The daily "I cycled to work" thread (Vol 2)

[Craikeybaby]

louiebaby said:

Craikeybaby said:

Did I really commute if I forgot to start strata so didn't record it?

No.

(But you can manually add the mileage and a sensible time it would probably have taken you, purely for tracking purposes.)

Warmer this morning, no winter jacket, just a long sleeve and gillet. Come on summer...

As it is a regular route I did a timeshift on the .gpx file and uploaded it.

[Fourmotion]

First commute in 4 1/2 months after a water leak / alternate accommodation with no bike storage at all, and by fu(k it beats the train/tube even on a dark and wet morning.

I'm sure the ride back will finish off what little energy I don't appear to have, but so happy to be back.

[Renn Sport]

Edition87 said:

Had my first fall this morning. Riding along some fairly new smooth tarmac (shared path) and hit some ice as i was barely turning left. Must have slid about 5 meters on my arse Have a nice big graze on my knee and my left cheek, bikes fine though. Im running on Sammy Slicks, ive questioned these tyres in the past when its been damp, ive no confidence in them, Even less so now.

Sorry to hear of your fall..

I had some sketchy moments on my best bike on slicks and after reading up on here I changed tyres to 23c Continental 4 seasons. Although eyeing the tyre treads with suspicion they were night and day in confidence inspiring on the road.

I recently acquired a winter bike and also changed the tyres for some of these 4 seasons and upped the tyre to a winter 25c (which are marked directional in this size)and have to say the tyres were very surefooted.

Get some wintery tyres. Save your ass.. literally.

[Hell27]

Back on the bike commuting after dislocating my shoulder again in December, after doing it on a particularly nasty mountain bike crash in June. 2016 was a year of highs and lows. This time it popped out after an awkward stretch on the couch!
After all that fun, my weight went from less than 18st in June to 20st in December! Now doing the Joe Wicks shift plan, and after 3 weeks regular commuting, gym and sensible food, I'm down to 19st 3lb again. Aiming for 16stone ( as I'm over 6ft and broad).

Last week was a good week - all 5 days commuted into Manchester, plus a lazy 10 miler on Saturday, I had 70 miles in this week! Biggest frustration so far is scallies in black riding on pavements, no lights or helmets, bunny hopping into the road without a second glance. Surprised more people don't get killed on bikes.

[1ians]

Been off the bike for a week to see if my good knee recovers. It hasnt.

On the plus side really enjoyed my ride, even the wet, dark, windy ride home!

[Steve vRS]

If was was warm this morning, I was sweating in my thick jersey. Not looking forward to the head wind home.

[Paraicj]

A wet trip into Birmingham this morning, but it was my first time on the bike in over a week so I was still happy to be out. I hope the radiator in work has dried out my gear though, otherwise it'll be a clammy return!

[Craikeybaby]

Nice weather today, but my kit was still damp from yesterday.

[r-kid]

Interesting ride in this morning, it was nice for a change but somehow I lost my rear light & I must not have cleaned the bike properly last time as the rear brake was seized. Only having front brake around the hills in Calder valley is interesting to say the least

Edited by r-kid on Friday 3rd February 13:54

[WinstonWolf]

r-kid said:

Interesting ride in this morning, it was nice for a change but somehow I lost my rear light & I must not have cleaned the bike properly last time as the rear break was seized. Only having front break around the hills in Calder valley is interesting to say the least

I always ride with two rear lights in darkness for this exact reason

[r-kid]

WinstonWolf said:

I always ride with two rear lights in darkness for this exact reason

My normal commuter has that, but with it being nice I took my road bike instead.

[WinstonWolf]

r-kid said:

WinstonWolf said:

I always ride with two rear lights in darkness for this exact reason

My normal commuter has that, but with it being nice I took my road bike instead.

You can get a pair of LED lights for about £3.50 from Lidl, perfect for hanging on your jacket (I sometimes ride with three lights in bad weather)

[r-kid]

This mornings ride was a lot better, foggy as hell though.

After Friday I decided the bikes were long due an overhaul so I spent the weekend doing just that. Felt like a new bike this morning

[Fluffsri]

r-kid said:

This mornings ride was a lot better, foggy as hell though.

After Friday I decided the bikes were long due an overhaul so I spent the weekend doing just that. Felt like a new bike this morning

I had such a busy weekend I didn't have chance to service mine, its been long over due! When your road bike is muddier than your MTB it needs looking at LOL. Bought it to work to clean at lunch and Ill service and lube this evening. Ride in tomorrow!

[Paraicj]

My commuter bike badly needs a service, this winter has been a bit rough.

Temperature at -2C in Birmingham this morning, but no ice or frost, so actually a very pleasant cycle in.

[louiebaby]

Paraicj said:

My commuter bike badly needs a service, this winter has been a bit rough.

I'm not looking forward to doing mine. It's gonna take a while. I'm considering cleaning it to the best of my ability, and booking it in for a proper service at the local place. It's not has a proper service like that for a couple of years now, so I suspect it will be worth it.

I can do pretty much everything myself, but it always feels better when it's been done by someone who knows what they're doing.

[Timothy Claypole]

My commuter is squeaking, ticking and moaning at me, as it's a "leave at the station bike" it's hard to plan sometimes to get quality time with it at home where I can get stuck in, I can do it at the weekends only generally but didn't manage to get it home last weekend. Monday rain is the worst, mullering the bike for the rest of the week. I probably need to find a more water proof lube, currently running this stuff:
http://road.cc/content/review/121601-btwin-lubrica...


I'd like to have a proper look at the cranks and bb, have been resolving the ticks and creaks by tightening the crank bolts, but I gather I should be removing the cranks, cleaning the interface (not greasing the taper) and torquing them up properly. Will have to get round to that sometime, but need to invest in crank pullers and am inclined to change bottom bracket as they're reasonably cheap.

Edited by Timothy Claypole on Tuesday 7th February 11:22

[Renn Sport]

louiebaby said:

I'm not looking forward to doing mine. It's gonna take a while. I'm considering cleaning it to the best of my ability, and booking it in for a proper service at the local place. It's not has a proper service like that for a couple of years now, so I suspect it will be worth it.

I can do pretty much everything myself, but it always feels better when it's been done by someone who knows what they're doing.

I am just keeping on top of my winter bike by simply washing it with a garden hose whenever its really mucky. That's stopping the worst build up of crud. Also once every second week I am slapping on some wd40 and once a month a bit of gunky chain lube.

This takes 10 minutes each time. The throw a cover over it and ride it again the next time.

[Matt_N]

First commute for a week or so, last week was busy with meetings, hospital appts and the like, I've been on the turbo though.

Used my new Rapha bag today too, nice bit of kit, I wouldn't pay rrp for it though, more than happy with the £54 it cost me.

[aclivity]

I wish the weather would sort itself out - happy for it to be warm (ish) in the summer, then coldish, then cold, then warming up a bit.

Instead we have -2 degrees, then up to 6/7, then cold again, then warm (carry on like this for ever).