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Cold, sunny and really quite windy today. Took 10 extra minutes but I still enjoyed it for some reason. Feeling nicely buzzed. Maybe it's the bike that's now set up really nicely, perhaps it was the fact that all my gear and clothing seemed just right, perhaps it was the sunshine 🙂
Rather nice, actually. A bit chilly and quite the headwind along the South Bank. Saw someone commuting on a scooter (The push along with your feet kind) with what looked like a 26" front wheel. He looked like a prize twonk.
Also spotted one of my regular giggle-inducers - a be-suited City type who pedals his Boris bike with great vigour, while wearing a Rapha douche-identifying hat!
🙂
Mine was superb! Wandered down the stairs, got the kids off to school, fed the dog, and sat here drinking tea and thinking I must take the dog for a long walk. Then I must do something to keep the boss happy 😀
I love working from home!!
perhaps it was the sunshine
non here to speak of 🙁
commute not as good as last night's, took a longer route, filmed the steps of doom and managed to add in a couple of sections of offroad for the price of only one mile extra in the end, i'll be taking that route again!
I liked mine. As you say, a bit nippy but not much wind for me. It was nice to ride along some dry ground for a bit too. Plus the offroad sections needed no lights, spring is on it's way. Sweet!
found the transit from lounge to kitchen quite tricky, skirted past the kettlebells and found the cafetiere still dirty from last night.... but otherwise, arrived safely and invigorated.
f'ing windy - 55 mins into a head wind. Looking forward to the return leg.....
Bloody cold it was. The wind was strong if manageable, but the cold did my ears and hands in.
bristolbiker - Member
f'ing windy - 55 mins into a head wind. Looking forward to the return leg.....
Now, if you were a commuter in That London's Famous City of London, you would not be so eager for the return leg, and all because of the infamous London Headwind. Somehow it maanges to change direction during the course of the day meaning it is almost [i]always[/i] a headwind! 😉
I'm loving the light mornings now. 🙂
My commute today was in my car sadly but I'll be back on the bike tomorrow.
Hoping the wind stays for the return leg, I'll be seriously flying. Back home near the coast it seems that wind either dies down by the evening, or picks up by the evening if it was still in the morning. However in the middle of the continent here things seem somewhat different.
Now, if you were a commuter in That London's Famous City of London, you would not be so....
True enough - get a similar effect on the 'urban half' of my trip - the half closest to the office is almost pan flat, in open countryside, where the road run generally East/West for 7 miles.... there is no hiding!
Light mornings make such a difference to your mood. Getting the bike out of the shed and setting up the lights in the pitch black is such a mental downer.
Monday was my favourite. Today I was a bit tired, it was very cold and a headwind all the way. No one of any speed to share any work with, so it was tough.
You'd best stop at a jet wash on the way home 😉
Lol 🙂
Fortunately it's dry so bike's still gleaming. Dreading the time when it gets dirty again.. Mrs Grips got me some of that rubbery mesh so I can wash it in the bath without scratching it 😯
Self-imposed week off the bike this week, so it was in the car with Mrs North and Baby North.
I'll be back on the bike next week, hopefully much more invigorated and not fed up with riding in the dark.
Very very cold, and a bit dodgy.
Had to hug the centre-line to avoid a patch of ice, just at the moment when some **** decided to overtake (I was on the motorbike) and was indicating properly, looked over my shoulder before commencing manouvre etc. Grrr.
Bit of a close one !
P.S do motorbikes use more petrol in the cold ? something def not right, or perhaps it just needs to run a bit after winter hibernation.
Wind was behind me 90% of the way. So twas good. Sun expected on the way home.
Been recording my journeys on one of [url= http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=110354 ]these[/url]. Quite an eye-opener watching back.
Cold, headwind and inexplicably weak of leg today = Rubbish commute.
Still, better than yesterday - the traffic was mental on Tuesday.
(in That London)
All (NA fuel injected) petrol engines use more fuel in the cold.
The air's more dense so there's more in the cylinder, therefore you need more petrol to make the mixture right. This would result in you going faster so you therefore need to throttle back the engine a bit more, making it less efficient.
Correspondingly if you drive at high altitude you get less air and thence less petrol - giving you less maximum power but better fuel economy. However that's usually counteracted by the fact you're going up and down big moutnains 🙂
Had a car at a red light open the passenger door into the cycle lane, and chap next to me rode into the back of a stationary mini. All par for the course in zone 1.
I reckon you could make an interesting short film about the variety of different bike commutes people do..
Sunny and no wind here. Nice and fresh but not as cold as yesterday.
lovely.
Cold and windy*
*I should have put a dressing gown on and drunk less beer last night I guess**
**Yes, I too am working from home
🙂 Faster than normal 'cos I left my SD memory card in my computer so didn't constantly stop to take photos.
🙁 More uncomfortable than usual 'cos I had a weighty replacement 12v battery in my backpack for a Sustrans trailside cycle traffic counting sensor.
🙂 Quieter than usual 'cos I left extra early and missed all the contractors vehicles that I generally meet coming the other way. (They seem to be constantly renevating the palacial rural second homes of industry giants that are sprinkled around our part of the Dart Valley)
😯 Colder than usual 'cos there's a chilly wind blowing from the NE. (As opposed to the usual warmer, humid wind coming off the Atlantic).
😕 Squeakier than usual 'cos my chain 'n cogs could do with a bit of oiling.
Why would you be taking photos regularly on a commute?
Why would you be taking photos regularly on a commute?
Because it's a damn fine commute...
[url] http://www.flickr.com/photos/8308384@N06/sets/72157623023142301/ [/url]
Yesterday got caught up in car crash aftermath 2 street junctions away. Judging from the wreckage, I guess some guy driving a wreck did a U turn at the lights and completely omitted to observe the cars going full speed the other way.
Today got caught up in car crash aftermath about 50paces away. Must have happened literally as I got car out of garage. Looked like some beemer driver approaching T-junction totally omitted to observe the council truck already at the STOP line. Truck had hazards on, beemer driver didn't 🙄 so everyone that drove up behind waited thinking they were in the queue to pull out.. totally omitting to observe the guys in hi-viz sorting out paperwork.
Maybe I'll leave the car behind tomorrow.
Fresh but not too cold, just waiting for the farm track to dry out a little more so I can cut the road useage down to about 5% - today's was more like 20/25% the rest was cycle path and guided busway bridleway.
I cycled the wife down to her turn off so it can't have been all that bad as that added an extra 2 miles onto my route 🙂
Some days though the Pomp just doesn't feel like I'm pushing it hard enough and today was one of those days.
[i]Because it's a damn fine commute...[/i]
how many different bikes do you use for it? 😉
I think there's only about two or three places on my commute where I think, 'That'll look nice as a picture'
And even my favourite has the train line in the distance.
[url= http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2613/4052554078_903033e4e1.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/53067724@N00/4052554078/ ]commute5[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/53067724@N00/ ]Jon Wyatt[/url], on Flickr
Saw someone commuting on a scooter (The push along with your feet kind) with what looked like a 26" front wheel. He looked like a prize twonk.
Also spotted one of my regular giggle-inducers - a be-suited City type who pedals his Boris bike with great vigour, while wearing a Rapha douche-identifying hat!
Thank goodness you're here to sneer at them. With any luck they'll be back in their cars in no time.
Did not notice the cold until I got to work, fitted new summer cx tires onto my 29er commuter & been messing about with the ideal gear for them all this week, 36:18 seems the best compromise so far, still very muddy mind.
naff phone pic
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Still not seeing any of the summer bike commuters yet on my ride, maybe its still too cold for them, but its nice not to rely on the lights so much now, 15 miles in today, got a bit lost checking out another new off road route 😉
Isn't nuclear war beautiful?
Got overtaken on a blind bend/summit by a twonk in an Autoglass van, causing the traffic coming up the hill to perform an emergency stop. Overtook him 55 yards later when he came to an inevitable stop because the bus stop that used to be a pull-off the raod job has now been moved so it stops the traffic. He was on his phone. 🙄
At least he gave me plenty of space....
Had to veer right to avoid half of a little car protruding from a petrol-station exit. Looked inside on my way past to see a suddenly-contorted face of the (male) driver yelling at me.
I was so overcome with pity that I stopped about ten meteres later and looked back. He was STILL shouting at me from inside his little car, but realised that I still couldn't hear him, so he wound the window down. I still couldn't hear him but I was sure he was about to start frothing at the mouth so I just laughed at him...
Ah me, there's always someone worse off, eh?
Drove in as had to drop gf off at airport and need the car tonight. It was rubbish. Crawling traffic for best part of an hour.
Still, 4.30 dentist appointment 2 mins from home tonight and then out on the bike before dark. So could be worse 🙂
+1 to the minging headwind along Southbank.
CFH - do you ride past Festival Hall / IBM / ITV ? I do the Waterloo -> Blackfriars leg each day.
Nice quiet ride in this morning. Attempting to commute every day this week by bike (long route).
It is so much nicer to leave just as the sun considers coming up and get to the dodgy road bits when it is light, even if the sun isn't up yet.
Dark nights and mornings always feel spooky and mysterious and fun in autumn then rapidly turn into a right downer!
Bright and cool. Perfect. Started the daily commute again at the beginning of the week after a dark, icy, potholed wintery absence. It's good to be back 🙂 Felt stronger than ever yesterday up the hills and not too shabby today given the extra weight of my pack. Tomorrow I'm taking the wife's car in for a service on the way so I'll leave the cross bike at home, stick the Scandal on the back of the car and finish the route to work on that. I feel a little play on the office steps coming tomorrow 🙂
Office steps:
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Attempting to commute every day this week by bike (long route).
How far?
Surfr - Aberystwyth, I'm dead jealous.
23 miles for me into Londinium, was blimmin' freezing with the headwind this morning, although the way home last night was ace. Hoping it'll be the same later!
Noticably fewer people out today too - at least up until the usual manic bit where A23 & A3 meet where it all turns a bit mental & you end up trying not to race everyone. I regularly end up at the lights with 20+ other riders around me.
Not today, but yesterday, first trip over a brand new short-cut bridge (Bristol):
Rode 10.5 miles in this morning on hardtail with dual chainring set up, definitley feel the need to return to a big ring on this bike as 36t soon spins out on the road..cold headwind today left me with numb fingers (wrong gloves!) but made ok by increase in daylight. Going to ride in again tomororrow, plan to increase to 3 days next week, when clocks go fwd add in some off road routes on the way home.
Climbed the stairs to my garret office, opened curtains, swithced on computer. A slow start to the day.
Wish I could commute by bike. Used to do it when I worked closer, it was about 18 miles from where I live. Management decided to move my department to another site (still do exactly the same job though!), my commute is 45 miles each way and It's just too far to ride. So I now get to see 35 miles of the M4 every day, bliss.