First Day Riding to Work! 5.14.16

I was pretty sure it was going to rain... the forecast all week was calling for it.

I woke up this morning, and the sun was beginning to come up.  I decided to check the weather, and it looked like the rain was forecasted to hold off until way later in the day... so, it was a bike day!

My new padded bicycle shorts came in yesterday, and man, are they great.  Made a huge difference!

The morning ride was simply glorious.  Just beautiful out.  I saw a big bunny on the bike path at one point.  I love seeing the wildlife!

The ride from my house into the city is pretty easy and simply beautiful.  It's when I leave the bike path that the challenging part comes.  This hill... this hill is my nemesis.  Little 3-speed bikes don't like steep hills.  I walked up half of this hill today.

I made it to work in just about an hour, which is pretty normal for me.

Bonus, trillium!

After work, it was starting to get windy and the clouds started to roll in, but I still made it home without rain.  It took about an hour coming home, as well.  A lot of that is actually from waiting for traffic - obviously, before 7-8 AM, the traffic is light, and at 3-4 PM, that's not the case.  I get off the main road as quickly as I can so that I can get back to what I like best - just me, Penelope, and a couple of cars that seem to know how to handle a bicyclist - and then the bike path ASAP.

I hope this is the first of many many commutes this summer!

Gorgeous Saturday Commute

Finally, it was a nice day with no threatening thunderstorms, and nothing to do after work immediately.  Onwards, Penelope!

My ride to work was glorious.. it started a little chilly, I biked 11.1 miles at an average of 10.7mph. 

I stopped to look at a bunny that hopped in front of me and sat for a moment.  Very sweet.

The morning is just my favorite time.  There is no one else on the bike path, it isn't too hot, and it's just a great way to start the day.

It was nice to get a ride in for Midsommar - tomorrow's weather for actual Midsommar looks to be rainy with thunderstorms.  Not so nice.

Certainly today's ride made up for it.

The afternoon ride was not as nice.  It was a lot warmer, and I foolishly decided to take a different route home, down a much busier street.  It was crowded and a little scary - way too many cars on way too narrow a street.

On top of that, there was a wine festival at the waterfront.  If I had taken my normal route, I would have skipped the whole crowd.  I really dislike bike path traffic jams.  There's construction at the beginning of the bike path off the waterfront, and the path is really narrow and unpleasant.

This is why I prefer the morning for riding.

Still, it was a great ride home.  The route I took was a little shorter - only 10 miles instead of 10.7(ish), and I averaged 10.2 mph.

A Few Missed Rides

After the last ride I posted, there was some rainy weather and other circumstances that made it so that I couldn't ride for a few days.  But, I have gotten some good rides in!

First, on June 3, I took a fabulous ride to the bay in the morning.  The sunrise is migrating, so if I want to see it, I have to go to the bay instead of the causeway.. I don't like the ride as much, but the payoff is pretty nice.

 

It was steamy morning, and the sky was incredible.

All the way to the lake, and then back... the morning ride was about 4 miles.  A much shorter ride than to the causeway, if I just go to the boat access,

******

On June 5th, I rode out to the causeway in the morning.  Though the sun is no longer rising over the causeway, it is still a beautiful ride.  I like getting in 7 1/2 miles before work.

And, I love being surrounded by the lake.

The Colchester bog that runs along the side of the path is also lovely.  I saw some wood ducks there a few weeks ago, though I was unable to get a picture of them.
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I did ride to work and back on June 6th. 

It took me just about exactly an hour to get to work.  The ride is so pretty, it just always sets me up for a great day at work.

I adore riding in the morning before the path gets busy.  This road in the afternoon is a bustle with cars.

 

I rode through the University Green again, and I think this will be my permanent route.  So much prettier.

For the ride home, I have been having some troubles with my Strava app.. I start it, and it has (more than once) cut out at some point during my ride.  It recorded my ride home as 2 miles less than my ride to work, and I know I took the same route, so that's just not possible.  I can't bend space.  Anyhow, the ride home was quite lovely as well!

******

After that ride to work, we had a yard work day at the house on Sunday, and then several days of hard rain and thunderstorms... no rides for a bit.  But, on Wednesday I got a beautiful morning ride out to the causeway, dodging puddles on the way.

The sky was really pretty that morning, and well worth the ride.

I just love a good morning ride.

******

Finally, yesterday morning, I rode to the bay again for my morning ride.  Just to the boating access - I was tired, and didn't get out in time to ride more.

I tend to get to the end of the driveway and decide which way to go, depending on how the sky looks in either direction.  Yesterday morning, the sky was pink.  Hard to capture in pictures...

... But simply glorious.

And this morning?  This morning, I decided to have a cup of coffee and update my blog, instead of going out for a ride.. I had thought about riding to work, but the afternoon forecast calls for thunderstorms, and I don't want to get caught in that.  Riding to work more will come, though!  The kids are out of school now, so my schedule is a little less rigid.  I look forward to more rides to come...

Memorial Day Ride to Work - and an After Work Trip on the Bike Ferry to My Mom's House!

The weather forecast for Memorial Day said 40% chance of afternoon rain.  Ever the optimist, I decided that meant 60% chance of not rain.   So - I rode to work!

Promise, there's a fox up there.

Can you see the fox?

The morning ride was lovely.  I saw a fox on the bike path.  Trust me, though this picture doesn't really show it, the fox was there, crossing the path calmly in front of me.  Lovely.  This is a reason I ride!

I got to work in 58 minutes, with 11 mph average speed.

 I took a nice change of route (same distance) through the university campus.  I will take this route again.  It went through less traffic, and it was just beautiful.

One of the nice things about biking to work so early is that I skip a lot of the traffic.  This route is easy first thing in the morning, but after work, I am stuck in traffic for 5 minutes at least, waiting on cars and lights..... that's a whole lot of no fun.  I'll take morning, any time!

My mother asked if we could go out for dinner.  The Hubby had the day off, so I asked him to meet me there with his truck, and after work, instead of biking home, I biked down to the end of the causeway, and hopped onto the just-opened-for-the-season bike ferry, into my home town.  From there, it was another 5 miles or so to my mom's house.

I got rained on only very briefly.  A couple rain drops was pretty good for 19.1 miles, 40% chance of rain.  It took me 1 hour and 42 minutes (moving time) to get there from work - it was a long ride, but so satisfying to have done it!  I can't say this will be a regular ride, but it was one that I have been wanting to do ever since I heard about the bike ferry.

On the other side of the ferry!

A beach I grew up near

Colorful bird houses ... and a dinosaur?

The rest of the week looks to be unsettled, weather-wise.  I'm hoping for some more rides, but likely this is the big one!

Finally there!

Commuting on a Chilly Morning (Nicer Afternoon)

I was stung by a bee last night on my ankle, so I wasn't sure how I would feel about biking in to work this morning - but I woke up feeling decent, so I decided to bite the bullet and go for it.

I woke up, packed my work bag, filled up my water bottle, and off I went.

I forgot to start my biking app before I left home, but I did start it after 7 miles.  I was so much faster than the first time I rode to work!! 

This hill... this hill is my nemesis.  I have to walk half of it.

The other big hill, I was able to ride up!  That was much better than last time.

Morning is a much nicer ride - I leave early enough that I am practically alone, on the bike path, and on the road.  There is almost no traffic to deal with, and right near work there are a couple crossings that get a little dicey later in the day.

Anyhow, the ride to work was delightful!  It only took me an hour, as opposed to the 1 hr 17 minutes it took me the first time.  I had time to change and fix my hair and even some extra time. That was awesome.  I even took the slightly longer (mile-wise) route, because it is more on the bike path and less on the road, so much more pleasant.

The only negative about riding to work is that is is hard to get any groceries on the way home.  I picked up a couple things and filled my baskets to the brim, and the bike was heavier on the way home, but I still made really good time - 58 minutes for 10.7 miles.  This is compared to 1 hour, 22 minutes on the way home for my first ride.

I hope to ride to work again on Monday - the kids are off school.  The rest of the week looks rather unsettled, weather-wise, so we'll see what it brings.

First Bike Ride to Work

The day came, and I was so excited I skipped out of the house at 6 AM, with a couple of cups of coffee in me, and my bags all packed with my work clothes, dry shampoo, sunblock (for the ride home!), and my bike lock.

The weather was absolutely perfect.  I listened to a couple of Swedish podcasts on the way to work, and there was barely anyone on the bike path (or the roads!) that early.

The ride to work was 9.7 miles, with a gain of elevation of 334 feet.  Because Penelope is not a fast or strong bicycle, and I am not a particularly fast or strong biker at this point, and because she has a meager 3 speeds, I had to walk many of the hills on the way to work.  The part of the ride that is on the bike path is pretty much flat, but work is way up on top of the hill.

Still, I was on time for work, and even had plenty of time to change into my work clothes and freshen up.  The dry shampoo was not needed, even.  It took me 1 hr 17 minutes.

I was so happy all day at work (I mean, I'm always happy at work, but it gave me a little extra bounce in my step), and when the time came to ride home, I was excited.  The day had only gotten more glorious.

Seriously... this as my commute?  Yes, please!

I took a slightly longer route home, but less hilly.  It was 10.6 miles, and only 113 ft elevation gain.  It took me 1 hr 22 minutes.  This makes me think that I should time the nicer route to work (since it is much prettier, putting me on the bike path for pretty much the whole trip).

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

I was not even that tired when I got home.  I stayed up and watched a movie with my sweet husband, and didn't fall asleep unceremoniously in the middle of it like I often do.

Though it meant leaving much earlier than I normally would, I would love to bike to work more.  I also want to experiment with biking up to the road and catching the bus, to see how reliable and fast that is.  There is no bus near my house, so I still have to bike about 3-4 miles to get there.  But, I could take the bus to work (when I am in a hurry), and then bike home (when I'm not as much).

The only problem was that I normally pick up groceries before coming home from work, and there was a limit to the amount and kind of things I could bring on my bike.  Space was at a premium, but I also could not bring anything frozen or really even refrigerated.  I was able to fit a bottle of wine, though.  Bonus.

Overall, I cannot wait to do more bike commuting.  It's a long trip, but worth it!