Darker...

hippy said:

How was everyone else's commute?
hippy

Getting back into it!

I've ramped up from maybe 1 day a week to 4-5 and really enjoying it
Getting the fitness back to a decent level, and remembering that yes
cyclists are at the bottom end of the pecking order in most people
eyes! (a few car/pedestrian encounters already) Traffic has been ok
either quiet, or busy enough for some easy lane-splitting action

Time in is dropping (down to about 50 minutes for the Mont Albert t
City run) and finding it easier to do which is muchly rewarding
Weather's good. Light is fine, although I have dug out the vistalite
plugged in a brighter bulb and trying to get the ol' rechargeable
working properly again (grr..

Things should improve even more when the dedicated commuter is complete
in a week or so

-

hippy said:

Ooh it's a lot darker these days than when I last commuted to work a
month or more ago. Last time I rode to work, it was dark for only about
15mins of the ride, now it only "started" to get light with 15min to go.
I'd decided I would clean off the dust from the dirt crits with a nice,
healthy commute and actually managed to wake up for it, even after
sleeping through one alarm.
Traffic, though never good, was not as bad as I expected. Temperature
was fine - nicks and t-shirt stylin's. No incidents, nothing funny, only
a desire for some better lights (see other thread).
1hr 7min for the 26k, which is faster than I expected given that I was
taking it _really_ easy on the SS.
How was everyone else's commute?
hippy

It will be much lighter in the mornings as of Sunday - end o
daylight savings

I must say, I've got a dream run into work. I don't need to travel o
busy roads

My commute goes through some side streets (and about 300m of busy road
before going onto the Main Yarra Trail just before Bullen Rd, next t
the Eastern Fwy. I then ride the Main Yarra Trail to Chandler Hwy. The
I ride the Kew Blvd. At the end of Kew Blvd is a foot-bridge then I g
down Burnely St (Richmond) for about 2 km (which has a bike lane) an
I'm at work. That makes it 19 kms each way

Since it will be brighter in the mornings as of this weekend, I'
planning to do a few more laps of the Yarra Blvd on my way into work

-

Quoted message said:

How was everyone else's commute?

hippy

pretty good this morning🙂
there didnt seem to be as much traffic along warrigal rd as there normally
is..
i ride from surrey hills to clayton / notting hill (approx 13.5km going to,
11.5 getting home)
i take warrigal from riversdale all the way to holmesglen tafe, then up
waverly rd to stephensons rd to ftg road..
on the way home i go straight up stephensons rd to burwood highway and then
to elgar rd..
i find that stephensons / middleborough rd in the mornings is a little
scary. it seems to have very narrow lanes and the road surface tends to be a
few inches higher than the gutter in places..

both routes beat riding blackburn road hands down🙂

The commute was cancelled this morning....car got broken into last night
after our weekly crit 🙁 so had to take it into Toyota to organise new
window etc. Luckily only lost the other halfs purse and not the roadie that
was sitting on the back seat, all good really. Bit of a pity about the
commute as I just picked the MTB up yesterday with all new drive train and
was looking forward to trying it out this morning with the slippage and
non-gear changes fixed.

2nd coffee starting to kick in now so I think I can get some work done.

Cheers
Gary

"hippy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ooh it's a lot darker these days than when I last commuted to work a
month or more ago. Last time I rode to work, it was dark for only about
15mins of the ride, now it only "started" to get light with 15min to go.

I'd decided I would clean off the dust from the dirt crits with a nice,
healthy commute and actually managed to wake up for it, even after
sleeping through one alarm.

Traffic, though never good, was not as bad as I expected. Temperature
was fine - nicks and t-shirt stylin's. No incidents, nothing funny, only
a desire for some better lights (see other thread).

1hr 7min for the 26k, which is faster than I expected given that I was
taking it _really_ easy on the SS.

How was everyone else's commute?

hippy

--

hippy said:

Ooh it's a lot darker these days than when I last commuted to work a
month or more ago. Last time I rode to work, it was dark for only about
15mins of the ride, now it only "started" to get light with 15min to go.
I'd decided I would clean off the dust from the dirt crits with a nice,
healthy commute and actually managed to wake up for it, even after
sleeping through one alarm.
Traffic, though never good, was not as bad as I expected. Temperature
was fine - nicks and t-shirt stylin's. No incidents, nothing funny, only
a desire for some better lights (see other thread).
1hr 7min for the 26k, which is faster than I expected given that I was
taking it _really_ easy on the SS.
How was everyone else's commute?
hippy

I found the traffic particularly bad this morning after kew junction
to city... mind you, it would have been way later than your
departure Hippy. Alarm? Must....keep....eyes....open.... <sleep>.
Fridays are really a struggle but once im on the bike, it doesn't
take long to wake up.

After finally getting to work, I found out there was an accident on the
eastern fwy (car on its roof) which would explain the traffic.

Cheers, Troy

--

ftf said:

After finally getting to work, I found out there was an accident on the
eastern fwy (car on its roof) which would explain the traffic.
Cheers, Troy

Ah, so that explains the longer than usual traffic heading down toward
Bridge rd from Kew... I always love that when it happens - Feel tha
smug satisfaction of blitzing past all the stationery cars..

Too much glass on the roads lately though... Fingers crossed, it hasn'
bitten me yet

-

jazmo said:

It will be much lighter in the mornings as of Sunday - end of
daylight savings.
I must say, I've got a dream run into work. I don't need to travel on
busy roads.
My commute goes through some side streets (and about 300m of busy road)
before going onto the Main Yarra Trail just before Bullen Rd, next to
the Eastern Fwy. I then ride the Main Yarra Trail to Chandler Hwy. Then
I ride the Kew Blvd. At the end of Kew Blvd is a foot-bridge then I go
down Burnely St (Richmond) for about 2 km (which has a bike lane) and
I'm at work. That makes it 19 kms each way.
Since it will be brighter in the mornings as of this weekend, I'm
planning to do a few more laps of the Yarra Blvd on my way into work.

Hey, you must be out my way jazmo! Im right near the tram terminu
(Doncaster rd) and my kids go to bellvue primary right near where yo
get onto the trail

I do Donc Rd (downhill :-). uphill homewards :-( ), Kilby Rd, bridg
right, Yarra trail and start of boulevard then down to the pipe-bridge
across the river to Fairfiled Hopsital site, along the merri Ck (st
side), Under the Fwy and to DIght falls, then off the trail and up t
the carpark and onto the backstreets around Victoria Park (home of th
'wobbles'😉 and thru the yard/under railway (westwards) to arrive at th
Hoddle St lights. There's a cement truck depot there so they ge
priority across Hoddle St which is cool, then forwards along Keane(
think) St, to Smith, A left-and-right into another St starting with 'K
along to and left up Napier St. All the way up to Gertrude St and the
right to Exhib gardens and into CBD. 21k. Pretty much 5 days a week
work permitting. Just got new booties from DWD for $25 so Im larfin
this winter agains the wet-socks-from-hell ever getting me again..

Usually along road and maybe the boulevard home or river sometimes an
up thru Hawthorn/Camberwell after Glenferrie R

Always looking for a new way. Amazing how much differently you see area
on bike and sites you can see

The best thing I have spotted wasa Platypus (i kid you not!) in Yarr
near the Kew Billabong last winte

-

"flyingdutch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The best thing I have spotted wasa Platypus (i kid you not!) in Yarra
near the Kew Billabong last winter

I bet for every platypus in the Yarra there would be 10 dead bodies. ; ) I
am from Melbourne and now live in Perth. I was walking with my wife on a
really nice day by the Swan river and a dolphin started following us and
checking us out. It was awesome. I told her if we were in Melbourne it
would of been a body floating past.

Fraser

That's harsh Frase :-)

would probably be holding a canelonni(?) if the latest drug/gangste
stuff in lygon St is anything to go by..

Dolphins, eh? coo

I have run over (a small) snake near the 'skipping girl' on the bik
path. does that count

Thought! Wonder if it would be worth starting up a 'commuter bus' lik
they do with kids walking/riding to school? Say, meet with a few local
who commute and travel as a group, thus getting more cudos/respect i
traffic..

just a thought..

-

"wassupdawg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

That's harsh Frase :-)

would probably be holding a canelonni(?) if the latest drug/gangster
stuff in lygon St is anything to go by...

Dolphins, eh? cool

I have run over (a small) snake near the 'skipping girl' on the bike
path. does that count?

Thought! Wonder if it would be worth starting up a 'commuter bus' like
they do with kids walking/riding to school? Say, meet with a few locals
who commute and travel as a group, thus getting more cudos/respect in
traffic...

just a thought...

All my friends call me harsh but it is all lighthearted. Perth is a pretty
cool place. I was born in Mitcham and used to live on Glenferrie Road for a
while so I am pretty familar with most of the areas talked about here.
Commuting in Melbourne traffic must be a complete [censored]. Last time I went
home I scared witless by the traffic. When I first got to Perth I was in a
car on the freeway and traffic had slowed to a 30kmh crawl. After about 5
minutes the driver complained about how bad the traffic jam was. I laughed
my ass off and told him some stories about the South Eastern Carpark.

Fraser