PR to work

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

Quoted message said:

Hi all,
I commute by bike like many here. My commute is 12 km each way, about 4
of which is dirt.

I was just curious if there were anyone here who tries to break his/her
own time record to work. It is my *main* motivation for coming to work
for the last 2 months. Even if I do not *PR*, the motivation is there.

I run on various errands while returning and, really, I do not need any
motivation to go home :-), so I do not keep time scores for returning.

Anyone with similar feelings?

Yes, in fact. I did that a while back when I was bike commuting regularly.
My commute was in traffic with a lot of turns, stop signs and traffic lights
so I just used the bike computer which calculates based on riding time.

What I found was that it was mentally tiring. Every time I had to stop, I
would wait until the last minute and then accelerate as quickly as possible
back to speed. I also had to watch for traffic slow-downs and figure out
how to deal with it safely so as not to lose too much time.

After a few attempts, I realized that I was at the point where
uncontrollable circumstances (wind, traffic, etc.) was having a greater
effect than if I was cruising at 19 or 21 mph. I got my best number (42
minutes and 10 seconds for a 13.3 mile ride) and stopped trying.

Another thing I learned: I have 2 road bikes, my touring bike (about 26
lbs) and my sport bike (about 21 lbs). It didn't matter which bike I used
even though my sport bike felt a lot faster.

-Don

Burak Ilter said:

Hi all,
I commute by bike like many here. My commute is 12 km each way, about 4
of which is dirt.

I was just curious if there were anyone here who tries to break his/her
own time record to work. It is my *main* motivation for coming to work
for the last 2 months. Even if I do not *PR*, the motivation is there.

I run on various errands while returning and, really, I do not need any
motivation to go home :-), so I do not keep time scores for returning.

Anyone with similar feelings?

Today I saw two pheasants on the way in to work, which
was a personal record. I also saw my neighbor, coming
the other way. Not a record, but an unusual occurrence.
And a rollerblader on a cell phone!

Other personal records: 8 turkey. 6 deer. 44 rabbits.

I'm not sure I understand the need for speed. 🙂

Scott, 15 miles each morning, 15 blocks each night

Burak Ilter said:

Hi all,
I commute by bike like many here. My commute is 12 km each way, about 4
of which is dirt.

I was just curious if there were anyone here who tries to break his/her
own time record to work. It is my *main* motivation for coming to work
for the last 2 months. Even if I do not *PR*, the motivation is there.

No way. If I were to try and set records, I would slowly, over time,
end up riding through traffic in a manner that I find unsafe. For
example, I would be tempted to blow off stop signs and the like. I
only recenlty broke down and put a speedometer on my main commuting
bike. I try not use it to time my trip.

Later,
Mark Muller

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

Quoted message said:

Burak Ilter said:

Hi all,
I commute by bike like many here. My commute is 12 km each

way, about 4

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of which is dirt.

I was just curious if there were anyone here who tries to

break his/her

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

own time record to work. It is my *main* motivation for

coming to work

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

for the last 2 months. Even if I do not *PR*, the

motivation is there.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

No way. If I were to try and set records, I would slowly,

over time,

Quoted message said:

end up riding through traffic in a manner that I find

unsafe. For

Quoted message said:

example, I would be tempted to blow off stop signs and the

like. I

Quoted message said:

only recenlty broke down and put a speedometer on my main

commuting

Quoted message said:

bike. I try not use it to time my trip.

I used to try and set PR's but, like Mark, I felt I would
slowly yield to temptation and slip through one traffic light
too many. You might want to try for a PR on just the dirt
section, where you won't have traffic contention.

--
Mike Kruger
Bike Chicago e-mail list info:
http://www.geocities.com/bvonmoss/bikechicago.html