My Morning Commute

[ronwalf]

Yesterday’s morning commute: Anacostia tunnel boring project, helicopter near USS Barry:

[img]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/qsqZ42r8OIrxqAzRLpmt66KlXJNQ9P8a7tg5sZepVsQ=w1118-h629-no[/img]

[cyclingfool]

@ronwalf 99213 wrote:

Yesterday’s morning commute: Anacostia tunnel boring project, helicopter near USS Barry:

Yawn. Oh, the other boring.

And commute? What commute?! Suckers! Actually, today was so beautiful, I’m kinda bummed I didn’t have to commute, since riding didn’t happen just for the hell of it.

[baiskeli]

@ronwalf 99213 wrote:

Yesterday’s morning commute: Anacostia tunnel boring project

I don’t agree – it looks pretty interesting to me.

[Terpfan]

Nice and warm this morning. I started with my jacket, but had it off before I was even 200′ into the MVT.

One observation though, we have very bike lanes relative to some other states. I was just in Florida for the long weekend (St. Augustine area) and literally every single road seemed to have bike lanes, sharrows, signs, or some combination of all of the above. Of course their cyclists were dressed like it was 20 degrees when it was 65 out, still, they seem to get a lot of attention. Also, I noticed you rarely see them on the sidewalks. Not sure if it’s because that was illegal or simply because they prefer the bike lanes (and by rarely, I mean even the obviously recreation-only cyclists, young kids, old folks on cruisers, etc).

[Crickey7]

There were two trucks lined up in and totally blocking the L Street bike lane this a.m. I hopped off the bike and took pictures (yes, a bit ostentatiously). As the driver of one went to get in, he made as if to punch me.

Dude, did you not see me take your picture not 5 seconds earlier?

[lordofthemark]

I think this was the coldest morning I have ever commuted.

[cyclingfool]

@lordofthemark 99632 wrote:

I think this was the coldest morning I have ever commuted.

I did notice a slight chill in the air today… 😎

[Dickie]

Upon realizing that I am behind schedule to meet my yearly mileage goal I increased my commute to 40 miles a day last week with the hopes of putting in between 250-300 each week for the rest of November. Everything was going well until this morning when the long work hours, extra time in the saddle, dropping temps, and that bitter and angry headwind nearly broke me. It might have been my worst morning commute all year… thoughts of tossing the bike into the 4MR creek and walking actually flashed through my mind for a few seconds. Luckily I came to my senses and remembered that walking without pedals is just barbaric….. phew, disaster averted…. but I’ll probably keep away from the creek for a few mornings.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Dickie 99706 wrote:

Upon realizing that I am behind schedule to meet my yearly mileage goal I increased my commute to 40 miles a day last week with the hopes of putting in between 250-300 each week for the rest of November. Everything was going well until this morning when the long work hours, extra time in the saddle, dropping temps, and that bitter and angry headwind nearly broke me. It might have been my worst morning commute all year… thoughts of tossing the bike into the 4MR creek and walking actually flashed through my mind for a few seconds. Luckily I came to my senses and remembered that walking without pedals is just barbaric….. phew, disaster averted…. but I’ll probably keep away from the creek for a few mornings.

Solution: throw your goals in the creek instead.

[AFHokie]

@Dickie 99706 wrote:

thoughts of tossing the bike into the 4MR creek and walking actually flashed through my mind for a few seconds.

Thoughts or repressed memories? There was a bike out on the sandbar in 4MR by the sewage plant about a month ago…

[Dickie]

@AFHokie 99723 wrote:

Thoughts or repressed memories? There was a bike out on the sandbar in 4MR by the sewage plant about a month ago…

I don’t have that good of an arm.

[cyclingfool]

@Dickie 99725 wrote:

I don’t have that good of an arm.

Who said anything about an arm?

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[dplasters]

If I called it a lovely commute, I’d be lying. Tomorrow is looking like a real peach too.

[Crickey7]

@dplasters 99793 wrote:

If I called it a lovely commute, I’d be lying. Tomorrow is looking like a real peach too.

You are braver than I was. I’m kind of looking forward to tomorrow morning’s throwdown, though.

[Supermau]

Did my first seriously cold commute on Saturday. Left at 4:45AM with the temp at 31 and a mild breeze. I got the layering right…managed to stay warm without overheating or sweating too much. Gloves were right on. Just the toes suffered a bit, but not unbearable. Gotta work on that.

So I guess I proved to myself that I can handle it but boy it sure felt cumbersome. All my clothes are cycle-specific save for the military fatigues worn over my thermal cycle tights. They worked pretty well as an outer layer.

A month ago I would have thought that a morning like today (40* and rain) would be too much but after my slightly below freezing ride on Saturday this feels great!

Seems the more you ride the more your perspective evolves.

On a side note, my rear brakes seemed non-existent on that cold ride. I don’t think my stock pads are worth a damn!

[Author]

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