The last 0.5 mi of my morning commute kicks my butt even with 26-32 ring-cog combination because there is a 300ft climb over that distance. The rest of my commute I can do comfortably using only the 36T chain ring and the entire 11-32 cassette. I'm going through a residential area so for the most part I'm fine on this climb. I found a slightly different route that adds about 3/4 mi to the ride to ascend the hill a bit slower.
There is a part where I have to ride through Golden Gate Park and although it's flat, it is quite intimidating because of the vehicular traffic. About 0.5 mi of it is a bit twisty and there isn't enough road for cars to pass me without going into oncoming traffic which they cannot see because of the twists. I have no idea how fast I travel through this section, but I assume it's lower than the 25MPH limit. Some people try to make a dangerous pass (1 near head-on collision), some people use the horn.
I did eventually find an alternate route so that is mostly taken care of, but I have to go slower because instead of roadway I'm riding on paved MUP where there is large group that congregates on the MUP to do Tai Chi in the morning.
The commute home I'm using a different route which descends the 300 ft in about 0.75 mi but on a busier and higher speed roadway that doesn't require me to stop every 200 or 500 ft. I managed to spin out using 48-11 gear combination so I think I might even be speeding on this 30 MPH roadway. The downside is that I think vehicles and pedestrians are way underestimating my speed. Vehicles parked perpendicular to the roadway are also a factor that make this route a bit intimidating. I've done this downhill on my old mountain bike and for whatever reason my new bike feels a lot more stable. My old bike was downright scary after if it went faster than 25 MPH. Not sure if my new bike being a 29er/622 wheels makes a difference.
I noticed that my nearest supermarket doesn't have any accommodation for bicycles. They have dozens of vehicle parking lot but I didn't see a rack or anything I could lock the bike to aside from a wheelchair ramp. I'm sure many people would use these, but I see it as messed up.
Employer has bike lockers, but repeated contact with the coordinator hasn't been productive. Right now I'm locking the bike to a railing on the side of a loading dock. They also have subsidized public transit benefit but those using it have reported it took them months to get it. Previous employer outsourced it and we used pre-tax income to buy our own public transit fare media.
Something I don't understand...
Why is there so much hostility towards pedestrians? I'm noticing that even if there are no vehicles at the stop light, a lot of bicyclists stop inside the crosswalk. I've seen as many as 10 bicyclists sitting inside the crosswalk effectively blocking the whole thing off. Even if there are pedestrians inside, some of them ride into the crosswalk and stop in front of those people crossing.
There is a part where I have to ride through Golden Gate Park and although it's flat, it is quite intimidating because of the vehicular traffic. About 0.5 mi of it is a bit twisty and there isn't enough road for cars to pass me without going into oncoming traffic which they cannot see because of the twists. I have no idea how fast I travel through this section, but I assume it's lower than the 25MPH limit. Some people try to make a dangerous pass (1 near head-on collision), some people use the horn.
I did eventually find an alternate route so that is mostly taken care of, but I have to go slower because instead of roadway I'm riding on paved MUP where there is large group that congregates on the MUP to do Tai Chi in the morning.
The commute home I'm using a different route which descends the 300 ft in about 0.75 mi but on a busier and higher speed roadway that doesn't require me to stop every 200 or 500 ft. I managed to spin out using 48-11 gear combination so I think I might even be speeding on this 30 MPH roadway. The downside is that I think vehicles and pedestrians are way underestimating my speed. Vehicles parked perpendicular to the roadway are also a factor that make this route a bit intimidating. I've done this downhill on my old mountain bike and for whatever reason my new bike feels a lot more stable. My old bike was downright scary after if it went faster than 25 MPH. Not sure if my new bike being a 29er/622 wheels makes a difference.
I noticed that my nearest supermarket doesn't have any accommodation for bicycles. They have dozens of vehicle parking lot but I didn't see a rack or anything I could lock the bike to aside from a wheelchair ramp. I'm sure many people would use these, but I see it as messed up.
Employer has bike lockers, but repeated contact with the coordinator hasn't been productive. Right now I'm locking the bike to a railing on the side of a loading dock. They also have subsidized public transit benefit but those using it have reported it took them months to get it. Previous employer outsourced it and we used pre-tax income to buy our own public transit fare media.
Something I don't understand...
Why is there so much hostility towards pedestrians? I'm noticing that even if there are no vehicles at the stop light, a lot of bicyclists stop inside the crosswalk. I've seen as many as 10 bicyclists sitting inside the crosswalk effectively blocking the whole thing off. Even if there are pedestrians inside, some of them ride into the crosswalk and stop in front of those people crossing.