Commuting to work by bike

Ever since the weather warmed up, I've been getting overtaken by everyone—even the seniors...

Honestly, those damn intersections and sudden turns drive me absolutely insane, no matter how much I try to chill out. I don't mind the route all the way down to the cemetery, or even over toward the local cathedral, but then everything just turns into total chaos—too many descents, constant climbing, slamming on the brakes, dodging stuff... it's a mess. So now I'm looking for an alternative from the cemetery area over to the suburbs, but just sticking to the main roads.

briskorca12: wait, you're telling me it takes you 40 minutes to go 7.5 miles? Is that including waiting at red lights? Are there actually that many of them along the way?
Look, right now I’m clocked in at about an hour to an hour and ten minutes of pure riding time just to get to 16 miles, and I haven't even been on a bike in like ten years. If you factor in sitting at traffic lights, you can probably tack on another 5 or 10 minutes.

Nathan Castillo8 and my "usual" pace is about 35-40 minutes for the same distance. It’s tough to push much faster when you have to navigate through city traffic, though. :/

By the way, has anyone ever thought about building a bike path right alongside the railroad tracks to cut straight through the city from east to west? I don't take the train myself, but my wife has been commuting daily for the last few months, and she mentioned how convenient it would be to have a dedicated bike lane running right next to the tracks. Now, the big question is: who actually owns that land? Is it even legal to build something that close to the rail lines, or would there be too many restrictions? 🤷

Man, whatever... it’s just a weak little town... that’s what I was thinking in the first place...
I mean, sure, I deal with a few stoplights and some crawling through traffic from the suburbs over to downtown, but after that, it’s just kind of meh...

Props to the guys who actually drop their ride low, but those people who lower them so much they're basically hovering 5 cm off the pavement? Honestly, they gross me out. I literally have to pull over...
It's weird, though... back when I had my old Monte Carlo, none of this used to bug me—not hitting bumps, not jumping the rims... but I just cruised along the embankment from the arena toward the residential district and nearly cracked a rim. Yeah... even with double-walled construction, it still felt like it was gonna snap.

I’m heading from downtown toward the West Side via Liberty Street and Držićev Avenue—roughly seven traffic lights along the way. It can be a total nightmare if I catch a red light; I’d say it adds at least five minutes, if not more, to the trip.

Oh, right, day three of my bike-to-work challenge. 🙂

Nathan Castillo8 said:briskorca12: how on earth does it take you 40 minutes to get to 7.5 miles? is that including the wait at all those traffic lights, or are there just that many of them?
Right now, I am looking at about an hour to an hour and ten minutes of pure driving time to reach 16 miles, and keep in mind I haven't even been on a bicycle in nearly a decade. If one factors in the inevitable delays from stoplights, that could easily stretch by another five or ten minutes.

If you are cutting through downtown Los Angeles, you have to account for waiting on every elderly pedestrian who decides to cross the street, and suddenly, your commute has vanished into thin air...

I’m about to start commuting about 8 miles to work by bike
hopefully it’ll take me around an hour
my ride is an Avalanche 3.0—just a single wide tire setup 😁

honestly, I’m a little worried about sweating through my clothes 😁 or having a tire blow out halfway there 😁

anyone got any tips for actually pedaling? I’ve mostly just spent my time driving or staring at screens... haven't really done any purposeful cycling before

Lawrence Booth2 said:I’ll be commuting 8 miles to work by bike soon
I’m hoping it takes about an hour
The bike is an Avalanche 3.0, single-width tire😁

My main concerns are sweating through my clothes 😁 and dealing with a flat tire halfway there 😁

Any actual advice for someone who hasn't really cycled for distance? Up until now, I've mostly just ridden casually to clear my head... I haven't exactly been training for anything.

Investing in some high-quality moisture-wicking cycling gear goes a long way in managing sweat and staying relatively dry.
As for the tire issue, the solution is simple: carry a spare tube, a patch kit, and a basic multi-tool.

Nathan Castillo8 said:yeah right.. this city is a joke.. thought so...
I deal with a few stoplights and some idling from the suburbs out to the lake area, but whatever...

props to the guys with lowered rims, but the ones who drop them so they're still basically scraping the pavement? gross. I literally have to stop...
Weird thing is... back when I had my old Monte Carlo, none of it bothered me, not hitting bumps, not nothing... but just now, driving along the embankment from the arena over toward Los Angeles, I nearly wrecked a rim. yeah... double-walled, but it still felt sketchy.

Why even bother with the embankment if you can't actually drive on it?
Try this route instead:
after the old railroad bridge, hit the embankment right under the new one, then after about 100 yards, hop down onto the road by the lake and just floor it all the way to the Walmart on Ljubljana, then cut right onto the bike
path straight through to Los Angeles.
If you ask me, it's the best, prettiest, and fastest way to go.

later, dustyjackal21

hm... yeah, I take that exact route, over the pedestrian bridge at the turnaround, then under the bridge and out onto the main road... then I just blast all the way down toward the park, I even went inside the park area, came out the other exit, and still have to head over toward the highway.
Just ride straight to the end past the Walmart and then keep going toward Los Angeles..
all 5.
Look, I'm not exactly the cleanest guy, you know? When I'm heading home, my jacket and sweats are stuffed in my panniers, full of dirty work clothes and stuff. My back wheel starts acting up because of it.

it's mostly that stretch near the highway that kills me.

p.s. gotta share this weird thing that happened to me yesterday
...
so I'm riding home, 9.3 miles and there's this guy right behind me keeping a steady pace, and in the middle of nowhere I see this dude ahead of me, coming from the side of the bike path, riding some kind of mountain bike, wearing jeans and a heavy jacket, just pedaling super slow...
I'm thinking, okay, I'll blow past him in no time... but man, I'm pushing 28-32 mph as hard as I can, the wind is kicking my ass, and I'm just not getting any closer to him.
We hit the overpass, I'm about 20-30 feet behind him, and I'm like... alright, buddy, you're mine on this climb, you're gonna tire out and then I'm flying past.
I'm holding the climb at 25-27, but on the incline, he's still spinning at the exact same speed and I'm still not gaining on him.
I'm thinking to myself... fine, I'll catch you on the downhill, you won't be able to shake me, so I'm hammering the pedals on the descent, but I'm still not catching up... then we hit the flat, he pulls away.... I'm pushing 30 again, passing people and cyclists, I get within 10 feet, I'm almost there... FINALLY.... wait. what the hell... he just takes off... and he's still pedaling at like a 50 cadence and he's just goneeeee...

I finally caught up to him at the light by Zubak. Turns out the guy had an e-bike 🙂 We popped a couple of words together, rode for a few hundred more yards together, and then we both went our separate ways.

🤣🤣 isn't exactly playing fair; the guy was totally cutting 😁😁 off. Honestly, thank god he stopped at the red light, otherwise he would've been chasing him down and just stuck in his rearview forever without ever catching up. For those longer commutes to work, an e-bike is actually a pretty solid investment—you don't deal with all that sweating and you're surprisingly quick.
I'm more of a traditionalist 😁 myself, and my commute is only about 2.8 miles, so I barely have time to break a sweat, except when I'm sitting at a red light in this summer heat waiting for the light to turn green 😁

So, quick question for anyone who commutes from the suburbs into the city... 1. If I drive out toward the outskirts, hit the main highway, and then have to cut through that industrial area near the ExxonMobil plant to get into the business district—is that stretch actually dangerous? Like, is the traffic super heavy? I’m honestly kind of hesitating about making that drive just because of that specific part. It makes me a little nervous, I guess... Could you guys share some of your experiences?🙂

Where exactly are you trying to get to?
If you head straight across that massive field, you can cut through the industrial area over toward Dugav.
Now, if you’re aiming for somewhere near Remetinc or Horvatska—wait, I think it's better if you hit the second traffic light over in mlak !!, then take a left at the lights and cross the tracks toward Old Goricka. It gets busy, but there isn't much traffic, at least not around 6:30 in the morning when I'm out driving. From there, just go all the way to Remetinc, hang a right onto the bike path under the rotor, and you'll hit the pedestrian bridge over Savska.

Hey, Nathan Castillo8, that road feels way busier to me than the one by mlak !! I'm honestly a little worried someone might plow right into me :-(

It’d probably be best if they just connected that stretch by the road from ExxonMobil to the Buzin !!! business park.

Wait, are you heading out toward the ExxonMobil station or just going into downtown LA? If you're aiming for the ExxonMobil spot, honestly, just keep cruising down the main road past the industrial area straight to the station. But if you're actually trying to get into the city, maybe cut through the warehouse district over by Dugav or take a right toward the music studio and head further toward the military base.

How long is the drive to Dugav?

Karen Hall68 said:How long will it take me to get to Dugav?

Depends on how fast you're driving...😉
I’d say you can hit Dugav in about 25 minutes if you actually step on it.

Hey everyone. Anyone heading down Broadway or using the bike path nearby? I’m losing my mind with these traffic lights—you miss the window by a second and you're stuck there for an eternity. It feels like everyone just blows through on red, but I’m not about to risk the fine. The NYPD is out in full force today, and I already got flagged once...

Jack Perez59 said:Hey everyone. Is anyone heading down NYC Avenue, or taking the bike path nearby? I can't stand those lights; if you don't hit them perfectly, you end up waiting forever. It seems like everyone just runs the red, but I'm not looking to risk a fine. The cops are out in force—I actually got a warning myself recently...

I am.
I've mostly seen the police around the Potomac and Antunović stretch near the intersection with Rural, but they usually seem more focused on drivers...
That’s no guarantee they won't start targeting cyclists soon, though. 😉
But yeah, those lights are pretty terrible.

Karen Hall68 said:How much time am I looking at to get to the Dugava area?

If you're cutting from the edge of the hills, past the industrial zone, over to the start of Dugava, it's about 6.2 miles.
Honestly, when I first made that trek, it took me a solid 28 minutes.

Just look, 🙂
http://bit.ly/GO81AL