Bicycling

Anybody else biking to work much? For fun?

I've started biking the 4 miles to work or class, and I gotta say I'm enjoying it. I'm almost done building up my first "real bike" too, an old Fuji frame with moustache handlebars and rattle-can yellow paint. Lots of fun building it, but I can't wait to ride.

I started. Then summer started and I really, really have a hard time justifying biking around in an oven.

I'll ride to school, because it's only a few miles, and at 9 am the sun is relatively tolerable. I can beat the bus by at least ten minutes. It's a bit too hot to ride to work, and I don't want to be stinky all day around customers.

I really like taking bike rides at night. The weather is much more comfortable and it's nice not having to deal with nearly as many drivers. It's nice being able to leave the U-lock at home; the ride is a lot quieter without it.

Here's a picture:

I rode to work last week, 23 miles each way on dirt roads on a 32lb mountain bike... By the time I got home I think I was like $5 in the hole over driving due to the fact that I had to eat 2 extra meals to make up for the calories burned riding. Oh yeah I built a bad arse bike light last winter, it's a 12V sealed spot light (used in outdoor landscape lighting) and a water bottle filled with 10 sub C 3800mAh batteries. It's good for 2hrs and the light is unbelievable. I can ride flat out as fast as I can an not out run the beam in the least.

Wow, do you have a write-up for that light? My LED light is to be seen, not to see. If the road isn't well-lit, I just ride slower. It's kind of freaky suddenly being in sand on a road bike when you can't see it.

Not a chance..

My commute is only 7 miles but after 10 hours of being on my feet all day I'm not riding uphill for 7 miles.

The elevation change on my commute is about 1000 feet. Bike.. uhh no, gas is still cheap enough.

My '82 corolla gets about 30mpg and always has a passenger to and from work.

Shawn

The green police does not accept your excuse.

does it count if i am looking at using a moped to ride 15 miles uphill?

I do 20 to 30 miles a day.. but not to work. I would have to travel along a rather dangerous state highway to get into Atlantic City.. being an island, the access roads are limited and all of them are high speed with limited shoulders.

I do use it to go to the store and other places on the mainland though

I'm lucky enough to live right off a bike trail, which winds in opposite directions to work, and to school. Even when it's hot I'll take the bike. It makes me feel better when I get to work, and I can take a change of clothes if it gets too hot and sweaty out.

I kind of wish I could, but a 40 mile commute on a bike would not exactly work out....

OTOH, my wife is riding a lot these days- 5 miles across A2. She loves it. Has little to do with gas prices, we've been talking about it for years. When the commuter challenge started in May, we dusted off the bikes, got some commuter equipment, and started riding.

Now, we both ride downtown instead of driving. Parking is SO much easier.

E-

TransMaro wrote: Not a chance.. My commute is only 7 miles but after 10 hours of being on my feet all day I'm not riding uphill for 7 miles. The elevation change on my commute is about 1000 feet. Bike.. uhh no, gas is still cheap enough. My '82 corolla gets about 30mpg and always has a passenger to and from work. Shawn

I have the perfect solution! Ride your bike TO work and drive your car HOME each day! That way, you only need to use the car one-way!

I've got a 12 mile roundtrip ride to work all on bike paths and a few blocks of neighborhood streets. It can get a little sweaty sometimes but no one has complained about me stinking yet. I have a newer jamis steel roadbike (satalite) but I usually commute with the 10 speed I cobbled together from two 15$ bikes I got at good will. It's been good for 1 and a half summers but the bottom bracket is starting to go out. It's also my bar ride, and I'll get groceries with it if it's not too big a haul. I've been too cheap to go out and buy some paniers and too lazy to find a milk crate for my rack.

I'm doing it for the excersize, though its pretty fun too. Driving a car to work is probably one of the more stressful drives I have to make. Though I'm back to thinking about carrying countermeasures again for cars that pull out in front of me without looking causing me to have to slam on the brakes. Maybe a rock through the window or some roofing nails in their tires will stop that

don't do the roofing nails.. those will come back to haunt you the very next time you drive your car down that road.. plus you can get unintended victems.

The ride to work would be 18.1 miles where the DRIVE to work would be 16.9... in air conditioning... with doughnuts and coffee...

I know where you will find me ;)

SupraWes wrote: I'm doing it for the excersize, though its pretty fun too. Driving a car to work is probably one of the more stressful drives I have to make. Though I'm back to thinking about carrying countermeasures again for cars that pull out in front of me without looking causing me to have to slam on the brakes. Maybe a rock through the window or some roofing nails in their tires will stop that

If you actually want to get someone back for being an shiny happy person, without doing genuine damage to their car, just remove a valve from one of their tires.

The tire becomes unusable, but you haven't done any genuine damage. At most it costs them $6 for a new valve.

If you really want to make their life difficult, remove the valves from two tires.

MitchellC wrote: Wow, do you have a write-up for that light? My LED light is to be seen, not to see. If the road isn't well-lit, I just ride slower. It's kind of freaky suddenly being in sand on a road bike when you can't see it.

Mine is very similar to this: http://www.instructables.com/id/BIKE-LIGHT-500-Lumen-%22Mt.Bike%22-for-under-10-bucks-/ I have access to a machine shop so a made a better bracket for the light and I soldered together a massive battery pack of 10 sub-C cells. keep an eye out though, most places only sell flood lights and they aren't nearly as useful as spot lights for the application. I also just used a pipe cap for the back of the light housing, I just peel the rubber off to get to the light. It's gonna be really nice as the days get hotter and night becomes the only comfortable time to ride.

Salanis wrote: If you actually want to get someone back for being an shiny happy person, without doing genuine damage to their car, just remove a valve from one of their tires. The tire becomes unusable, but you haven't done any genuine damage. At most it costs them $6 for a new valve. If you really want to make their life difficult, remove the valves from two tires.

While two is good, I recommend removing all 4 and putting them in an envelope under the wipers with a note. Alternatively, you can loosen but not remove them.

Nobody carries a valve puller and an air compressor.

billy3esq wrote: While two is good, I recommend removing all 4 and putting them in an envelope under the wipers with a note. Alternatively, you can loosen but not remove them. Nobody carries a valve puller and an air compressor.

No harm. No foul. Right?

It's kind of hard to grab them as they are speeding off.

Salanis wrote:

SupraWes wrote: I'm doing it for the excersize, though its pretty fun too. Driving a car to work is probably one of the more stressful drives I have to make. Though I'm back to thinking about carrying countermeasures again for cars that pull out in front of me without looking causing me to have to slam on the brakes. Maybe a rock through the window or some roofing nails in their tires will stop that

If you actually want to get someone back for being an shiny happy person, without doing genuine damage to their car, just remove a valve from one of their tires. The tire becomes unusable, but you haven't done any genuine damage. At most it costs them $6 for a new valve. If you really want to make their life difficult, remove the valves from two tires.

It's much easier than that. you don't need any tools for the same effect. Take the valve stem cap off, put a small pebble in there, and screw it back on. The pebble will depress the valve.

16vCorey wrote: It's much easier than that. you don't need any tools for the same effect. Take the valve stem cap off, put a small pebble in there, and screw it back on. The pebble will depress the valve.

Brilliant!

I'm going to start riding to work once I get some bullet-proof tires on the bike. Portland seems to have bums that can predict my biking pattern. They get all wasted the night before and smash bottles on the ground, then hide in the bushes and laugh as I pull shards from my deflated tires.

slime in your tubes seems to help a lot