Commuting - Autumn?

So I started the homeward leg today and it was downright cold! On the MUP I found two large piles of leaves to ride through (one of my favorite sinful pleasures). Is autumn here?

It's definitely here. Today I rode a couple of kms to a local bakery and back, for a few croissants. It was drizzling and very cool. A rather welcome change from the steam bath of the summer. :) But I'm sure I'll get tired of it very quickly and wish for the high summer temperatures...

Ha, Autumn...what is that. It is still above 100 degrees down here and ultra humid....

Is autumn here?

I believe September 23 is the first day of autumn.

It get very hot and humid in southeast Tennessee, so much so that I literally never miss it during autumn and winter. Cold weather riding is great here, since it rarely gets below 20 degrees. I can't wait.

weather is still warm here, mid 80s for the highs, upper 60s for the lows...but the evenings are getting dark, and it's completely dark the entire commute into work :(

weather is still warm here, mid 80s for the highs, upper 60s for the lows...but the evenings are getting dark, and it's completely dark the entire commute into work :(Yeah, that's the only downside of the winter commute to me. I use Planet Bike head and tail lights, usually set on the blink function. I have almost been hit head-on several times because people just don't expect a bike at night.

Sweater weather will reach central Texas in 4-5 more weeks.

At 5:00 am when I leave for work it is in the upper 40's here....:cry:
70's in the day.
Im still shorts and a T-shirt until the first snow, tho'.

Yeah, that's the only downside of the winter commute to me. I use Planet Bike head and tail lights, usually set on the blink function. I have almost been hit head-on several times because people just don't expect a bike at night. Try a more powerful light? I know those Planet Bike blinkies, they are not particularly bright. You might want to upgrade, especially the front light.

I actually like riding in the dark, and never had problems with cars because of it. As a matter of fact, it gives me a raised level of awareness because in addition to noise, I also know a car is coming up behind me when the road becomes brighter (because of car headlights). I also think I am easier to notice at night because of all the lights and reflectors. They grab attention.

I enjoy the MUP in the dark mornings. So quite!! The number one reason I like to keep my bike well tuned is so I can enjoy those early morning commutes.

It has definitely felt like Autumn here today in middle Tennessee, but we'll still have plenty of 90+ degree weather before mid October. Last year the leaves didn't start getting really colorful until the last week of October and first week of November. In fact, These (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v214/lamplightsg/Gainesboro/) pictures were taken the first Saturday in November in 2005.

I was hoping to get a few more weeks out of the pool.....but it's just to cold.....

I was hoping to get a few more weeks out of the pool.....but it's just to cold.....

As a kid we had an old heavy reinforced concrete walled pool that we would let freeze and use for skating. Get some studded tires and keep using the pool :D . Early fall here. The sumac has started to color but true fall is not here until mid November when it starts to rain and the frogs start peeping.
One year my sister called from ice-bound Boulder, CO and still thinks it was hysterical that I could not hear her due to the frog calls.

Autumn, what is that?! For that matter, what is winter?

Yeah, that's the only downside of the winter commute to me. I use Planet Bike head and tail lights, usually set on the blink function. I have almost been hit head-on several times because people just don't expect a bike at night.

Your light isn't bright enough. When I am approaching an intersection in the dark, people wait MUCH longer than they really need to (IE they will stop and wait for me even if I'm 20 seconds from the intersection). The reason is that I'm running an HID and they don't know what the heck I am, so they wait.

A lot of the time once I get into the intersection and they see that I'm "just a bike" they'll pull out, but they know I'm there by then and will drive to the left alongside me until they get past me.

Of course, it sounds like you're in a lighted area. I'm mainly riding in utter blackness and need the HID for other reasons, but I'd never ride without at least a 20W halogen if I was on a tight budget, and an HID ($200) otherwise.

Most of my commute is in a relatively unlighted area, and motorists flash their brights at me all the time because they think my LEDs are too bright, (the blinky doesn't get this reaction, so much, and is more of an attention-grabber.) My only point was, the times I can rememember that I've almost been hit, it has been head-on, but now that I think about it, it was with an okay but far inferior single-bulb Cat Eye product with no blink function, before I got the Planet Bike lights.

Argh...I was really close to turning around and getting a long sleeve jersey today...starting to get chilly :( :( :( :(

weather is still warm here, mid 80s for the highs, upper 60s for the lows...but the evenings are getting dark, and it's completely dark the entire commute into work :(
Up here in Redmond, we don't get much daylight for fall and winter. I think the shortest days get down to about 9 or 10 hours between sunrise and sunset. Riding in the dark is just a fact of life up here. Especially in the winter, when the sky may be solid grey clouds for two weeks at a time. Thankfully, we don't get many days where it's cold enough to snow, (snow is *really* rare.) Low 40s and high 30s are about the lowest it gets, but that's accompanied by the standard PNW drizzle.

Autumn? It wouldn't be Autumn in this neck of the woods until January when it gets below 65. It's still in the upper 80's and will be for a few more months.

We don't get into winter until February...and it only lasts for a few days.

Autumn, what is that?! For that matter, what is winter?

In a word? "Awful"

Enjoy your Costa Rican perma-summer. ;)

Autumn, what is that?! For that matter, what is winter?

yeah...I hate you! :D

Ha, Autumn...what is that. It is still above 100 degrees down here and ultra humid....

What a difference a couple of days makes... The ride here in Austin was great today. Mid 60s this morning and not even 90 this afternoon. As far as Texas in September goes this was a fluke, but a welcome one. I 'm sure we'll be back to the "dog days" very soon.

I must be the only one who enjoys riding in cold weather.
Give me a good challenge and I am happy as a clam. Plus, the bike paths are empty.
Still, I am going to miss summer. Taking 1 minute to change in and out of my cycling gear. Being able to carry everything I was wearing in one hand. The tan.
Oh well. Time to start thinking about christmas.

I must be the only one who enjoys riding in cold weather.
You are not. My mileage doubles, if not triples in the autumn/winter. It might be different if I lived in Saskatchewan, but I, like many other smart mammals, just hate to move very fast when its 80+ outside. Plus, there are about two days per summer here in Tennessee where the humidity's not too bad.

As most everyone knows, SoCal, along with the rest of the Southwest, tends to stay moderately comfy all the time for the most part.
I'm afraid that when I get started with my trucking job this week, I'll be faced with a variety of weather to ride/drive in.
Cold weather below 50 is somewhat doable for me.
But, any snow of any type is screaming bloody for me.
My first trip to the ski-park was probably my last if that says anything.