Anybody else commute to work via pedal bike.

I hav been commuting pretty much daily and don't recall the last time I didn't have a full week of rides.

Weather has been cooperating and my wife's work schedule has been in my favor too.

I'm a couple rides away from passing last year's totals and hope to still have a month plus of rides ahead of me.

I walked into the mailroom after work last night, put my thumb on the rear tire like I always do just to check, and yup, it was soft but not totally flat. I ran my thumb lightly along the entire tire, never saw anything that indicated a puncture. Put my pump on it, aired it up, seemed to be holding air and then I took the pump off and I hear it losing air. So I decide to go downstairs and change at the gym first, then come up and deal with it.

Came back up, took the wheel off, aired it again, same thing. So I pulled the tube, and did it again, same result, particularly when I wiggled the tube valve.

Check my backpack and that's when I realize I don't have a tube for my roadie (which I've been riding as of late). I run 23s on it. On the commuter, it's 35s so I've got a 35/38 tube and it already has one patch in it.

TL/DR, you can use a 35/38 tube in a 23 tire, if you air it up lower than normal. I sort of babied it home, but it got me there just fine.

Today I drove and took the commuter/CX bike to the shop over lunch to see if the "creaking/knocking" noise I get when I pedal could be fixed. The wrench there made a few adjustments, and after short test ride (I was in work clothes) it seems to have solved the issue. Tomorrow I'll ride it to work (I'm off Friday) to see if the issue is fixed. Friday I'll replace the tube in the roadie and install the CX tires on the commuter/CX bike and formally commit to cyclocross this season.

I've been hemming and hawing about it ... not sure the GF will be supportive, really unsure of spending money on "racing" (I need a license and there are entry fees) and of course insecurities and questions about my fitness level abound.

But I think I need to do this for me.

I feel like I've been making sacrifices for everyone else this summer and there's nothing at the end of the day for me. Sure, commuting is "for me" but it's also a means to an end in terms of getting to work, saving wear and tear on my aging vehicle, etc.

Maybe that makes me selfish ... I don't know. Maybe it's just because I've had an utterly craptastic day at work and my ex was kind enough to point out that all three kids needed glasses and exams and I'm in debt to her for another $300+.

I could really use a bike ride today.

Anyway, I'm rambling and bellyaching.

1,055 miles commuting this year. With a little luck I'll be over 2K for the year (commuting/road/indoor) by the end of August. And like you Bruce, I'm hoping to ride as long into the end of the year as possible.

119 km (~74 miles) round trip for me, so it's a little far. Plus, commuting with SWMBO would make it tougher, especially in winter. On the other hand, sometimes on the way home before I hit the highway (slowway... grrr), I get passed by a bike that I had passed by 5 minutes ago.

I commute by bike 10km one way. I am fortunate to ride on a paved shoulder, wide enough so I feel comfortable.
That brings me to my question: what do you think of the benefits vs risks of commuting by bike?

In my case I ride 5km in town and 5km on highway to get to work. The morning ride is relaxed since traffic is really light (get passed by one or two cars in town and maybe 10 cars on highway, mostly by the same people) but evening ride is busy.

I ride in some spots where I have cars zipping with 100km/h six feet to my left and have cliffs six feet to my right.
Cliffs are quite steep, 30m maybe 40m deep (100 feet more or less).

I enjoy riding immensely and I commute to work for many reasons. Morning ride gives me a boost to start the day at work, because of fresh and crisp morning air. The evening ride gives me the opportunity to wind down and ready myself for the family life. In many places on highway I can smell wildflowers.

Here is some numbers:
- 10km one way, 5 in town and five on highway
- morning ride takes 25min, evening ride takes 35min.
- I live in the mountains... so, max. speed 52km/h, min. speed 5km/h. Oh yeah, my evening ride includes a 1km walk. One hill is simply too steep for riding (not worth the pain and sweat).

My present ride is a 17 year old Schwinn Moab with Deore components.

VerbaVolant said:

I ride in some spots where I have cars zipping with 100km/h six feet to my left and have cliffs six feet to my right.

Click to expand...

You are lucky: here in Italy roads are not so wide and stupid people often drive faster than 100 km/h. Most of time cars pass by at 50 cm or less.

Bhonder said:

You are lucky: here in Italy roads are not so wide and stupid people often drive faster than 100 km/h. Most of time cars pass by at 50 cm or less.

Click to expand...

how do you cope with this? are there alternate routes? what do you have on the other side (soft shoulder, barriers etc.)
Over here minimum width is 1.5 m (Shoulder Bikeway, by law) and all new roads are build with tight regulations, all taking into consideration and making a priority of cyclists safety.

In some places shoulders are made wider than usual so the snowplows have enough room to pile the snow during winter.

VerbaVolant said:

how do you cope with this? are there alternate routes? what do you have on the other side (soft shoulder, barriers etc.)
Over here minimum width is 1.5 m (Shoulder Bikeway, by law) and all new roads are build with tight regulations, all taking into consideration and making a priority of cyclists safety.

In some places shoulders are made wider than usual so the snowplows have enough room to pile the snow during winter.

Click to expand...

Italy is simply a bad place for cycling because it is not taken into account by government. Conversely, we (cyclers) are many, so incidents are frequent.
i've been hit by a scooter and my wife has been literally bumped away from the road by a car.

It is quite sad, considering the cycling tradition we have in Italy.

Take a look to this google search ("investiti" means "hit by"):https://www.google.it/search?q=10+c...nt=safari#hl=it&q=ciclisti+investiti&safe=off

Bhonder said:

Italy is simply a bad place for cycling because it is not taken into account by government...

Click to expand...

Wow... it certainly seems that way.
Sorry to hear about your accidents and hope it was nothing serious.
Are there any support/advocacy groups that could pressure the gov? I suppose it all comes down to lack of space..., infrastructure, and so on.
I am lucky indeed, I live in God's country.

Parjay said:

I am sure that your father had to deal with these conditions everyday, both ways. Embrace that extra work on the ride home!

Click to expand...

You forgot uphill...

Parjay said:

I am sure that your father had to deal with these conditions everyday, both ways. Embrace that extra work on the ride home!

Click to expand...

Don't forget uphill both ways, too.

VerbaVolant said:

I commute by bike 10km one way. I am fortunate to ride on a paved shoulder, wide enough so I feel comfortable.
That brings me to my question: what do you think of the benefits vs risks of commuting by bike?

Click to expand...

To me there is no question ... the long term health benefits are greater (to me) than the alleged risk I take commuting by bike.

My commute is a mix of urban (city/downtown) and suburban as well as a bike path. There are only a couple of sections that I would consider dodgy and they're short stretches. Helps that we have a very vibrant bike commuting population here, so motorists are used to seeing us on the roads.

My commute is 1/2 through a city park on bike baths and 1/2 road.

I ride in the bike lane, wear a helmet and make myself seen and ride smart.

I think the EU should set minimum requirements to bicycle lanes, if they do want to do something for public health.

Here in the Netherlands, we're blessed with a very good bicycling infrastructure.

Bhonder said:

Italy is simply a bad place for cycling

Click to expand...

Interesting.

Over here in North America we have an impression of Europe as a place where lots of people cycle on a regular basis, in safety. I'm sorry to hear that the reality does not match the perception.

I think that the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands are safe for bicyclists. Some other European countries, not so much

Was a little foggy this morning.



So much so that it collected on my arm.



After I get home tonight I will have ridden 1,200 miles since May 1.

I miss my commute to work. Have a 60+ mile round trip to work and home does not allow me to ride the ol singlespeed to work. But I did finally get to ride two days in a row. Yesterday got in 22 and the day before 11. This year has been bad for me for riding. A lot has been going on. I don't even have 500 miles in this year. Just rolled over 400 yesterday. But I have done 2 half centuries this year. So that has been nice. Hope to ride a little more this fall.

Eeyore said:

I think that the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands are safe for bicyclists. Some other European countries, not so much

Click to expand...

I agree. Some places is Italy are blessed but are few and, mostly located near Swiss and Austria. It must be told too that if you cycle over more than secondary routes you are mostly safe. But this mean just cycling for fun.

Most of Italian road are small has no bike lane. Truckers, due the high cost of the highways, chose normal roads aaand... Smash...

People too drives too fast, speaking with mobile phones or chatting via text messages. On the highway, driving to work, I've seen jerks reading the newspaper while driving at 130 km/h, which is Italian top speed: could you believe it?

I am home from work since five months now, due to my cycling accident that hurted my spine, and hoping to start back in September.

Once upon a time I used to commute to work in August, due to low traffic, which makes 40+40km of nice hills. But now, frankly, I would be scared of.

jjking54 said:

Sorry to hear about your crappy tune up. A good bike shop is sometimes hard to find ... and when you find one, you can't let go of it!

Click to expand...

First off, I hope summer is not done here...it's like 7* and rainy all week now.

As for thebtuneup, it is all taken care of now, but I will be bringing any non-warranty issues on my bikes to the local bike store, which I am familiar with and have used many times when I MTB'd.

I'm hoping to ride all the way into and ideally through October. ~fingers crossed~

Yeah ... you just can't beat a good LBS.

Crossed over 1,200 solely commute miles this year. Pretty happy with that.