Ride to Work Day 2009

Postalgeek said :

-More excuses to buy virtual partners and cycle gps apps for my wanky iphone.

Thank goodness it’s not just me! My current favourite is “B.iCycle” – moving map with all the usual cyclocomputer stuff (no cadence, for obvious reasons). It records the track so you can review it in Google Earth later too! Which conveniently ties in with the geotagging of those photos you’ve been taking with the built-in camera! Man I love being a wanke… sorry, I love having a wanky iPhone! And dammit, I need more reasons to use exclamation marks and capitalising the second letter of words.

What other iPhone apps can I get to support cycling?

Postalgeek said :

-Zero crappy lite diets. I can have Brodburger whenever I can afford it, which is always coz I don’t have to buy petrol

The best bit for me is that, working in Dickson, I’ll have burned off most of the excess calories on my way back to the office.

Postalgeek said :

-Never gets boring. There is always a pedestrian doing something interesting across both lanes.

Let us not forget the car drivers using the bike lane as a Clayton’s transit lane!

Danman said :

KB1971 – Ture indeed, but I would rather smash it in with a 50-70km WNW in the morning going SE rather than N.

I prefer arriving home frazzled than work.. Some +1hr rides TO work in gusts up to 70kmh got to suck – luckily the wind is on my back most mornings and usually on my nose on the way home.

I would have thought the breakfast would have been a light ceral/toast type thing…The ride to work website was spruiking cerals to purchase in bulk for the event.

I hear ya, the reason I mentioned it was that as I arrived at Glebe Park this morning a guy said to me “How good was the wind this morning?…..”

I nearly smacked him one 🙂

Oh yes I thought the wind would be bad coming over commonwealth bridge but no probs.

Cleo, if you want to learn, check out pedal power, or ask a cyclist at your work.

What postalgeek said, it is all good, and danman, good on you

I saw only 1 cyclist on the way to work this morning Canberra Ave/Hindmarsh Dr, and traffic was much heavier than the last couple of days so thought it must have been cancelled. LOL! I envy those who can ride as the pluses described above sound wonderful, however am too old and decrepit. Good on you to those who regularly cycle or walk to work!

KB1971 – Ture indeed, but I would rather smash it in with a 50-70km WNW in the morning going SE rather than N.

I prefer arriving home frazzled than work.. Some +1hr rides TO work in gusts up to 70kmh got to suck – luckily the wind is on my back most mornings and usually on my nose on the way home.

I would have thought the breakfast would have been a light ceral/toast type thing…The ride to work website was spruiking cerals to purchase in bulk for the event.

Top day for it…….30km with a NW headwind blowing the rain in your face for a sausage at Glebe Park!!!!!! It was much nicer last year.

For all you Notherners that have a head wind on the way home most afternoons……us Southerners usually get a nice tail wind most of the time 🙂

Postalgeek: you hit the nail on the head.

Good on Pedal Power for putting on a nice brekky even though the weather was unsociable.

GnT said :

Sorry about the weather everyone! Hopefully there are still some die hards who’ve lycra’d up for the occasion.

What should I do if I work from home?

Spend the day riding the kids toy trike round the house, doing whatever it is you have to do!

Oh riding to work, how I love thee. Let me count the ways:

-My only chance to get exercise with a high maintenance schedule

– I hate being corralled in traffic and get impatient with it. Sad but true. A motorbike removed much of the stress, but on a bike it’s beautiful open road all the way. On a bike you can communicate with the blockages, politely, and then not so politely.

-Riding to and from work is Metamucil for the mind.

-Riding means I don’t tail at the back on weekend rides

-More excuses to buy virtual partners and cycle gps apps for my wanky iphone.

– I can squeeze through gaps in kiddy playgrounds when my little one goes AWOL

-I get to wear lycra which annoys exactly the sort of people I would like to annoy

-Zero parking hassles

-Zero fuel bills

-Zero crappy lite diets. I can have Brodburger whenever I can afford it, which is always coz I don’t have to buy petrol 😀

-Most senses are engaged on the way to work in Spring. Lovely perfumes this time of year. Even the cold lets you know you’re alive.

-Never gets boring. There is always a pedestrian doing something interesting across both lanes.

Sorry about the weather everyone! Hopefully there are still some die hards who’ve lycra’d up for the occasion.

What should I do if I work from home?

Rain, hail, sub zero, snow, dust, I dont care, its the wind that really irks me, unless it’s a tailwind, which is barely never.

The beauty of the wind is that it is on you rnose the whole way in, then magically swings 180 degrees regardless of your home location and is on the nose for the way home.

Che, the scenery is beautiful indeed, frost and fog shrouded mornings along gunghalin drive to barton highway are exceptionally pleasant.

40km tailwinds gave me a pb of 40:49 to Braddon from ngunnawal today – but riding home will hurt.

I can’t ride a bike, never learned ):

I’ll be riding, rain, hail or shine. Well, maybe not in hail.

Rain doesn’t deter me so much since I know I have a hot shower waiting for me at the office or the home end of the trip!

And sad but true, this body is one of those which you really don’t want to see clad in lycra. Eeew.

Yay! Lots of fit cyclists wearing lycra. Drool . . .+1

I think the best thing about riding to work is actually being able to look around me as I ride and enjoy the scenery, taking a bit of time rather than only staring at the road and the car in front of me.

Plus the rush of adrenaline as you’re heading down hill and hear the snap of the magpies beak beside your ear. Lets you know you’re alive.

R.Slicker – hate to put out your pipe, but I prefer trackies and a hoodie. I have been known to wear cycling jerseys for their warmth and ability to stop wind, but they are in stealth mode under my hoodie.

No one, I repeat no one, wants to see untamed lycra on this fool.

vg – if it was not an emergency exit – woul dyou have ridden home anyway – I done 16km in sideways rain this afternoon, just so I can keep my commitment to ride in tomorrow…Tough? More like foolish 🙂

Tomorrow will be ‘Ride Home’ day for me, as bike is still stuck at work after downpour on Monday arvo and emergency exit from work.

Yay! Lots of fit cyclists wearing lycra. Drool . . .

I will be riding tomorrow. It’s only the next suburb and I usually walk. I guess I could get up early and go further afield for breakfast… hmm, must see what the BOM is predicting.

Does going in on my motorbike count?

Don’tcha wish it wasn’t during magpie swooping season.. little blighters.

I thought I’d do my bit.. A nice way to ease back into the warmer(ing) weather. I’ll be doing the trek from ‘Bundah to Lyneham and joining the ABC breakfast.
I did a couple of test rides last week and I have learnt:
* It’s still too cold to ride wearing shorts.
* The temperature drops very quickly when the sun goes down
* It’s a beautiful town to be riding a bike in.

“As one of the most cycle friendly cities in Australia, I’m hoping to see Canberrans out in force on their bikes tomorrow”

Ha! I love it!

I shall be taking a 20 minute morning cruise along the yarra.

I’m not even going to work tomorrow, but I’ll probably still make the 22km round trip for a couple of pancakes and a muesli bar!