My Morning Commute

[annoyedindc]

Deer all around the W&OD this morning.

[video=youtube_share;Nq320_a4lBo]https://youtu.be/Nq320_a4lBo[/video]

[dbb]

Friggin rush hour this morning. In the short straight stretch at Gravelly Point on either side of the road and in front of the porta potties, there were seven cyclists inbound and three outbound.

The AAA approved VDOT approach would be to add lanes.

[ejwillis62]

It was COLD this morning, I know I am a wimp, but I was cold, I also discovered that nice mesh seat on my trike is nice in the summer but makes for a cold rear end in the colder temperatures. So today I will be on the search for a seat cover. Yes I had my hood on and my gloves and tights under my pants but … I didn’t have my face covered. Thought about it though. Freezing saddles here I come…..LIZ W.

[bentbike33]

@dbb 166710 wrote:

Friggin rush hour this morning. In the short straight stretch at Gravelly Point on either side of the road and in front of the porta potties, there were seven cyclists inbound and three outbound.

The AAA approved VDOT approach would be to add lanes.

Your failure was in not going to HDCC and being on the MVT too early. I found post-HDCC MVT traffic to be extremely light today, relatively speaking.

[dasgeh]

@ejwillis62 166711 wrote:

It was COLD this morning, I know I am a wimp, but I was cold, I also discovered that nice mesh seat on my trike is nice in the summer but makes for a cold rear end in the colder temperatures. So today I will be on the search for a seat cover. Yes I had my hood on and my gloves and tights under my pants but … I didn’t have my face covered. Thought about it though. Freezing saddles here I come…..LIZ W.

Sounds like you already had a freezing saddle…

[Tania]

“ON MY LEFT!” 😡

[Crickey7]

@Tania 166846 wrote:

“ON MY LEFT!” 😡

To be fair, if I’m passing second, I’ll sometimes say “On your other left.”

[mstone]

@dbb 166710 wrote:

The AAA approved VDOT approach would be to add lanes…

…to I-95

[OneEighth]

Props to the kitted-up southbound rider at Gravelly Point this morning riding it in with half a handlebar.
(Well, the whole handlebar was technically there, it’s just that the left half was dangling a bit…)

[DrP]

Absolutely gorgeous morning!

Even with the sun not blocking its light as I rode towards it.
(I suppose that is because it wasn’t expecting to pass by me until later in the day?)

[bobco85]

I’m happy to finally be able to post on this thread after a nearly 3 month long “hiatus” with things having been complicated since my big move, but I got to do a morning commute on my bike today!

My bike commute has changed over the years

• Arlington (2009-2015): 0.7 miles, 10 feet elevation gain, about 7 minutes
• Alexandria (2015-2017): 5.5 miles, 450 feet elevation gain, about 40 minutes
• Tukwila (2017): 14 miles, 270 feet elevation gain to work (450 feet to home), about 1 hour 5 minutes

One of the reasons I will be bike commuting at least 3 days of the week is that the office I work at has a bike cage AND shower facilities, both of which are free. It takes me about 50 minutes to get to/from work if I take the light rail which is less than a mile from my apartment, so I imagine I will use either option depending on my mood (or just light rail if I am running late).

Another reason is the route: my route takes me from my apartment in Tukwila on a couple of minor streets to the Green River Trail, a little bit of low traffic on-street riding, Duwamish Trail, West Seattle Bridge Trail, Elliott Bay Trail, a few blocks of on-street riding, then a 2-way protected bike lane on Yesler Way, a left turn from it onto another 2-way protected bike lane on 2nd Ave (this is a major one ala 15th St NW cycletrack in DC) which takes me to a street with a bike lane on the left side allowing me to ride half a block to access an alley to get to the parking garage having the bike cage.

Having so much of the route on trails with almost no conflict zones on the street portions and a secure bike cage with shower facilities really makes tripling my bike commute distance a non-issue. Here are some pics of the setup.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15722[/ATTACH]
2nd Ave cycletrack in Seattle which has planters for added protection

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15723[/ATTACH]
View from garage door (requires card key) to bike cage (requires card key)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15724[/ATTACH]
My Chinook bike happily secure on one of 4 rows of racks in the bike cage

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15725[/ATTACH]
View of garage bike path leading between the bike cage and the button-activated sliding metal door to the outside

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15726[/ATTACH]
View of Elliott Bay and Puget Sound from my new office on the top (34th) floor of our building

[Birru]

That seems like a pretty solid commute. I’m jealous of the view.

[Steve O]

@bobco85 168191 wrote:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15726[/ATTACH]
View of Elliott Bay and Puget Sound from my new office on the top (34th) floor of our building

So you’re the CEO?

[bobco85]

Haha, no, I am not the CEO, but the firm has the top 5 floors of the building. My desk is on the top floor because I service folks on that floor.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PeteD]

Only took a month of commutes… The Fine Gentleman was speeding in the Bike and Bus Only lane on 7th infront of the Capital One Center, and decided his right side rearview mirror needed adjustment, and my left hand was the perfect thing to do that for him.

And as he stopped at the light at H Street, he rolled down his window to reach across to fix his mirror, I asked him brusquely if he needed his mirror fixed; the fine gentleman thanked me without looking up from his phone, oblivious to the fact that the cyclist fixing his mirror was also the one whose hand he just mashed with it.

Maryland Driver in the District… Though it wasn’t a 1812 commemorative plate.

My apolgies to those in earshot for the obsenities that broke free from my mouth. He was completely oblivious to what he just did, what he could have done, and how both of our lives would have changed due to his negligence.

[Author]

Posts