Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Been off the bike for a couple of weeks. Back to it yesterday. Unremarkable commute to work, but it seems the weekend rains have settled the trails homeward into winter wet mode. Was quite muddy and I suspect it'll be muddy for a while now it's cooler. May have to reconsider MTB commuting.

To paraphrase, it's light on and away we go. First commute since daylight saving ended, made sure all the blinkies are charged up to go home. Still debating whether flat bars are all they're cracked up to be (for me) and wondering if I put chuck graveleur drop bars on the flat commuter.

Last day of school holidays, so a free-for-all for the unregistered trail bike riders before school resumes tomorrow. For some reason they decided to follow me, or maybe that was a coincidence? Once I realised they were behind me I was on full alert and ready to dish out some hurt if they attempted to knock me off my bike

Today's commutes had me wondering if Tesla aimers are the new Volvo drivers? This mornings effort was stopped blocking the bike lane who pulled out without indicating & then proceeded to undertake me by driving in the bike lane

Tonight's special person set off my spidey senses as they approached a stop sign - absolutely no sign of slowing down, so I hit the airzound as well as easing up so they wouldn't collect me as they drove through the stop sign at 50ks

My current favourite jersey is


My nephew is a strong rider but this week took an hour to ride his 13.3km commute

Challenged accepted! Today I took 54:40 to cover the 11.34km commute, giving a very average speed of 12.4 km/h. It was surprisingly hard to ride that slow.

As one of my mates put it, the only way to do that commute slower would be to drive

My 11km morning commute with an annoying diversion takes about 30 minutes, it's fairly flat. I'm not smashing myself to do that.

The afternoon longer commute if I do it takes about 1h 45 minutes but it is significantly more hilly and also has a lot of stops and starts. If it didn't have so many traffic light crossings it would probably be 90 minutes.

My 11km commute is also roughly 30 minutes. In the car it takes 20-25 minutes plus 5 minutes to walk from the car park to the office, and parking is $10. The bus, which is practically door-to-door takes 35 minutes. So for me the bike is the best commute option by far.

find_bruce wrote: ↑

Fri May 10, 2024 7:54 pm

Today's commutes had me wondering if Tesla aimers are the new Volvo drivers? This mornings effort was stopped blocking the bike lane who pulled out without indicating & then proceeded to undertake me by driving in the bike lane

Probably. Even though Teslas are honestly probably the best EV out there they've become the default option for people who don't really care about cars or driving. It also doesn't help there's so many of them that a certain proportion of your near misses will now statistically be Teslas.

I wish I had a more valid option for a regular commute! Mine is unfortunately along Old Cleveland Road, which although it 'technically' has a bike lane is more like a shoulder with a bike painted on it. Because the speed limit varies from 60-80km/hr and no-one pays any attention to their driving on it, it's only a matter of time before someone takes you out on the shoulder if you do it regularly. Plus there's about four places where the bike lane randomly disappears and makes you joust with traffic for a few hundred metres.

My record for a commute on the bike is 35 minutes at 36km/hr. Typically a drive takes about 30 minutes. Which makes it even more annoying that 'fear of death' is the only reason riding is not a valid option.

Mr Purple wrote: ↑

Wed May 22, 2024 9:44 am

Probably. Even though Teslas are honestly probably the best EV out there they've become the default option for people who don't really care about cars or driving. It also doesn't help there's so many of them that a certain proportion of your near misses will now statistically be Teslas.

I wish I had a more valid option for a regular commute! Mine is unfortunately along Old Cleveland Road, which although it 'technically' has a bike lane is more like a shoulder with a bike painted on it. Because the speed limit varies from 60-80km/hr and no-one pays any attention to their driving on it, it's only a matter of time before someone takes you out on the shoulder if you do it regularly. Plus there's about four places where the bike lane randomly disappears and makes you joust with traffic for a few hundred metres.

My record for a commute on the bike is 35 minutes at 36km/hr. Typically a drive takes about 30 minutes. Which makes it even more annoying that 'fear of death' is the only reason riding is not a valid option.

Teslas are not so common that they form a high % of cars on my commute, its more the general lack of care.

I hear you about your commute - I've ridden on similar roads and swore never again. I live in an inner suburb & ironically peak commutes are much safer as no-one is going anywhere in a hurry - cars are even slower than me so that if I drove it would take more time than riding, even though the stop start nature means my average speed is barely above 20.

This weather! A minor injury niggle and weeks of wet weather has meant no cycle commute since late April.

Rode on monday into middle of winter weather. About as cold as it gets locally which was a shock. The horrible southerly, which is largely headwind on the way home too.

Rain yesterday so no ride. Appointment after work so drive today. Maybe pedal tomorrow?

Sydney weather has been good for commuting this week. Have ridden every day and tomorrow looks good as well. Leg warmers, winter jersey and full fingered gloves make the short commute very comfortable. Being sunny always makes it easier during winter.

I'm a bit slack & work from home for an hour or so till its warmed up. Odd one tonight, I was on autopilot & rode the old way home. Forgot how slow it was riding up Victoria Rd

After being sick the last two weeks I thought I was good. Nope. Couldn't get out of bed this morning. Slowly getting there. Still been commuting

Had an ebike go past me when I was doing 450w.. half a minute later there's a hiding noise coming from his rear tyre. Stopped, made sure he had spares and was on my way

Commuting has been on and off lately. Needing to pick up stuff while at work, needing a quick getaway one afternoon, impending rain has conspired to putting me in the car.

Managed to get some commuter cup race action last week. Rarely see another cyclist. Caught a drop bar roadie with flats and joggers on my flat bar roadie with just as he slowed to turn off. Would have caught him legit except for the last few bike lengths.

Have been donning a base layer and spray jacket in the mornings for extra warmth. Hasn't been super cold, but cold enough for extra gear.

Yesterday arvo I passed about 8 walkers on the tramway track where I usually only see one or two. Was a nice arvo for a walk.

Delivered bulky stuff to workplace 2 on the drive home from workplace 1 this arvo. Less kms to do so and ride tomorrow. Bit nor the rain has come in. Hope it quits overnight so I can ride tomorrow and not have wasted the extra diesel kms today.

Yesterday was soooo cold. My faced ached and fingers were icicles along one section in a bit of a hollow, then I climbed a hill and it was a lot better. Still took a good few minutes to get fingers warm at work.

Yesterday arvo spotted a potential for a chase on the Tramway track. Initially thought it was an ebike, but was holding him on the first climb with a bit of effort. Unfortunately he turned off before I could chase down on the descent. Was feeling good, then managed to sneak into car traffic to cross at the lights on green and got some good momentum. Kept making good time. Found another bike to chase down and managed a good few minutes off my better tines and 10min better than the last effort with a horrible headwind.

This morning was a bit warmer. No aching face but fingers still a bit cold.

This afternoon it rained just before departure time so was a wet and slippery road home. Car traffic was heavy but was able to duck and weave and thread my way through to keep going, but being more cautious due to the grip levels. Not sure if one driver moved right to prevent me from lane splitting or was just incompetent. Still managed to squeeze past and get ahead though then had to brake to get in behind another car. Got in front of cars at the next lights as it changed just as I got to the line and took off before the cars reacted. Kinda fun splitting and beating the traffic, but I'm fully aware that playing with 2t of steel isn't a brilliant sport.