Big Bikes

The Super-Sucky Commute Circa 2009

A little while back I started thinking about how much my current commute sucks (despite the fact that it may have been on the Tour DuPont route, thanks Solo) compared to my old Marin commute. You've probably never heard me mention this fact. Not a big complainer, I don't complain a lot. As I rode to work I thought about the photos I'd take to contrast the two vastly different experiences. For whatever reason that day, my ride didn't seem so bad, it seemed kind of picturesque...scenic even.

Well, not today. In fact the above Chuck Close detail lookin' mosaic represents what the bulk of my photos looked like. Slush caked all over the waterproof housing of the Helmet Hero. I thought how fitting it was that the day after I post all the gorgeous photos of my sunny, amazing Marin commute, the weather goes all to hell...again. Now I will show my Somerville - Newton commute no mercy.

Off subject but...last night I took my helmet off outside the pub. I had stuck my glasses up in the vents, I guess they silently ejected and fell to the ground. When I came back outside later on I realized they were missing. I was super bummed, they are totally sweet glasses. As I was about to abandon hope I saw them sitting on top of a parking meter. My commute might be sucky, but whoever picked up my glasses is not. Thanks,
you can't ride in this shit without good glasses.

The amount of suiting up time I go through each winter day is staggering. If my ride were any shorter I could hardly justify it.

The Fix-ed gear. The right choice for New England commuting. We don't have extended climbs or descents. At least not around these parts. Riding in slushy conditions you can essentially downshift with your legs slowly and in control rather than locking up a wheel with your brakes and risking a slide out. The only maintenance required is lubing the chain once in a while.

Looking out my door is always a sort of worst case scenario. My road is one of the last in Somerville to get plowed. If I can make it out of my house, and down my road without wrecking, I'll generally be OK.

A few minutes into the ride my lens was covered with ice and slush. I had to delete several hundred photos of blurry whiteness. There is really no way to stay 100% dry in these conditions. I settle for warm. Wool is good. Wool works. Gore clothing helps too. Gore should sponsor me as a Super-Commuter. I win my commute every day.

Getting doused with piles of brown slush from MBTA buses is par for the course. That metaphor just reminded me. However horrible my commute might be it is still better than a sunny day of golf. Golf courses should be Canada Geese habitats.

The train crossing on the far right. The other day I had a Paris-Roubaix 2006 moment. Only the UCI official part was played by a Cambridge police officer. The train was way off down the way. I rode between the gates and began to pass the line of stopped cars coming at me. A door opened, it was a cop. He gave me a pleasant verbal warning and I promised not to do it again. I have held to my promise...except for when no one, particularly The Man is looking. I can imagine that it looks terrifying from the perspective of a driver sitting in a car. It's not.

Riding the roads through Belmont/Waltham/Watertown is like mountain biking. If you don't keep your thumbs hooked under the bars at all times you risk getting knocked off your bike.

The middle photo, again, watch me look at the bright side. Riding in 38° rain and sleet beats the hell out of waiting for the bus like that person with the umbrella is doing.

On the right. My stability tree. If I catch a red light, I hang onto my tree for a minute still clipped in. Fascinating.

My stability telephone pole. Same deal as my tree.

Fresh Pond Parkway, a great place to get killed if you trust human beings to obey laws of man and common sense. One out of four lanes never stops. The last few cars passing through a rock solid red light at 50MPH. Then you have to play chicken with left turning traffic. Point like Champ Kind time.

I have no idea how much climbing my commute has. Somewhere between 0 and 4 feet. Definitely nothing sustained. I do have alternate routes I take which have considerable amounts of climbing. No Mt. Tam around here.

There was traffic out Marin but the attitude was different, I had way less issues with belligerent drivers. Luckily I never ran into my favorite actor, Sean Penn. Apparently he's not a fan of people that "Ride those things". I still think Milk was the best film of the year.

Some days these roads clog up so bad that you can't even negotiate around traffic. If the sidewalk in iced over, that is out as well. You are relegated to waiting in line like all the lemmings.

At some point I will post photos of the alleged picturesque and scenic elements of my commute. I do have an equivalent to the Mt. Tam route. And, I suppose The Paradise loop...it's a stretch but I have a vivid imagination.

Then there's the awesomely exciting On/Offroad commute. That might warrant video. Sorry, I had to do it.