Author Topic: Anybody started bike commuting yet? (Read 12491 times)

quadzilla · « **on:** March 28, 2006, 02:19:45 pm »

This is the week that I stopped taking the subway (yippee) and got back out on my bike (oh my aching ass) and try to get back into shape. Since one of my major workouts over the winter was to stretch for the remote control or walk to the kitchen to get some more snacks this year will be tougher than last year’s start.

I wanted to start with a clean calm slate this season but that only lasted 10 minutes. Yep, some guy sitting at a stop sign staring at his cell phone blocking traffic. Then another 5 minutes later on the bike path some jogger thinks it is a good idea to have their dog run back and forth across the path when they are 100m away. More yelling was needed yet I’m sure it all falls on deaf ears.

Around the half way point I notice that I’m now into a stiff headwind for the last 10kms of the ride, great. Then the final part of the ride has a 1km climb which felt like I was dragging an extra 20 pounds (maybe I am?) up the hill.

I finally make it to work and notice that it took me over an hour for a ride that was taking me between 50-55 minutes last year, a 20% increase in time, ouch.

Trying to log on my computer I notice that my fingers are not typing like they should be and I try not to answer my phone for 20 minutes so people don’t think its an obscene phone call with my heavy breathing. Oh boy, am I ever out of shape.

The good news is that the winds didn’t change direction for the way home (now a tail wind) and I can hold a almost respectable pace except for the final climb (2+kms) which I get all three red lights.

Today is day number 2 and sitting on the bike brings some discomfort but I do trim 10 minutes on my way to work yet the winds were very calm this morning. I start day dreaming about the mountain biking in Moab to come in 7 more weeks to pass the time.

This year my goal is to ride over 5,000kms. If the weather is as good as it was last year, hopefully this should happen. I'm also thinking about getting a road bike this year to ride instead of my mountain bike. I'm sure the drop in 5 pounds for the bike should make climbing a little easier.

Picture of my route:
Start is Main and Gerrard on the east side of the map.
End at Bloor and Runnymede on the west side of the map.

UmroAyyar · « **Reply #1 on:** March 28, 2006, 02:41:55 pm »

Thats a tough ride Quad. Do get a road bike, less resistance for that kind of a ride. I used to bike down from Pharmacy/Danforth to Carlaw/Lakeshore, the scariest part of the ride was on Kingston Road.

Railton · « **Reply #2 on:** March 28, 2006, 03:16:23 pm »

Road bike weight vs Mountain Bike weight; I've been told that a pound off the bike weight equates to a drop in rider weight of 10 pounds...I think that t only becomes apparent in steady climbing though.
Railton

mrthompson · « **Reply #3 on:** March 28, 2006, 04:04:31 pm »

Not only weight, but rolling resistance is lower with a road bike.

*Edit: Road bike gearing is also suited to commuting on streets and bike trails.

UmroAyyar · « **Reply #4 on:** March 28, 2006, 04:06:48 pm »

what Mr.T said. Thats what I meant to say, the tires would be different, less rolling resistance.

Giant Dwarf · « **Reply #5 on:** March 28, 2006, 04:54:26 pm »

Wow! GOod for you. I was about to say, "Oh, I'm too far from the office to bike commute. That 30 km, lake-front ride wouldn't be a wise thing for me to do."... but now I just feel shameful.

I took my bike out for a quick ride last night. The mountain of earth in the new part of the subdivision makes for some interesting 'trail riding'. I was only out for about 20 minutes though before my hands got too cold. Stupid me forgetting my gloves. Just because it's warm enough to put the top down on the car, doesn't mean it's warm enough to ride like it's summer time! (no wonder I can't shake this $%#@ing cold!)

airbalancer · « **Reply #6 on:** March 28, 2006, 06:04:32 pm »

Quote from: Giant Dwarf on March 28, 2006, 04:54:26 pm

Wow! GOod for you. I was about to say, "Oh, I'm too far from the office to bike commute. That 30 km, lake-front ride wouldn't be a wise thing for me to do."... but now I just feel shameful.

I took my bike out for a quick ride last night. The mountain of earth in the new part of the subdivision makes for some interesting 'trail riding'. I was only out for about 20 minutes though before my hands got too cold. Stupid me forgetting my gloves. Just because it's warm enough to put the top down on the car, doesn't mean it's warm enough to ride like it's summer time! (no wonder I can't shake this $%#@ing cold!)

stop talking about top down driving , my top does work at the moment

sirAQUAMAN64 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 28, 2006, 06:06:52 pm »

Wow!

That's QUITE the ride. I would be afraid with the rush hour - or any hour - traffic in Toronto, and all the unattentive drivers. Really, I used to ride my bike in TO, so don't know why I'm saying that. Guess the hicks have made me soft.

I used to be an avid bike rider... I could out-bike nearly anybody. Of course, once we moved to a house with a giant hill and I got my license, I used my bike less and less. At the moment, it's rusting out on my parent's balcony... like it has been the past 2 years. Now that I'm in a house, on flat land, near the lake, I'm going to go and get it. Last I checked, the bike was rusting pretty good and discolouring too. Shameful, really, as it cost me $750+taxes to buy a few years ago, and it's a nice Wheeler bike with front strut-type shocks, etc.

If it's in too bad shape, I might just go out and buy another bike. If it comes to that, I'll be looking for advice from you Quad and others

What type of car attachments do you have for your bikes? The OEM stuff I looked at was a couple hundred (roof mounted cross bars, plus bike attachments). I'm thinking of perhaps getting a kayak or something lightweight for water usage, so have begun investigating. Doubt that in particular will happen though. We'll see what becomes of it.

airbalancer · « **Reply #8 on:** March 28, 2006, 06:28:40 pm »

Quote from: sirAQUAMAN64 on March 28, 2006, 06:06:52 pm

Wow!

That's QUITE the ride. I would be afraid with the rush hour - or any hour - traffic in Toronto, and all the unattentive drivers. Really, I used to ride my bike in TO, so don't know why I'm saying that. Guess the hicks have made me soft.

I used to be an avid bike rider... I could out-bike nearly anybody. Of course, once we moved to a house with a giant hill and I got my license, I used my bike less and less. At the moment, it's rusting out on my parent's balcony... like it has been the past 2 years. Now that I'm in a house, on flat land, near the lake, I'm going to go and get it. Last I checked, the bike was rusting pretty good and discolouring too. Shameful, really, as it cost me $750+taxes to buy a few years ago, and it's a nice Wheeler bike with front strut-type shocks, etc.

If it's in too bad shape, I might just go out and buy another bike. If it comes to that, I'll be looking for advice from you Quad and others

What type of car attachments do you have for your bikes? The OEM stuff I looked at was a couple hundred (roof mounted cross bars, plus bike attachments). I'm thinking of perhaps getting a kayak or something lightweight for water usage, so have begun investigating. Doubt that in particular will happen though. We'll see what becomes of it.

Are down by the south end of Harwood rd?

sirAQUAMAN64 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 28, 2006, 06:38:29 pm »

Quote from: airbalancer on March 28, 2006, 06:28:40 pm

Are down by the south end of Harwood rd?

I used to live in Ajax (Harwood and Bayly, condos on S/E corner - I must have been one of the youngest people in the place!).

I've since moved to Oshawa, S off of Park just S of the truck plant. Nice quiet street and part of the otherwise questionable South 'Shwa.

airbalancer · « **Reply #10 on:** March 28, 2006, 06:45:30 pm »

Change your location then LOL

There some nice places on the lake there

quadzilla · « **Reply #11 on:** March 28, 2006, 08:07:04 pm »

Head winds on the way home today. I actually had to stop and eat my Cliff bar as I was so hungry. That is a great sign as it means my metabolism has now started.

Quote from: sirAQUAMAN64 on March 28, 2006, 06:06:52 pm

That's QUITE the ride. I would be afraid with the rush hour - or any hour - traffic in Toronto, and all the unattentive drivers. Really, I used to ride my bike in TO, so don't know why I'm saying that. Guess the hicks have made me soft.

My ride is about 75% bike paths/quiet back streets. The only section that isn't that fun is along Harbourfront where this isn't any bike paths or lanes. The traffic is still light as the tourists aren't here yet. I use to just go straight across the city (Danforth-Bloor) and it was only a matter of time until I would be killed from the cars, people or other bikes so I now take the longer but much more peaceful route.

Quote from: Giant Dwarf on March 28, 2006, 04:54:26 pm

I was about to say, "Oh, I'm too far from the office to bike commute. That 30 km, lake-front ride wouldn't be a wise thing for me to do."... but now I just feel shameful.

My round trip ride is 43kms. I was actually 5 minutes faster today.

Quote from: sirAQUAMAN64 on March 28, 2006, 06:06:52 pm

I used to be an avid bike rider... I could out-bike nearly anybody.

When I lived in Ottawa for 8 months I bought a cheap road bike for something to do (didn't have any friends) and rode about 100-200 miles per week. I remember catching up to two riders with really expensive bikes plus their socks matched their jerseys and started to draft them. The second guy didn't like that (probably because of my cheap bike) so he told the first guy to pick up the pace. Being third on the train it was very easy for me to keep up. After a little bit the second guy actually passed his friend (wasn't fast enough I guess) and picked the pace up quite a bit. I check my speedometer and see that we are now going 30+mph! I see him keep checking if he has dropped me yet but he can't. I had enough of this and passed both of them and leave them behind! Was that you?

For some great riding in Ottawa hit Parc Gatineau as it's an amazing place to ride. Warning though, lots of long hills.

Quote from: mrthompson on March 28, 2006, 04:04:31 pm

Not only weight, but rolling resistance is lower with a road bike.

*Edit: Road bike gearing is also suited to commuting on streets and bike trails.

I actually use slicks on my mtn bike because I know better than to ride with knobbies. Gearing isn't going to help me much actually as I really only need three gears. 1) uphill or headwinds 2) downhill or tail winds 3) flat section with light winds. I just want the road bike for 1) the stiffer frame plus no shock for climbing and 2) it would be a bit lighter and a bit better rolling resistance than my mountain bike.

I've actually contemplated buying a single speed for getting back and forth to work. Plus it would also help me with my spinning as once I get back into shape I would be able to hold over 100rpm for long stints. My other idea was a trike but the one I really like is only $3500 and there is no way I can get that through the house budget without being noticed.

Here is a neat site that I found.

http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm

It says that I burn 400 calories riding each way, no wonder I got hungry.

roch12 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 28, 2006, 10:31:48 pm »

Nice to hear some bike stories..
I pulled out my bike just this morning and decided to ride to work.

Checked the tire pressure and was surprised it was fairly good for sitting all winter.

My route is about 12k one way, unfortunately I don't have any bike paths, half of it is in a 80 kmh county rd and the other in the city.

I have a mountain bike with hybrid tires. I am not a serious biker, I just do it to kill 2 birds with one stone (workout + save some gas)

Usually I have a tail wind when I go to work and a fairly strong head wind on the way back.
Today I had a slight head wind going in and I was hoping it wouldn't change, but it did and so had a head wind coming back. Takes me about 30 min for the one way trip.

I am hoping to do this around 3 or 4 times a week.

dr_spock · « **Reply #13 on:** March 28, 2006, 10:47:22 pm »

How about a hybrid bike? I find it easier to ride on paved roads than a mountain bike.

I am not too crazy about riding on 80 km/h back roads to get to work during rush hour. Too many drivers in Ontario in with questionable driving skills. I'd rather have the metal around me versus me around a metal frame.

quadzilla · « **Reply #14 on:** March 29, 2006, 06:38:31 am »

Quote from: sirAQUAMAN64 on March 28, 2006, 06:06:52 pm

What type of car attachments do you have for your bikes? The OEM stuff I looked at was a couple hundred (roof mounted cross bars, plus bike attachments). I'm thinking of perhaps getting a kayak or something lightweight for water usage, so have begun investigating. Doubt that in particular will happen though. We'll see what becomes of it.

Last week I just had a trailer hitch installed but I still have tol buy the bike holder that attaches to it. We have underground parking so it would only be a matter of time before I would knock the bikes off the top if I went that way. I'll be getting the factory roof rack installed either this year or next as I have a Thule roof box that I can use.

On the P5 I used the factory roof rack and bought some Thule bike racks. It worked really well.

When I was looking for some other stuff I found these Nokian bike tires. Pretty cool.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

** If anybody needs one for this Mz6 let me know as I found somebody that does it for under $300 (includes hitch, installation and taxes) where most people wanted $500.

Winklovic · « **Reply #15 on:** March 29, 2006, 08:15:19 am »

I'm a 10 minute walk away from the office so my cycling is all recreational. I manage to do approximately 1,000 km per season. Not as much as I'd like, but I'm motivationally challenged at times.

I've been out on the bike twice in the past week and I've felt good after each ride. Cycling ass doesn't seem to be a problem this year.

I ride a Raleigh Matterhorn that I purchased in 1989. Maybe I should step and buy something new.

safristi · « **Reply #16 on:** March 29, 2006, 10:01:08 am »

..NICE QUADS....!!!!!!

...casual FRidays all day at yer office....!!!!!!

y2chuck · « **Reply #17 on:** March 29, 2006, 10:16:31 am »

It's a 120 KM round trip for me so no bike commuting for me! I'm going to start riding again today tho. Usually just do 15KM/day on dirt paths around Oakville. I had to take most of last year off due to the car accident so it's going to be tough to get back into shape this year, but the goal is to train all summer and be ready for the 100KM ride they do up north in August.

tortoise · « **Reply #18 on:** March 29, 2006, 10:20:26 am »

Quote from: quadzilla on March 29, 2006, 06:38:31 am

Last week I just had a trailer hitch installed but I still have tol buy the bike holder that attaches to it.

** If anybody needs one for this Mz6 let me know as I found somebody that does it for under $300 (includes hitch, installation and taxes) where most people wanted $500.

Finally got that hitch installed?

Funny you should start this thread. Today was the inaugural ride to work. It's so much nicer coming to work under your own power. Of course the first ride to work was into a nasty head wind... I'm defintely looking forward to the ride home.

As I live in Ottawa my ride's really nice. Either Along the canal, the Ottawa River or the Rideau River depending on where I'm going. It's usually only 1/2 an hour, so it's not too demanding. Though every now and then I'll extend it.

safristi · « **Reply #19 on:** March 29, 2006, 10:55:28 am »

Ah the old tale the Tortoise & the HAIRY.....who wins again.....you both (Quad& TOITY) have nice scenic commutes....any CRUMPET out YET!!!?.....(Ya KNOW...REAL INTERESTING "THINGS" seen on MY WAY TO ~~GOOF_OFF~~ WORK!!!?)....