again at 3:30 with my back hurting, made the mistake of taking something for it. Something that can severely depress respiration (I already have “severe obstructive sleep apnea”). Spent the next 2 hours in fitful twilight sleep, filled with nightmares about the devil, Jesus, praying (haven’t been to church in years, don’t hate). Woke up at 6:30, realizing I overslept too much to bike in, thought maybe I’d drive to Proteus, park there, bike to work, then bike back to Proteus in the evening for Yoga. Didn’t. Hating this thread more and more every day.

[GuyContinental]

@Certifried 38353 wrote:

I woke up about 2:00 and felt pretty rested, thinking I had woke up maybe a bit later than 2:00. I was excited about riding in! Looked at my phone, 2:00. Damnit. Took me forever to get back to sleep. Woke up again at 3:30 with my back hurting, made the mistake of taking something for it. Something that can severely depress respiration (I already have “severe obstructive sleep apnea”). Spent the next 2 hours in fitful twilight sleep, filled with nightmares about the devil, Jesus, praying (haven’t been to church in years, don’t hate). Woke up at 6:30, realizing I overslept too much to bike in, thought maybe I’d drive to Proteus, park there, bike to work, then bike back to Proteus in the evening for Yoga. Didn’t. Hating this thread more and more every day.

Is there anyone you can ride with for at least part of your crazy route? Maybe at Proteus? I find that the knowledge that a buddy is waiting for me in the cold and dark somewhere on my route can overcome the most self-pitying mornings.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Saw this ugliness on the way home (on the bridge over 66 between W&OD and Westover Connector). I think everyone was okay, as it looked like the driver was surveying the damage and there weren’t any ambulances. Looks like he snagged his front end where the guard rail starts (in the center of the photo) and that pulled the car up and over the rail. Remember folks, we share the rode with these people….

[mstone]

@TwoWheelsDC 38433 wrote:

Saw this ugliness on the way home (on the bridge over 66 between W&OD and Westover Connector). I think everyone was okay, as it looked like the driver was surveying the damage and there weren’t any ambulances. Looks like he snagged his front end where the guard rail starts (in the center of the photo) and that pulled the car up and over the rail. Remember folks, we share the rode with these people….

“Officer, I wasn’t doing anything…” “Gotta go, cyclist just blew a stop sign”

I am stupefied by the combination of luck and idiocy that would let someone flip a car over like that. I wonder if speed was a factor…

[mstone]

Morning commute was great, evening commute was…windy. Just windy. A strong gusty headwind, interspersed with occasional broadsides to move the bike around on the path. Just out of work I caught a gust on an overpass, got pushed halfway across the trail, and thought, “this is going to suck”. I hope nobody had their recumbent body sock on today, or they just might have done a Mary Poppins.

[Certifried]

@GuyContinental 38356 wrote:

Is there anyone you can ride with for at least part of your crazy route? Maybe at Proteus? I find that the knowledge that a buddy is waiting for me in the cold and dark somewhere on my route can overcome the most self-pitying mornings.

No, I’ve just got a deal where my drive is incredibly awesome for this area and my bike commute is not optimal. Most days I get to work in 25-30 minutes driving from one side of the beltway to the other. I don’t beat myself up at all for not biking in, my knees and back wouldn’t be able to hold up to the mileage ifi tried to ride daily anyways. I just want people to appreciate their rides more, and let you all know how jealous I am! After my son graduates, I might move closer to work or change jobs to a closer location lol

[5555624]

@Certifried 38353 wrote:

I woke up about 2:00 and felt pretty rested, thinking I had woke up maybe a bit later than 2:00. I was excited about riding in!

You should have gotten dressed and headed out on the bike.

@Certifried 38353 wrote:

Woke up again at 3:30 with my back hurting, made the mistake of taking something for it.

See above. If you had been out riding, this wouldn’t have happened.

[CPTJohnC]

I was pleased to have one of my rare non-summertime opportunities to ride all the way from home to work this morning. The weather was cooperative, so I had a great day to ride.

Pre-ride checklist: Seasonal headgear? check.

Layer upon layer of clothing for warmth? You betcha.

Warm socks? meh. The real problem was that I forgot to loosen the toe boxes of my shoes to provide extra space for my lofty wool socks.

Plenty of water for the 19 mile ride? Oops. I mentally reminded myself no less than 4 times to grab my camelback, and make sure my water bottle was full. Did I do either? Nope. Not as big a deal in winter as in summer, of course, but still — got to work feeling a bit less-than-optimally hydrated (which may help explain my ruddy glow). At least I can leave for home this evening with a full bottle… if I don’t forget again.

[rcannon100]

Chain jammed. Quick link wasnt quick – wood not break. 1000 cyclists biked by asking if I was okay (pretty amazing). ShawnoftheDread stopped and made fun of me. Some guy stopped with a chain breaker so I could break the chain, gave me a quick link, but then left before I could put the chain back together. Walked the walk of shame home.

Came home…. Wife was still there. Odd. What’s wrong?? “P.I.G. got up on the dinning table and ate all the home made chocolate lollipops.” P.I.G. is the name of our Jack Russell Labrador. The carnage was tremendous. Apparently three lollipops survived.

So, um, how are you getting ready for the Mayan Apocalypse?

[mstone]

@CPTJohnC 38487 wrote:

Plenty of water for the 19 mile ride? Oops. I mentally reminded myself no less than 4 times to grab my camelback, and make sure my water bottle was full. Did I do either? Nope. Not as big a deal in winter as in summer, of course, but still — got to work feeling a bit less-than-optimally hydrated (which may help explain my ruddy glow). At least I can leave for home this evening with a full bottle… if I don’t forget again.

A camelback and a water bottle?That’s a lot of liquid! I usually go through about one water bottle over 19 miles commuting this time of year, two when it’s hot.

[mstone]

@rcannon100 38489 wrote:

So, um, how are you getting ready for the Mayan Apocalypse?

Just going to work. If the world does end, I will be really, really pissed.

[Certifried]

might need a bit more water on Friday

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