What a perfect riding day. Chilly this morning, but it was finally daylight enough that I didn't need my Blackburn Flea helmet light. It's supposed to be about 73 degrees F. I caught a really pretty sunrise, with the profile of the Cascade skyline at one point. I'm stretching out my ride home so I'll have 27 miles for the day. I can only do that when I work in Salem and catch an earlier bus out of town.

Funny. Got a Strava KOM on a segment I didn't even know existed, and it's right on the street leading to my office.

Funny enough I do the same with the right hand turn signal, it's a habit I developed from having too many look at me like I'm nuts when I actually signal a turn. If I combine it with pointing in the direction I intend to go, along with a nod of the head in that direction they seem to get it.

except for the guy on his bike who seemed to think I was waving at him ...

one of the reasons we signal with the left hand is so that people behind you will see the signal being given. If I signal a right hand turn, using my right hand, which is on the inside of the corner I'm going into no one behind me will see the signal, it is doubtful anyone in front of me will, so the effort is rendered useless.

in that case I may as well not signal my turns and I don't intend to start doing that.

I could use my right hand in some circumstances, but I'm usually braking at the same time. If I'm going to be braking with only one hand, I prefer it to be the back brake and not the front. However, if I'm not needing to slow down drastically, I could very well use my left hand/front brake.

And depending on the circumstance, I may not do a right signal at all. If there is not someone actually waiting on me before they pull out, I just do my turn. I can turn faster with both hands on the handlebars anyway.

Short. Very short. 6.?? miles. Dashed in, rode slow home, short route. Low energy. Someone dumped a bucket of white paint on the MUP yesterday, I assume to see the patterns bike tires would make. Today I saw quite a few cyclists with white splotches on their tires. The bike cage at work is getting pretty tight with good weather riders. Nary a hint of rain. The cottonwoods are billowing their seeds, which I'm now breathing instead of black soft bugs. This might be better. Might not. Couldn't see Mt. Rainier today. Ate Pad Thai when I got home. Good commute.

Small detour after work
http://i.imgur.com/G8zQovRh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/CPEfCIfh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8iiPhg9h.jpg

That's quite a detour!!

66F 19C and I get dumped on again...after getting dumped on last night riding to the DC United soccer match, torrentnial rains. I am excelling at wet.

1st commute of my adult life. About 9.5 mi (one-way). ~48 degrees, no wind. About as perfect as I could have hoped for. 10/10 would recommend.

Nice mild morning although a bit misty, 10C/50F, with a forecast of 18C/64F and rain for this afternoon/evening. I hope it is delayed until the evening because, if it is anything like yesterday evening's rain, it came down in buckets and I don't want to ride in that!!!

Fastest ride in this morning at an average of 24.5kmh/15.2mph.

I too am more comfortable with my left hand off the bar than my right but I point with my right hand if I'm making a right hand turn (started doing that just this year). I too would rather not be braking and pointing at the same time so, if there is a car behind me, I'll point when I'm not braking which may mean much earlier than when I turn. If I do have to point and brake at the same time, it will just be a quick point and light on the brakes while my hand is off the bar.

BTW, you are capable of more braking power from your front brake than your rear so while it might not make much difference (or any difference) when braking lightly, if you really need to brake hard, you should get used to using your front brake predominantly. For that reason, I have trained myself to use my front brake as my go-to brake.

Today's commute ... pretty much dead into a headwind all the way to work. No fun since my legs already felt like rocks.

I extended my commute yesterday due to the amazing weather (sunny, 84) and did 20 miles instead of the usual 12, but the last three miles were into a brutal headwind. And I'd decided to take the bike path down by the lakeshore and the beaches ... HUGE mistake. OMG ... pedestrians, runners, other less experienced riders ... it was insanity. Was still a gorgeous night ... I'd just have preferred not dodging so many unattended toddlers.

:thumb: not bad for someone your age:D

Nice ride in this morning, some headwind but not bad. T-storm froecast for tonight with a nice tailwind.

I had to skip the bike ride yesterday, it was the end of school year award for my daugthers and I had to be back home very early.

Welcome to the addiction that is commuting!

A chilly 57F this morning and very wet from yesterday and last night's storms. So humid this morning my glasses kept fogging up. Storms were wicked yesterday but managed to at least miss the hail. This morning my coworkers said they couldn't believe I rode home (a bit melodramatic) and one commented "now we know you're f$@%ing nuts." Yup!

I know eh? LOL

It felt really good but probably won't tomorrow morning after today's 22km ride home and then legs workout at the gym tonight.

LOL. I'm awaiting all the strange looks and questions when they see my bike in my office today. Fairly certain I'm the only individual here who rides with any purpose. Just realized I forgot my sunglasses. Oh well.

Perfect spring morning for a ride, about 60 and sunny relatively calm. Pulled out of the garage, rear tire flat. Doh! Perfect morning to be at home fixing a flat. Did a quick patch job but by the time I arrived at work rear was soft again. Double DOH! Looks like I'll be doing a more thorough job on the tire/tube over the lunch hour. I missed something. Oh well.

It was a nice commute this morning. Though I have not fully adjusted my brakes since new pad install. The dump truck brake squeal is fine with me, but this morning it felt like something was dragging. I blamed it on the brakes, but it could have just been me.

It was a nice ride home. I kept crossing paths with another commuter I have not seen previously, it must have been my late leaving from work. Chatted a bit.

On the braking subject I keep thinking I want to reroute my cables to front right hand rear left hand configuration for signalling. But I can see not remembering that in an emergency stop. I am a huge proponent of front brake and getting used to feathering the rear and adjusting to conditions while braking, lots of practice is required. It all varies with loads on the bike. I feel I use the rear to stabilize more when my son is on the back and hardly at all if it is just me. But major brake use is on the front. Which was obvious from my pads when I changed them Saturday.

Great commut ein this morning, biked down by Lake Erieafter getting past downtown Cleveland. Wish it would have been sunnier, would have made some great pictures!

Weather's been great the last couple days. Warm, sunny, low winds. I think my climbing legs are coming back (slowly) but I'm still getting my butt kicked by the faster guys on the hills. I was going to work from home today, but I left my laptop's power brick at the office, so had to go in anyway. Given the nice riding weather, I'm glad I did!

TIRING.
I started my commute home from a friend's office yesterday, about 5km from my office. Decided to take advantage of a change of pace and took one of the other east-west bike routes home from there, and grab a north-south one closer to my house. I hadn't realized that this decision would bump my total ascent home from ~370m (~1200') to about 550m (~1800'), including a segment of average 11% grade x 0.5km (0.3 miles) that I had to climb about 20km (12.5 miles) into my ride.

Used to live in New West, I am curious what the new route was??

I am with wapiti. I used to live in burquitlam and I am curious about what route.

Cariboo Hill? That would make sense. That was starting hill every morning coming from Gaglardi and Broadway, it was a great warm up to a 15 mile ride. Then on the way home I had Byrne road halfway home. But river route you posted was my normal route, it is nice along there. Though it has been years.

So today my first ride to work. I rode to work the other week for bike to work day, and this was my first "real day." I work about 30 miles from home, too far for me to bike. So my route is bike to the train, it is about 1.25 miles, ride the train for 45 minutes then bike 4.5 miles to work.

On bike to work day I chickened out on the way home. It was drizzling. And I was to meet some friends for happy hour/dinner. But the larger issue was that after I went to dinner, I knew the ride home was either detour a mile for a flatter route or ride a mile on an escalating hill. I ended up parking my bike downtown in a locker after the train and grabbing it over the weekend. It was a 10 mile day even though I didn't go all the way home.

I have ave been hesitant about biking to work because I want to wear regular clothing and not worry about changing. My office is casual but I am on the dressy end, and wearing leggings to work isn't really my thing. I did on bike to workday with the excuse of biking. ;). But my ride to work is low key and much easier than my last three blocks home in my neighborhood, with a flat route and few lights. The route is all sharrows in a mix of residential, commercial and industrials areas along the way.

On bike to work day I didn't see many other cyclists, but I got to the train station at 9 which is kinda late. The ride home also say limited riders. Just 3-4.

So today my goal was to bike in my regular outfit, and get to work on time. I didn't want to make bike concessions, and only made one small modification on my outfit. I wore a dress, cardigan and flats with ankle straps (instead of regular flats). I parked outside as my buildings elevator barely fits my bike and bike theft seems to be rare based in the way bikes are locked up near work. Cable locks I can cut with child scissors are the norm.

It was an easy ride in. I didn't get too sweaty, just a little warm and a small amount of perspiration. On the way home I had a drink date. It was a straightforward ride back to the train, the only hiccup was a strong headwind. Once I got off the train, I went to the bar, and then biked home after. The ride home from downtown is uphill at a slight incline. But the last few blocks are annoying. No bike lanes, steeper hill. I did cheat, and pedaled on the sidewalk for the dangerous block. I typically detour to a side street, but the street doesn't have many pedestrians especially at night, so it was safe to stay on the sidewalk to avoid a few hills.

I got got home and realized it was pretty productive. I wasn't as tired as I have been over the last few weeks and I got some free exercise. Since traffic can be terrible midweek, I think I'll swap my drive for a ride 1-2x a week as an alternate activity.

I took the Adanac then Frances/Union, which climbs up to Cliff Drive, then drops steeply down on the Sea to River route, connecting to the Central Valley Greenway. It was the Cariboo climb that got me; partially because I am not used to that grade over that distance, and partially because I upped my miles this week taking scenic routes and did 50km Tuesday and Wednesday, with that Cariboo climb near the end.

When I'm less tired, I need to try that Cariboo climb a few more times. (Not back to back)...

i haven't ridden up Byrne yet, just down... But the grade profile (about 4% average for 2-2.5km) is very similar to the Heather Street climb I did from Kent (on the River route) up to the crest around 45th. That wasn't an issue, and it was the day before Cariboo. I think it was mostly the steep grade rather than the total elevation, and secondarily was being tired.

Where you guys commute now?