Ride to Work... In the Dark

Dark but Warm

I got up early, around 5:00 AM. It was dark. Sunrise wasn't going to happen until about 6:30. Normally I would have left at about 5:30, but I decided to wait until 6:00. The first 20 minutes or so it was DARK. I did have lights, but my headlight was minimal. After about 20 minutes or so, it started to get lighter pretty fast. It was warm this morning. About 60° when I headed out. I almost considered wearing my shorts instead of my long bike pants.

The ride was average and uneventful. Uneventful is good when commuting by bike. Though I think this may be my last bike commute of the year. The days are getting shorter and heading out in the morning is really dark and kind of hairy.

Milestone

Somewhere along this rise I broke 1300 miles for the year (1304.07). The most I have ridden in a year is 1349.23 back in 2006. A couple of good weekend rides should put me over that mark :-)

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Bike Home From Work

It's been a while

I the last time I biked to/from work was way back in July. Work has been crazy and my hours haven't been predicable enough to commit to a bike commuting schedule. But now the days are getting shorter and cooler, and I want to get more riding in where I can. With pick up duties during the week, Monday is really the only day I can bike home from work. Maybe Fridays if I bike to and from work on those days.

Felt Fast Surprisingly...

I didn't set out to ride a quick pace home. It just turned out that way. I rode home, 25 miles, in just under an hour and a half averaging 16.8 mph.

Traffic

The only part where I really had to slow down was where the road I was on approached Route 9. It is a bottleneck traffic wise and tonight I had to pass about a mile or so of cars before I got to the light. I had to pass them on the left because they left no room on the shoulder side of the road. I think traffic was extra heavy tonight because of the Jewish Holiday tomorrow. Just a guess.

It felt good passing all those cars.

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Perfect Weather for Bike Commuting...

Drive In, Bike Home, Next Day Reverse It

I was going to bike in on Thursday morning. I got up early enough, but then I got distracted. With the weather forecast near perfect, there was no way that I was NOT going to bike on either Thursday or Friday. Clear skies, temperatures in the 80° F. So I opted to drive in with the bike on the rack and ride home Thursday after work. Then ride back in to work Friday Morning, and drive home.

This works better as the "bike-to-work" route is 25 miles each way. I also hadn't pre-located any underwear at work, so driving in allowed me to remedy this.

Bike Home

For whatever reason, it seems more satisfying biking home from work as opposed to biking from home to work. It may have to do with the fun, rolling descent into Sudbury, where is it real easy to pick up and maintain speed. Or it may have to do with the fact that I am done with work for the day, and getting in a 25 mile bike ride on my way home. (It only adds 40 minutes or so to my normal commute.)

I averages 16.9 MPH on my way home. It felt fast too!.

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Next Day, Bike To Work

With the car left behind at work, I was committed to riding in. I get up around 5:00 AM on the days I ride into work. I leave the house around 5:30 AM and roll into the office around 7:00 AM. I take a shower and stuff and by the time I'm done I'm at me desk earlier than I would be with me driving routine. (When I drive, I get up around 6:00 AM and leave around 7:00 AM)

Brrrrr...!

After the hot and humid week we've had, it was quite a surprise to see 56° F on the thermometer. I was chilly when I rolled out. But I knew after a little bit of riding, and a little bit of Sun rising, that I would be plenty warm soon.

I started out pretty slow, (it was chilly after all), but once I hit the Millis line I had warmed up. Once I got past Framingham and into Sudbury, My legs were ready to go as they were feeling pretty strong. I averaged 16.7 mph on the way into work. According to my bike computer, I did 25.12 miles in 1:29:59. Heh, just under an hour and a half by a hair. :-)

Hmmmm.. Now that I did a total of 75 miles mid-week, where shall I ride this weekend?

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Monster to Home, Unhappy Thumb

Less Energy

Doing 2 25 miles rides in one day seems to be more tiring that doing one 50 miles ride. At least it seems to feel that way. I'll know more after I actually do a 50+ mile ride this year.

Ouch

My thumb was "complaining" on the ride home. There is no swelling and I have fill range of motion. It is a bit painful to lift things and I hand to take my hand off of the handle bars when I hit a bump. It didn't like being jarred.

The location of the pain is near the wrist. [surfing... surfing... surfing...] Well, after surfing and Googling a bit the closest thing I can find is that I may have a minor Bennet's Fracture?

Bennett's Fracture

. Hmmm, maybe I better listen to the wife and call the doctor. I'll see how it feels later today or tomorrow...

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Bike to Work, Almost Uneventful

Perfect Morning

The morning could not have been more perfect for riding in. It was in the upper 50's when I headed out and eventually warmed up. Or maybe it was just me. Anyway, I debated wearing a shell but I definitely wore my long bike pants. I packed the shell in my backpack and headed out.

The Wreck

I wrecked within a mile of my office. Nobody's fault but my own. I did something stupid and paid for it. Instead of making a left off of Rt 27 onto Walnut St. I tried to cut the corner through the "Corner Store" convenience store parking lot. I keep on forgetting that road tires are not good at going over lips at shallow angles. Out from under me went the bike. I had the presence of mind to tuck and roll and finished off that "Gymnastic" move standing up. Banged my right hand' wrist at the base of my thumb and bumped my right knee.

Mostly I felt stupid.

Not so stupid as I did pack some Advil in my Backpack :-)

The Ride

I did kick butt on the ride in though. I averaged 16.9 mph this morning. My previous averages were 15.5 and 15.1. Unlike this past Tuesday, I felt stronger on the second half of the ride.

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NOTE: GPS signal kept dropping out early in the ride...

Work to Car Dealership

Not My First Choice

Yesterday's afternoon ride from my office to the car dealership reaffirmed my opinion that commuting by mountain bike over a significant distance is not the ideal way to go. Maybe that had something to do with the bike weighing ~33 lbs. before I put the Topeak MTX BeamRack Bike Mounted Rack with well packed MTX Trunk Bag DX on it. However, I must say again that the rack/bag combo is a much better option than a backpack, and it is very useful for those Bike Path days with the family. I wish there was a similiar option for my road bike, but between the carbon fiber seat post and the lack of braze-ons (it's a "racer", not a touring bike...) I don't really have many options outside of a backpack.

Picking up the Car

It was kind of cool that both of my "vehicles" were ready on the same day. I biked to the Dealership to pick up the car. Mounted the strap-on rack to the back and put the mountain bike on it. Then drove to Bicycles Plus to pick up my other bike. I just thought that was cool, even though the drive through surbian rush hour traffic sucked a lot more the riding the mountain bike 12+ miles on the road.

Support Your Local Bike Shop!

I like my bike store. I was having a lot done to the bike:

• Fix broken spoke (original reason for taking it in)
• Replace chain (original chain with ~5,000 miles on it)
• Replace rear cassette
• Replace Front Chain Rings
• Brand New Tape for Handle Bars (it needed it)

On top of that, the bike shop mechanic gave my bike a full tune up before he realized it wasn't on the work order. Nice. He even waxed the frame with Meguiar's Car Wax. (Personally, I use Zymöl. ) Nice.

Support your local bike shop :-)

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Bike in Shop: Day 5 - Bike to Work

Bike in Shop: Day 5 - Bike to Work, originally uploaded by Martinator.

The car had to go to the dealership today and I had planned on biking in to work from there. I didn't want to reschedule, so I took the mountain bike. It was only 12 miles afterall...

Using a Mountain Bike on the Road: the Good and the Bad...

The mountain bike I used is one that my step-father passed on to me after he got his full suspension Cannondale. It is a 1992(?) Specialized StumpJumper.

The Bad

• The bike is heavy and slow.
• The gearing maxes out on some decents.
• Climbing sucks...

The Good

• I don't worry so much about every little pothole, crack, or patch of sand/gravel while riding.
• The bag on the rack is a much nicer option than a backpack.

Device Failure

GPS Signal

On Route 27 in Wayland, I lost the GPS signal for a good 2 miles or so. Oh well, at least I'll get an accurate distance measurement from the [~16(?) year] old Cateye ATC bike computer I'm using as a back up.

Cateye ATC

Ugh. for some reason, a few miles after I regained the GPS signal, the bike computer simply reset and stopped recording speed and distance. Oh well...

Hmmmm... What did I forget?

Underwear. As I arrived at the dealership, an thought crossed my mind "I forgot to pack underwear." Luckily, I was able to pick up a pair at the Maynard Outdoor Store once I got to work.

Note: I lost the GPS Signal on on Rt. 27 in Wayland.

A Perfect Day for Commuting by Bike

The Ride Home

The ride home from work could not have had more perfect weather. Sunny, a bit breezy, the occasional cloud, and temperatures hovering right around 70°.

Bike Commuters

I saw a few bikers in the morning ride. I think I even saw one of then on their return trip in the evening. Maybe next time I'll try and get a picture.

Holliston

This time, going throught Holliston, I altered my Monster-to-Home route so as to avoid riding on Rt 16. So instead of having to make a left at a totally insane intersection downtown, I crossed 16 further north. It still wasn't ideal, but it sucked much less.

Home to Monster

There and Back Today...

Yesterday I decided I would bike to work today. The only thing is, I decided this when I was already at work. So no clever pre-positioning of an extra set of work clothes (or vehicle). So I had to backpack my clothes in. I normally don't like to wear anything on my back when I bike as it prevents breath-ability. o last night I emptied my backpack and repacked it with clothes and absolute essentials. I also kept an eye on the forecasts for both the ride in and the ride back. This morning the forecast called for showers this afternoon. I don't believe them. Even if it does rain, at least I have the right clothing with me.

Headed out.

It was a nice ride in this morning with surprisingly very little traffic. I think I planned this route out pretty well as I did not come across any intersections this morning where I though my life was in jeopardy. It was actually very relaxing riding along averaging 15 mph and taking in the sights and smells of an early spring morning on the the way to work. You don't get that experience in a car on Route 495.

Home to Monster

Committed

With my vehicle parked at work, I was committed to ride in. It was 46° in Franklin and the sky's looked like it was going to rain. The weather person on the news said rain was coming, but not for a while. Even then, it would be coming up from the south. Luckily, I was headed north. It soon became apparent that this mornings ride was not going to be as fast as last evenings ride. Oh well! It was colder and I didn't want to over stress myself on the way into work. I left real early, about 5:45 AM.

I took a slightly different route in so as to take advantage of a different combination of traffic signals on the way.

No More Excuses

Now that I have ridden both into work and back, I no longer have any excuses for not commuting by bike more often. I think I'll aim to do this at least a couple of times a week, pending the weather.

Monster to Home

Bike to Work Week

This is the first "Bike to Work Week" since I have been riding that I have had the opportunty to do so. My manager suggested that I drive in, bike home, then bike in the next morning. My bike commute is 25 miles and I don't want to commit myself to riding 50 miles round trip. So this seemed like a good suggestion.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I either had a stomach virus, or was recovering from one. so those days were out. So Thursday I drove in with the bike.

All day long I kept on running out of excuses NOT to ride home ;-)

Planning The Route

Ever since I started here at Monster in Maynard, MA I had been plotting out a bike route from my Home to Work. There were three major obstacles to contend with:

• Crossing Route 20
• Crossing Rt 9
• Framingham in General

Thanks to various mapping tool like MapMyRide.com and Google Earth, I was able to plot a route that took strategic advantage of traffic lights at some of the more difficult crossings.

Rt 16 in Holliston

It turns out that the most difficult intersection I had to contend with was the intersection in downtown Holliston. I needed to make a left off of Rt 16 onto Central St. The only traffic control device that have for this really busy intersection right smack in the middle of town is a pathetic blinking yellow light. I'll avoid that in the future.

The Ride...

The weather was perfect. Slightly overcast and in the mid-60's. Route 27 coming out of Maynard was a fun rolling decent which helped my fly home.