My Morning Commute

[Mikey]

@KelOnWheels 41025 wrote:

I know! A WHOLE DOLLAR!

I once found $12 on the Va side of the 14 th street bridge. I was heading North across the bridge, and I did a double take and turned around. Just when I got there a gust of wind blew it down into the reeds near the water’s edge. I raced down to find it and everyone that passed me by was asking if I was okay. In retrospect I’m grateful for how helpful the DC bike community is but at the time I probably looked like Gollum, “It’s my precious.”

[Certifried]

My morning commute… was pretty cold for about the first 10 minutes! My car heater took longer than usual to warm up. Traffic wasn’t too bad, thankfully, in the direction I head. All other directions, however, were abysmal. Thoughts go out for the fatality on 270 this morning

Sounds like today was a good day to be bike-commuting, unless you (like me) have a commute “against the flow”.

[Greenbelt]

Excellent commute this morning.

First, I decided to wear my road shoes and shoe covers instead of switching to boots. It worked fine, with three pair of wool socks and just strapping down the shoes very loosely. My toes stayed wiggly and warm enough (not really warm, but warm enough) for the 70 minute ride, despite the average temp of 18 degrees.

Second, this airplane tried to land on my head, but missed:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]2315[/ATTACH]

Only bummer was that with the heavy gloves I fumbled my Clif bar on one of the speed bumps on Varnum street. Some bird or dog is going to get a nice high-protein treat.

[CPTJohnC]

The car portion of my commute was not so great – a slight late start and it seemed like each segment was about a minute or two longer than usual.

Once on the bike, everything was awesome, right? not really.

I had an extra item to carry this morning, and I had not worked out the mechanics last night, so an extra stop was required to re-secure the load. As if that weren’t enough, some of you may have noticed that it was cold. At temps below 30, I opt for a balaclava, and for some reason this morning, every exhale was directed right up onto the lenses of my glasses, making things very foggy. It was particularly bad while climbing a hill on 12th St. NE. Very hard to climb and wipe at the same time. Also, even with the balaclava, the bridge of my nose was exposed and apparently it was cold enough to make even that small expanse of bare skin uncomfortable.

I enjoyed the expressions of amazement from a couple of co-workers when they realized I had ridden, though

[Dirt]

My camera froze. It wouldn’t work at 8 degrees F (-14c). D’OH! Hands were great though.

Space Glove– Actually it is 4 layers thick. Thermal liner glove, mid-weight “early winter” glove, rag-wool mitten and a goretex over-mitt. Braking worked well. I was riding the fixie, but I have Brifters on it… It gives Frankenfinger something to play with. She had fun during the ride. This set-up doesn’t work well for off-road riding. I need an individual finger out to work the brakes. Moose Mitts to the rescue there.

[Subby]

For whatever reason I decided to take the long way in from McLean this morning – trails, trails, trails, drop off south of airport, ride across 14 street bridge. I messed up my sock setup, so my feet were blocks of ice, but it didn’t matter. The view of DC just before sunrise was enough to bring me to tears. Oh wait – my ski goggles had iced over and I had to take them off, so that might have been my eyelashes freezing. Still, it was breathtaking and I got one of those runner’s high boosts right as I was passing the airport. I have never before commuted in to work that way and I might be hooked now. Man what an unbelievable view. Thank god for bike commuting.

[consularrider]

@Subby 41418 wrote:

For whatever reason I decided to take the long way in from McLean this morning – trails, trails, trails, drop off south of airport, ride across 14 street bridge. I messed up my sock setup, so my feet were blocks of ice, but it didn’t matter. The view of DC just before sunrise was enough to bring me to tears. Oh wait – my ski goggles had iced over and I had to take them off, so that might have been my eyelashes freezing. Still, it was breathtaking and I got one of those runner’s high boosts right as I was passing the airport. I have never before commuted in to work that way and I might be hooked now. Man what an unbelievable view. Thank god for bike commuting.

Between you and DismalScientist, you’re overcrowding my extended commute route. What you need to do now is the climb up the Glencarlyn ridge to Jefferson St and then back down from Henderson and stay on the Four Mile Run Trail stopping at Best Buns in Shirlington for a quick warmup.

[thecyclingeconomist]

Anyone else notice that their bike breaks down a lot more during these colder commutes…?? Argh! In one ride I had a rotor start rubbing for no apparent reason (thought I was either suddenly MASSIVELY out of shape or facing a headwind that I couldn’t hear… no I was facing a rubbing brake which was sapping 50 watts of effort with no forward benefit)… then, I snapped a break cable AND finally, my chain broke… I gave up at that point since I had gotten within a mile of home and called for a ride.

After standing in the 22 degree weather for 45 minutes, I was shaking pretty good…

I’ve determined two things:
1. I will be replacing chain and all cables/housing this weekend
2. I will be buying a pair of goretex cycling boots along with a pair of Pearl Izumi Amfib bib-tights. All the layers I had on DRASTICALLY reduced my mobility, making it even harder to pedal than the stupid rubbing disc brakes were making it.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@thecyclingeconomist 41460 wrote:

After standing in the 22 degree weather for 45 minutes, I was shaking pretty good…

One thing I do when it gets below freezing is carry my battery-heated vest in my pannier, precisely for this scenario. Since most people don’t have a gimmicky vest, the next best thing probably is to carry some type of light, wind proof layer you can pull out on if you have to stop.

[bobco85]

I’m finding that in this weather the cable portion of my lock (I use a U-lock with a cable) becomes a lot stiffer and harder to curl back into place when I store it.

[consularrider]

There was about an inch of snow on the trails this morning and I could see evidence of about 20 other riders who had been there before me. I counted about the same number of people on bikes as I did on Monday and Tuesday, a signficant number fewer than I generally see with the morning ride temperature is in the 40s. The heaviest trail use looked to have been between 4MRT and the 14th St Bridge access trail.

Still, this snow was great to ride in, now heavy wet and slushy and I only saw what looked like one fall (disturbed snow, not the actual event).

[Subby]

Pulled this out of my tire when I got to work. No diamond in it, unfortunately.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]2344[/ATTACH]

[bobco85]

@Subby 42269 wrote:

Pulled this out of my tire when I got to work. No diamond in it, unfortunately.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]2344[/ATTACH]

What is that? An earring? It makes me think of a jester’s hat.

[5555624]

@bobco85 42275 wrote:

What is that? An earring? It makes me think of a jester’s hat.

A really, really small jester’s hat.

[Subby]

Commute was borderline religious experience this morning as I pedaled past Gravelly Point….

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2346[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]2347[/ATTACH]

[Author]

Posts