This is the place where I'll blabber about my commute. Mostly my bike commuting, since that's (slightly) more interesting than the bus. Feel free to contribute.
This thread idea inspired by and basically a rip-off of Davis' Virtual Tour of America. So sue me.
So I've been figuring out my bike commute from the new house this week. I've been biking to the Light Rail station and taking the train the rest of the way. It's about five miles from my house to LRT.Â
Tonight, I decided to ride all the way home instead of LRT. I guesstimated it at about 10-12 miles. All went well until I got to Ft. Snelling. I missed the turn to the fort. The hill to get there was really huge, so I decided to explore. I rode down to the south end of the state park, and tried to follow the marked bike trail. But I never saw where the trail picked up again, and ended up at the airport. So then I rode down 34th Ave (not bike friendly) and ended up by Sparky's workplace (I waved, dude). Finally, I found my way into the Nature Preserve, took the 494 bridge, and made it home. Total mileage for the day was just over 25 miles. Yikes!
And Sparky, I inadvertantly rode some of your commute. Going from American Blvd to 494 to Hwy 13 is smooth as silk. You ought to try it!
Yes, yes. Thanks for the prodding. ;) I'm working on it. Maybe Sunday we can do a ride or something.Â
I have heard that the trails get a bit confusing down there - at least it doesn't sound like you wondered onto the live firing range that's down there somewhere - one of the club members reported that some millitary types had a guy in zip ties and were handing him off to local police the other day. Whee!
Yeah, a bit confusing would be a good way to put it.
Saw three huge turkeys standing by the side of the road on my way home last night.Â
Found my best route so far. Hwy 13 to Sibley Memorial Highway to 55 to Ft Snelling. Just over 10 miles round trip.
I found the owner's manual for my bike computer last night while unpacking a box. So in honor of the Tour, I changed my comp from mph to kph. On my morning ride today, my top speed was 31 kph. I'm such a weenie.
Hunh. My speedometer is still in the box, registering zero...
Gonna hook it up before Saturday?
I really doubt it. Schedule is a little tight. I might check the tires though.
If Saturday doesn't work, we can always call it off. No pressures, dude.
In other news, I feel better now. Last night, I managed to get a top speed of 56 km/h on my commute home. Woo!
Watch out Lance. New rival in the making. :)
Hah. I kept it up for about 1/4 of a mile. Downhill.
Borking commute yesterday. Highlight (or lowlight) was getting passed by 4 guys in a paceline.
You didn't hop on the last guys wheel?
Thought about it.
Rode yesterday too. All the way home from Minneapolis. Nice easy pace, but I felt kinda crappy today like I'd overdone it the day before.  Not sure why.
I've been off the bike this week, as the forecast has been (accurately) predicting rain. So yesterday I was on the bus, and who should get on but my girlfriend from high school. She was my first "serious girlfriend" and we dated for just over two years. We had kept in sporadic contact through the years, but hadn't seen each other for quite some time. We had an enjoyable commute in and caught up on each others' lives.Â
She still looked good, too.
hmmm.......
somebody going to ride the bus a little more often now???
Ah, the vagaries of fate... Hee.
Fate? So does that mean I'm fated to put the moves on her?
you're the one that has a want ad.
A want ad? Me?
Heh, want ad.
For those who were wondering (can't imagine there was somebody) I've been commuting via bus and train lately. Rain, cold weather and obligations after work have kept me off the bike. So you haven't missed anything.
yah....right!!!
I believe you!!!
OK, I did see the ex on the bus again yesterday and today.
;)
After posting the lyrics of Windfall the other day, I've spent the last two days on the bus listening to Trace. I'm trying to decide if the album is making me depressed, or if I'm already depressed and that's why it's really resonating.
Um, here's a suggestion pal o' mine - stop that!Â
Â
P.s. who's Windfall/Trace? Oh, and during my commute in this morning I was listening to the some-teen minute long version of "Fire on the Mountain" from that Winterland '78 disk you borrowed to me... All I have to say is "THANK YOU"! :)
Windfall is a song from the Son Volt album Trace. I posted the lyrics in Jukebox the other day.
And, fyi, that GD 12/31/78 is the same show that they filmed for the new DVD The Closing of Winterland, the last concert at the legendary venue. DVD is available on Amazon.com (too lazy to link it)
It would be fun to see Danny A. counting down to midnight with the 12 foot doobie in the introduction...
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/athens/volleyball/2004-08-24-beach-gold_x.htm?POE=SPOISVA
Â
ITS OVER!!!
:(
But Misty May is still on maximonline.com
http://www.maximonline.com/girls_of_maxim/features/action_figures/vollyball.asp
Nope, I'm sorry - I did a google image search to try to find a picture of her that showed her as hot, and couldn't do it. Ms. May definitely doesn't do it for me.Â
Granted, she could kick my ass at volleyball 99 times out of 100 (I figure I'd get lucky somewhere in there), if I didn't die first...
Today on my commute I listened to NPR.
Yay! Anything good on?
A local station (KFAI 106.5 FM) plays Democracy Now replays during my morning commute.
Just news on Morning Edition. Most notably, very depressing piece on fossil fuels and our stranglehold dependence on them. Nothing I don't know but not a reality I wanna face. Esp first thing in the morning.
Yesterday was perfectly awful. I got on the train, rode to Ft Snelling, got off and realized I'd left my jacket at work. The awful part was that my car keys were in the jacket. The wife wasn't answering her cell phone, so I got back on the train and had to head all the way back downtown, get my keys, get back on the train and go to Ft Snelling. As a result, I was late and they cancelled the sailing class for that night.
Oh, you mean the peak theory? Where our demand is going to outstrip our supply no matter what we do in the near future (some say as early as Thanksgiving 2005, Yay!), and that is why we're really busy trying to secure ourselves some oil rights? Never heard of it. (I wish.)
x-posted there dude. Sorry to hear about your less than wonderful adventures in commuting.Â
Hey look at it this way - at least the kids didn't have to help you bail again.Â
<ducks>Â hee.
Poor bailing kiddies.
Sorry about the commute woes, Frosti love. At least sailing doesn't require much fossil fuel.
<edit> And yes, that's the one I meant, Sparky. Sigh.
[Edited by on Aug 25, 2004 at 08:07am.]
For those keeping score at home (not for those scoring at home, mind you) I'm back on the bike. Rode yesterday and again today. It's been over a month since I rode. Sigh.
Sigh...
Â
ya..your just bummed you don't get to see the ex....as much...
;)
Â
Now that the kids are in school my start time is later, so I never get to see her. Sigh...
;-)
Awwww.
I took LRT to work with my bike today. The train was truly packed with goofy Gopher fans. I'd forgotten there was a 2:30 game today. I'll be riding the whole way home and skipping the train.
What the heck you doing working on a Saturday? You gotta' start turning down promotions. ;)
No kidding. I don't think I like this job.
I posted some pics of my daily commute over in Maggies Window thread.
Big ride coming up September 29-Oct 1, bikepacking from Cumberland MD to Washington DC, our annual trip.
It's a cheap trip, (once you get to Cumberland, 'natch,) free camping all the way. All are welcome, it's a public trail, and if it turns out we don't like you, we can always kill you, and throw your bodies in the river.
I knew it. dd is the Dread Pirate Roberts.
How far is this ride?