How was your commute today?

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 6:11 pm

Andy,

You're a psycho, and a real inspiration to me. I'd like to think I don't have a lower limit but I was close earlier this week.

I rode in 18F or so on Wednesday, and a toasty 31F and light snow this morning.

I can imagine 7F on the scooter, but no so sure I'd try it. I would say it ain't gonna get that cold in Cincinnati, but the record low of -24F was set here on this day in 1994, not that long ago. That would be one for the Cold Weather Challenge for sure.

I did get some new glove liners yesterday to replace the cheapies I had that were ripping. I got them here: http://www.rei.com/online/store/Product ... n=40003707

I'll report back on how they do in real cold another time, since it's not real cold right now.

Post by **polianarchy** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 6:47 pm

gt1000 wrote:So now I'm wondering...what library in Philly has the rare book area in the basement? That's such a bad idea...

Oops, I left out the part where we ROLLED PINKY T. INTO THE LOADING DOCK ELEVATOR and lifted her up to Level 2A, where the Rare Books are caged! I work at Temple University's Law School Library, where we have an extensive closed stacks area behind locked doors. The refdesk and my office are on Level 3, so we librarians have a habit of calling the caged book area on 2A, 2, and 1A "the basement."

I'm hoping that I won't have to do that again. It was really embarrassing! I was just so set on riding as much as possible, I didn't even think of the snow starting up before the forecasted time.

EBee · Post by **EBee** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 8:39 pm

Lobsta-man, thought you were feelingsick??

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:07 pm

EBee wrote:Lobsta-man, thought you were feelingsick??

Feeling better today, thanks!

Also looking forward to the ride home in a few minutes...

40F woot!

ScooterDave · Post by **ScooterDave** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:20 pm

lobsterman wrote:Also looking forward to the ride home in a few minutes...

Kevin, you never called me. I have that DVD here at my office.

Dave

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:41 pm

ScooterDave wrote:
lobsterman wrote:Also looking forward to the ride home in a few minutes...
Kevin, you never called me. I have that DVD here at my office.

Dave

crazy work... sorry. was actually hoping to see about lunch but that went out the window too...

off to the scooter, maybe I'll see you at the light on 9th st.

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:18 am

lobsterman wrote:Andy,

You're a psycho, and a real inspiration to me. I'd like to think I don't have a lower limit but I was close earlier this week.

I rode in 18F or so on Wednesday, and a toasty 31F and light snow this morning.

I can imagine 7F on the scooter, but no so sure I'd try it. I would say it ain't gonna get that cold in Cincinnati, but the record low of -24F was set here on this day in 1994, not that long ago. That would be one for the Cold Weather Challenge for sure.

Psycho maybe. Inspiration? I don't think so. It was cold this morning and, for the first time, my face shield actually started to ice up. And remember, my ride is only 4 miles and about 15 minutes, if I miss all the lights. It's funny though, while this was the coldest temp I've ever ridden in, I've actually felt colder on other morning rides recently. I've always set my low temp at 15 but a number of things converged this morning that convinced me to ride. The most important factor was that I knew the roads were pretty much ice and snow-free.

As for gear, other than my face shield issue the only other problems I had were my gloves and boots. Both my feet and hands were starting to feel it when I pulled into my lot. My Olympia pants were fantastic and I'm amazed that my Dainese perforated jacket with liner over a heavy sweater did the job. That same jacket with the liner removed is actually bearable on 90 plus degree days!

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:22 am

polianarchy wrote: Oops, I left out the part where we ROLLED PINKY T. INTO THE LOADING DOCK ELEVATOR and lifted her up to Level 2A, where the Rare Books are caged! I work at Temple University's Law School Library, where we have an extensive closed stacks area behind locked doors. The refdesk and my office are on Level 3, so we librarians have a habit of calling the caged book area on 2A, 2, and 1A "the basement.":oops:

Damn, I don't know the Temple Law Library at all. I was hoping for a mental picture of your adventure but the Philly libraries that I know best are the downtown free library and Penn.

ebcspace · Post by **ebcspace** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:39 am

scoot commute today... about 40F, not bad at all...

gear : t-shirt, two sweatshirts, windbreaker jacket on top, thermal pants under jeans, long socks over short socks. upon arrival, changed to shorts and a sweatshirt. (socal culture !)

was driving the car for the last two weeks, and now scooted the last two days... co-worker looks at me yesterday, telling me "i'm crazy !" to ride the scooter out today.

ride worth the small bit of nip in the air.

cargo elevator story reminds me of a great memory... after skateboarding demo back in early 80's, Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain, Lester Kasai, etc... , near a hundred skating kids headed over to the local mall, and proceeded to ride our skateboards through the mall ! yeeeaaah!

here's a pic of a normal day in taiwan... check out the scoots !

Post by **polianarchy** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 3:23 pm

ebcspace wrote:cargo elevator story reminds me of a great memory... after skateboarding demo back in early 80's, Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain, Lester Kasai, etc... , near a hundred skating kids headed over to the local mall, and proceeded to ride our skateboards through the mall ! yeeeaaah!

That sounds like the concluding scene from a Rodney Dangerfield movie!

GET RAD!!!

Roose Hurro · Post by **Roose Hurro** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 12:12 am

Check out the scoots? Check out the blurry pedestrian! Go, Flash!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 2:36 pm

It’s snowing again – this is the southwest it supposed to be dry

I see the northeast is getting it worst.

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:58 pm

Rode the Buddy to work today for the first in what seems like a very long time. I haven't ridden since before I went to Munich early this month, the weather and road conditions were really bad here after I got back.

Today 95% of snow and ice is gone, and this morning the roads were just wet. I took it pretty easy around turns and was gentle with the throttle, and no drama. I was extra careful watching for any ice, big puddles, and pot holes.

Felt real good to ride again

and should be nicer this afternoon when the sun has had a chance to warm things up a little and dry the roads. Then I can enjoy the turns on give it a little more throttle.

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 4:10 pm

While most of Colorado is still under a foot or more of snow, all of the white stuff has pretty much vanished in and around Denver. Riding has been great for the past couple of weeks. We're now in the more typical winter pattern of highs in the 40's or 50's with occasional cold days and some really cold mornings. Today we should hit 60! Then, of course, we'll have a colder, wetter weekend but hopefully nothing big. Sounds like points east of Denver could get a lot of snow though.

The big safety issues now are huge potholes and sand/gravel at some intersections. I've been riding a lot and actually rolled past 700 miles on the odo. Back around New Years, I was figuring I wouldn't hit 700 miles until late April.

mybuddy · Post by **mybuddy** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 5:31 pm

lobsterman wrote:Rode the Buddy to work today for the first in what seems like a very long time. I haven't ridden since before I went to Munich early this month, the weather and road conditions were really bad here after I got back.

Today 95% of snow and ice is gone, and this morning the roads were just wet. I took it pretty easy around turns and was gentle with the throttle, and no drama. I was extra careful watching for any ice, big puddles, and pot holes.

Felt real good to ride again and should be nicer this afternoon when the sun has had a chance to warm things up a little and dry the roads. Then I can enjoy the turns on give it a little more throttle.

Ditto, should be an excellent ride home.

Elm Creek Smith · Post by **Elm Creek Smith** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 6:29 am

Rode to work on Monday for the first time since I dumped the Budd due to sand on the street a couple of Tuesdays back. Only saw one other bike, and that was a Harley. The wind blew me around a bit, but I saw 70 mph indicated on the way home going downwind.

Wednesday was just as nice with less wind and patchy fog in the morning. Saw several sport bikes on the way to work and several full dressers and a bunch of sport bikes riding together on the way home. Less than a mile from home, four Harleys passed me going the other way; I figured them for guys who got home and decided to take advantage of the weather.

Today was a good ride with a lot more two wheelers out there.

The forecast for the weekend sucks.

ECS

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:49 pm

I’m looking outside and there is not a cloud to be seen its cool now in the low 30’s – for all intense and purpose it will be a warm day in the 60’s, - But that’s not what the forecasters are saying – they say its supposed to be cool with high winds and possible showers by afternoon – what’s a person to believe.

and yea they say the weekend is supposed to be rain or snow

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 2:02 pm

The ride home yesterday was 35 degrees and full of gusty winds; the ride in today was a chilly 23 degrees and included two cars who decided I couldn't possibly be fast enough to deserve to be in front of them so they passed me on the right and then cut me off.

Still, it's way better than riding the bus.

Elm Creek Smith · Post by **Elm Creek Smith** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:06 am

Fifty, clear, and windy this morning. Saw four motorcycles, one Harley, two sport bikes, and one dresser on the way in. Seventy, or close to it, this afternoon, partly cloudy, and the wind is whipping out of the south since a front is coming through this evening. Just a slight buffeting from the wind at 40 mph (side component). Cruised easily at 55-60 after deducting the Buddy 10% from the speedometer. Saw four more 2 wheelers on the way home.

ECS

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:24 pm

It was cold! 17.2°F – the coldest I have ever rode in, got off the scoot at work and could hardly walk because my legs felt like there were little needles poked all of them. Not a cloud to be seen and expecting it to be near 50°F by afternoon. The south bike parking lot was empty this morning but by lunch time I think it will be filled as people will be going home to get their rides during lunch

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 5:15 pm

I rode an alternate route this morning to work due to backed up traffic on the usual one.

I actually took the same route I did on my very first commute but haven't tried since. The first time I commuted (last fall) I encountered a 50mph zone with 4 lanes and lots of traffic and got a little nervous, so went to a more direct route that is limited to 35mph zones which I've been using ever since.

For those playing at home here in Cincinnati, it was River Road/Route 50 coming eastbound into downtown.

Today I rode the route with the higher speed and traffic, wasn't nervous in the least and did an indicated 60mph along with all the car driving psychos. Apart from the one person who insisted on ignoring my turn signal and passing me on the right it was a walk in the park.

I think I may go that way on a regular basis. It was more fun.

Elm Creek Smith · Post by **Elm Creek Smith** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:05 am

I was tired this morning, and riding in 34 degrees didn't sound good at all, so I drove the Cruiser. Tomorrow and Wednesday are supposed to be better.

ECS

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 3:04 pm

Chilly this morning, and I was planning on whimping out, but then this morning as I ate breakfast I thought to myself:
"hey, this might be my last chance to ride in 20 degree weather until next winter"
So I rode. Still beats the bus, every time.

sunshinen · Post by **sunshinen** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:33 pm

Damn. I wanted to ride.

In a contradictory move, this weekend I checked the weather, saw that it was supposed to be in the 50s for the next 10 days, and spent all day Saturday cleaning off all the salt and grime, changing the oil, putting in a halogen... and hooking up the battery connector for the heated gloves my boyfriend bought me for my birthday (He actually hooked it up for me too).

Then the forecasts changed. I was excited today would be cold, but not wet/icy, so I could test my gloves. But after 15 minutes of deliberation, the wind advisories convinced me for the 2nd day in a row to leave my Buddy under cover. And tomorrow it's supposed to snow.

BoneGirl · Post by **BoneGirl** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 5:21 am

Rode the Buddy to the XYL (local scooter club) meeting last night in the cold but at least it's finally dry outside. Today I rode to work. 20's on the way in but 40's coming home with the gorgeous sun shining in my eyes all the way home. Loved every minute of it. I'm off tomorrow and it looks like a great day to put about 100 miles on the Buddy. Maybe a cruise to see my mother-in-law in Indiana. Vrooom!!!!

louie · Post by **louie** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:10 pm

It's nice out, 70 and sunny so i've been riding to work this week. I take a different route through the hills.

I want to thank the cagers out there yesterday for keeping me on my toes. They threw out all kinds of obsticles for me to practice my SEE (search, evaluate, exicute) skills. I made it through without incident. It was surprising how my attitude reajusts itself while riding.

then just like that

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:32 pm

Right around freezing this morning on the way in, no major drama. I'm starting to really enjoy the slightly longer route that keeps me away from a couple of school zones and gives me 1.5 to 2 miles of WOT fun. Four lanes of 55 mph cagers with multiple on/off ramps no longer bothers me.

Weather prestodigitators are saying 60 by 4PM for the ride home. I think I will like that.

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 4:32 pm

It's really starting to feel like Spring here in Denver. High 50's to mid 60's all week and we may see 70 next week. Of course, as soon as we think, "yay, it's Spring", we get a Spring storm that dumps a foot of wet snow on us.

But, the mountains of snow from the Christmas storm are all but gone and it's glorious riding weather now. This is my 2nd favorite time of the year. End of summer, beginning of autumn is better because the roads are in much better shape. Now I'm constantly dodging potholes and scanning for sand and gravel.

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 5:43 pm

Sweet! Five days of comfortable scootering weather in a row- almost makes work bearable!

I should go over 1k miles on my way home tonight

BoneGirl · Post by **BoneGirl** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:36 pm

BoneGirl wrote:Maybe a cruise to see my mother-in-law in Indiana. Vrooom!!!!

Well, Kids, just got home from Indiana but didn't make it to the Mother-In-Law's house...just kept going!

Did a little shopping, took a picture of the Buddy in front of the store next to the Police cruiser, stopped at Exxon for a quick drink and potty break, met three motorcyclists who were hilarious because they got such a kick out of the pink Buddy and headed home; 123 miles. Not bad for our first gorgeous day in Cincinnati. Just in time to make dinner before the Hubby gets home! Get out and ride if you have the opportunity.

SteMer · Post by **SteMer** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:49 pm

BoneGirl wrote:123 miles. Not bad for our first gorgeous day in Cincinnati.

Not bad at all! I rode for the first time today but only put on about 15 miles running errands. Still, it was a sweet day to be out riding in Cinti.

CowboyRob · Post by **CowboyRob** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 1:24 am

Left this morning for class at 7:00. Little speckels of rain on my seat as I walked out

No worries, Hopped on, rode to class and it slowly increased to a drizzel. Got out at 9:30 and it had stopped raining. Walked to the union and got some food. Went out to ride home and was met by steady rain fall, everything soaked! Rode home in the rain and dried off. Crashed out and woke up with a FEVER

Allergies been working on me for the last 4 days, guess I finally got the spring sinus infection I know and love. I am sure that the 40 Mph ingestion of pollen doesn't help, but I'll be damned(probably allready am) If I aint gonna scoot!

mlstephens · Post by **mlstephens** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 1:39 am

I work from home and travel, so commute isn't realistic. But took off this week and have had fantastic weather here in north TX the past few days and rode the Buddy quite a bit yesterday and today, mainly for errands. Heavy winds made the ride today interesting, but overall wonderful spring weather.

paige · Post by **paige** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 1:48 am

Rode 50 miles through the foothills to Mt. Diablo today. A beautiful day for a great ride, but not unusual, except that I rolled 1000 miles ! Finally broken in.

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 1:14 pm

Last Friday we went for a ride, it was 70°F, by mid week we are expecting similar temps.

Daylight savings Baaaa for the A.M., its dark, but it should be better on the evening commute – I work Sunday’s.
Weather wise we have a comfortable 40°F but breezy, should be up in the lower 60’s late afternoon – Spring is around the corner!!!!!!!! – at least for us

lou76 · Post by **lou76** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 8:04 am

....rolled over 7k on the ride home from work last night...

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 2:05 pm

Wow 7K!

Keys · Post by **Keys** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:32 pm

Congrats, Isaac. I've only got 5200 now.

--Keys

lou76 · Post by **lou76** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:35 am

but after your trip in may, you will have caught up for sure....

mybuddy · Post by **mybuddy** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:09 am

Great ride in today, a little cool with temps in the mid 40's. Good ride though, I did have one incident were a garbage truck pulled out in front of me, I had time to react, and was lucky that no one was in the other lane.

Ride home should be sweet with temps in the 70's

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 12:11 pm

71 deg, took the long way to work down A1A just as the sun was rising over the ocean....sweet!

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:49 pm

Time to start loooking into a mesh jacket. Sunday's ride to Pasadena (for Rose Bowl flea market) in 90 or so degree temps was fun but left the wife & I pretty wiped out and very thirsty.

Yesterday's commute home, though, was beautiful... high 70s, skies as clear as they get in LA and still light outside. One of those rides that reminded me why I love scooting so much more than cagering.

This moving up of DST is freakin' brilliant!

Kevin K · Post by **Kevin K** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 4:54 pm

Not a bad trip in this morning. Temps in the upper 30's, nothing frozen on the streets, but there's still a lot of sand leftover from winter. I wore a fleece liner under my Roadcrafter jacket and was comfortable, temp-wise.

Looking forward to the ride home (should be almost 60) then meeting up with some local scooterists for cheeseburgers this evening.
-K

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:35 pm

I am home with a bad allergy attack or cold today, but yesterday the ride home was really nice and in the 60's.

Found myself passing folks on River Road, indicated 72mph, then saw the unmarked cop car coming up behind me right as I left the 50 zone into the 35 zone. I pulled into the right lane and he kept going. He was obviously on his way somewhere and couldn't be bothered with me. I was thinking how fun it would be to explain that speeding ticket to my wife.

Be careful out there, this nice weather can inspire some unwise behavior on the scooter. I've been riding all winter but this was just wonderful riding in warm and sunny weather. If you are just getting the scooter out of hibernation remember to take it easy until you're used to riding again.

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:45 pm

lobsterman wrote:Be careful out there, this nice weather can inspire some unwise behavior on the scooter. I've been riding all winter but this was just wonderful riding in warm and sunny weather. If you are just getting the scooter out of hibernation remember to take it easy until you're used to riding again.

Yup; there were (anecdotal, based on posts on MV & MB) 2 spikes in reported crashes last year: First in the summer, when there were a lot more people doing a lot more scooting, and second in the fall/winter, when riders were dealing with new conditions such as rain, wet pavement, icy spots, etc.

mybuddy · Post by **mybuddy** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:09 am

A little wet this morning, light rain and some damp roads on the way in to work today. Supposed to clear up by the time I leave this afternoon. High today is supposed to be about 72. Should be a good ride home if it stays dry.

PasadenaSue · Post by **PasadenaSue** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 12:45 am

What's with this weather? It was raining in Pasadena and the high was 64! So it was warmer in Ohio than Pasadena?

I got a bit wet riding to work, but since I've only had my Buddy for 5 days, I had to see how it handled on wet, slippery roads. It was fine, I need waterproof gloves.

Come on sunshine, I want to really ride.

blurblaine · Post by **blurblaine** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 12:57 am

Fantastic day to ride to work!

Left the house @ 9 AM with temps around 50. All back roads and about 45 minutes later I arrived at work. Only negative is the sun in my eyes heading East.

Work was not so good today .... so

Left the office at 6:15 PM with temp above 70! Oh, did I enjoy unwinding as I cruised home. The Blur hit a top speed of 68 mph (indicated) and was enjoying the twisties.

Put the Blur away and took an hour drive in my NSX for the next hour. Besides work, this was a close to perfect day!

SteMer · Post by **SteMer** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 12:59 am

mybuddy wrote:A little wet this morning, light rain and some damp roads on the way in to work today. Supposed to clear up by the time I leave this afternoon. High today is supposed to be about 72. Should be a good ride home if it stays dry.

Yes, it was a sweet ride home today, wasn't it? I was actually bummed to arrive home. Could've ridden for another hour or two easily.

mybuddy · Post by **mybuddy** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:20 am

SteMer wrote: Yes, it was a sweet ride home today, wasn't it? I was actually bummed to arrive home. Could've ridden for another hour or two easily.

Yes it was! Great ride home!!

Modern Buddy

How was your commute today?

commute today

Re: commute today

Superhero...

Cincinnati

Road trip

Re: Road trip

I love to scoot so much it makes me sick!