essiemyra

I have the spare tube,in my bike bag. The part I lack is the confidence and skill(though I took a class on how to change a flat).

MikeRides

I got up early and decided to ride in today. It was 30* and cloudy this morning, I was coming down one of the major hills on my back road route at ~33 MPH when all of a sudden this animal crosses my path and instead of crossing the road the damn thing just stands there. So I slam on my brakes as to not collide with it, and as I got closer I see it's a doe. I hit a patch of gravel as I was coming to a stop and it ran off the opposite direction, otherwise I would've loved to get a picture of it up close. Then as I got into town, stopped for a red light, I see this car wanting to go right on red, so I moved over to the curb to let him by and waved him through, but he just sat there. As soon as the light changed, I started to move and the idiot then decides to turn right and cuts me off. So I had two near accidents this morning, apparently not a good morning to commute, I hope this afternoon goes better.

Mileage: 20 miles.

MEversbergII

Tyre levers help; always keep at least a pair with the tube! If you're wanting for practice, you could just disassemble and reassemble the tyre/tube on your front wheel. Or even see if you can't pick up a junky one on the cheap at a LBS or dump.

M.

jrickards

Although most tire levers are sold as pairs, I prefer to use 3 because when you put the third one in, the middle one drops out and you can insert that further down at which point the tire is loose enough to pull off one side with your fingers.

MEversbergII

I'll give that a go on my next tyre change - the Conti's + stock rims on my Trek are nothing short of murder.

M.

spivonious

I've had enough flats now that I only need one lever to get the tire off.

Just stick in under the bead and then slide it around the tire to get it off the rim.

jrickards

On some of the tires/rims I have, sliding the 2nd lever around is impossible. I'm curious as to whether or not it is related to folding/non-folding tires, kevlar/steel bead, or just tire and rim design.

Halfgone

Beautiful morning in the low to mid 30's. Very sunny. I think my rear shift cable is loose because whenever I stand to pedal I drop a gear. Have to look at that when I get home. Mileage: 3.66.

joeyduck

What is this SCR you speak of? I also enjoy all of the people I pass on my LHT, it makes me smile.


Anyway, it was a nice ride today. I went hard on the first half and then enjoyed the cool air on the rest of the ride, just too bad there was no sun. It was nice not having a head wind this morning.

RidingMatthew

great ride in this morning took the little bit longer way and it took just a bit longer than usual. i think my legs are tired. I guess because I have ridden 80 miles this week so far. I had a commute here and there before but this has been 4 days straight. I have to drive to something after work and am carrying a lot of sound system stuff so today is my last bike commute for the week.

yall ever heard of 30days of biking? a challenge to ride your bike for 30 days. sounds pretty interesting

jrickards

I might try it but I've already got a "Green commuting" New Years resolution going right now: 1 point for human-powered commuting (bike or walk for me), 1/2 point for transit or car pool and 0 points for taking the car (or having my son drive me in because he takes the car away to go to school). If I'm out of town or need to take the car or fleet vehicle for business purposes, it doesn't count. My family is on board so if I say that I can't be home for 45 min because I'm biking or walking, they can't come and get me with the car, they'll just have to wait or plan around me. Right now, I'm sitting at 81% because I have occasionally taken a ride to work, then walked home. However, with the better weather and the bike commuting from now on, that figure will climb.

When my winter bike is ready for next winter, I'll be able to bike commute 100% of the year.

treadtread

I drove in today - after office, I need to do a bunch of chores, including buying a lot of stuff from Costco. I drove almost 3/4th of the way before I realized that I'm taking the longer, slower road with less traffic - the one that I normally use for my bike commute!

gbcb

Sunny day today but the air isn't great. The one short hill on my ride (a bridge) reinforced how out of shape I am. One pedal crank at a time...

dcb23

The spring rides continue 52F / 11C more and more runners out each morning.

dude72

the SCR (Silly Commuter Racing) is from this website It?s Not A Race :-)

commute today was fine and quiet.

mgw4jc

Went to the LBS after work and bought two new tires. I put them on last night and good to go again today. 61F coming in - shorts and short sleeves for sure. A bit of a head wind here and there made for an overall slightly slower ride, but that just meant more time on the bike. Everything is Awesome!

jrickards

Mild -1C/30F but a strong wind of 36kmh/22mph, gusting to 56kmh/35mph, from the east, exactly in the direction I was heading for the last half of the ride (hate gusty headwinds).

The next couple of weeks is forecast to have above freezing temps every day as the highs, and most days, lows are just below or just above freezing so the cycling season is beginning to settle in.

spivonious

Detour to the dentist's office this morning and then up to work. Nice temperature, and the rain held off. The only downside was a stiff headwind the entire way to my appointment. I showed up 10 minutes late because of it.

Doohickie

Decent commute this morning. Despite the 10-15 mph headwind, felt warmer than the mid-40s. That same tailwind will be chasing me home. Second commute on the bike this year, first on my Panaracer Pasela PTs. I thought I was happy with the Shwalbe Marathon Supremes I had on the bike, but the Paselas ride much better. Maybe it's just because they're new tires, but they seemed to have better traction and lower rolling resistance. They're clearly lighter than the Schwalbes, and I got a deal on them at my LBS.

jrickards

It is 0C/32F and pouring freezing rain, I hope your ride home will be better than mine. I'm staying off the roads, riding on the sidewalks and paths instead.

treadtread

I love the Pasela too - mine is the regular one, non-TG. What is Pasela PT? I don't see that listed on the Panaracer site:
Panaracer: Professional Bike Tires from Panasonic | Urban

joeyduck

The morning commute was nice, other than a bit of a hairy stop. I was in a bike lane with a car and septic truck in front of me to the left. The septic truck put its right signal on way in advance, so I moved to the left and rode the left side of the right lane. The car between us got spooked or something and braked, a lot, and did not pass the truck. I had to brake at the rear wheel skid/break loose point for a few dozen yards until I slowed enough to not rear end the car. I was just hoping the dump truck behind us noticed what was going on.

Always a bit nerve wracking to be on the edge of losing the rear on a downhill with a dump truck behind you. All ended well. And I am now looking forward to a ride home without a 15-20 mph headwind for the first time in a few weeks.

zacster

Last night I did the thing I've thought about doing but never did. About half way home on my ride, a little (or a lot?) drunk, it started raining lightly. The day before, after my light test with BFers 1nterceptor and Noglider, (some comments in my thread on the lighting/electronics forum) I heard something rubbing and it was my rear fender. I'd lost the brake bridge nut. No biggie, I just had to find a nut and put it back on, except that I hadn't done it yet.

So anyway, I'm riding home, I'm drunk, it's raining, and my rear fender is sitting at home. Luckily in NYC, we have the long silver sag wagon. So for my first time commuting I bagged it and hopped on the subway. It was raining a lot harder when I got off the train and rode the two blocks home.

Mr. Hairy Legs

Great rides today. I took the long way home, doubling the usual distance. Now I'm bagged.

dcb23

44F / 7c with a light sprinkle of rain. No wind at all. Birds singing all over the place.