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09 - After removing pedals, wheels and seat149 views
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04 - Birdy, Bow and Duc81 viewsI've been itching to take my new Birdy for a bit of a longer ride, so I decided to take it on my commute.
I don't get to do my commute by bicycle too often, unfortunately. By car or motorcycle it is 32 miles round-trip, but by bicycle it is 50 miles round-trip as I have to go south to an alternate bridge (Dumbarton) which has a bicycle lane on it. It's fun but 2 hours each way takes too long, especially with meetings and having to get home and walk and feed my dogs.
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05 - Bow on the Birdy91 viewsBetween craziness at work and business travel I hadn't gotten to do my bike commute in a couple of months, so I was looking forward to it. I also wanted to try out my new Birdy on a longer ride so I'd know what to expect about trying to take it with me on some of my travels.
When I woke up Friday morning I was pretty tired, but knowing I was taking Bow inspired me to carry through with my plans to commute on my folder. Thanks Bow!
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06 - Pedestrian bridge over 10182 viewsAt one point I got to a pedestrian / bike bridge over the freeway. This bridge has fairly steep spiral ramps on both sides, with barriers at the end to keep you from zooming through. I had always wanted to ride around the barriers but wasn't able to on my hybrid. The Birdy proved to be much more maneuverable and I rode through and up the ramp with no problem.
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07 - Waiting at an intersection95 viewsThe first part of my commute was through urban areas, I was busy battling traffic and didn't take too many pictures. Here's one of us waiting at an intersection.
BTW several people thought I was absolutely crazy to ride 50 miles on a full-suspension, small-wheeled bike while carrying a big backpack that was even heavier than the bike.
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08 - Approach to Dumbarton bridge79 views
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09 - Approach to Dumbarton bridge100 views
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01 - Bow box103 viewsBow arrived from the previous rider in this nicely decorated box.
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10 - Bike path on Dumbarton Bridge92 viewsThe Dumbarton Bridge has a separated bike/pedestrian lane, but you are still riding next to traffic going 80-90 mph, and it is quite windy, so it can be a bit of an adventure.
I have a reverse commute, I've not yet seen anybody else doing the commute in my direction.
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11 - Speed limit96 viewsNo worries about me breaking the speed limit here!
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12 - Birdy and Bow on the Bridge95 viewsWe took a brief photo break at the top of the bridge.
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13 - Dumbarton Rail Bridge101 viewsView from Dumbarton Bridge. This is an old defunct rail bridge that hasn't been used in a very long time. It runs parallel to the Dumbarton Bridge, to the south.
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