arsprod 

Very wet from last night's storms, low 60's with wicked, gusty winds. I've had a baditude about riding all week. I think I go through this every year in late fall as mental preparation for winter. That's my story and I'm sticking to it

wphamilton

Very nice ride this morning, in spite of wet and sloppy I'm just happy that there wasn't any rain. The lingering mud on the trails gives me the excuse to take it easy, which I always enjoy.

baron von trail 

That same storm hung in here (SW Ohio) until about 9:30 this morning.

bmthom.gis

No commute for me this morning. Just got a gym membership for the winter and decided on a morning workout there.

PatrickGSR94

If I hadn't overslept yesterday morning, I would have had a dry commute both ways. But I drove and brought the bike, then rode home yesterday, then rode back this morning, and it's very wet and rainy this morning. And I was tired. Yuck, 11.x MPH average, 79 minutes moving time to go 15.5 miles.

*edit* almost forgot, close call this morning on a 5-lane arterial as someone was pulling out of an apartment complex driveway. I could see them coming, and I could tell they weren't really slowing down and intended to pull right on out while ignoring the stop sign. But I was in the left tire track of the right lane, and they pulled out just behind me as I yelled for them to watch out. I saw the car stop in the middle turn lane and sit there. Not sure if it was because I took them by surprise or what, but they sat there for awhile. I thought about turning around and letting them know what just happened, but didn't.

If I had been riding at the far right edge near the gutter with the exact same timing, I would have gotten creamed for sure.

caloso

Chilly. 37F when I left the house. Warmed up nicely as the sun came up, but dang I was not really ready for that kind of chill.

tarwheel 

I landed on my left upper arm and hip, which are a little sore but not too bad. Fortunately it wasn't my right arm because I had just gotten a flu shot there. I am getting tired of all the clouds, rain and general dreariness. I couldn't live in the Pacific NW, although our weather seems to getting more and more like there.

groovestew

-5C/23F and very frosty on the trails and some roads. On one trail that is usually fairly busy with cycle-commuter traffic, I counted only 5 distinct tire tracks in the frost. I'm sure more came after me, but I think people are starting to put their bikes away. Once we get a good dump of snow that sticks, I won't be riding much either.

snow_echo_NY

i've actually seen several cyclists travel with one of these and use it. but it seems to not matter - as people still drive awfully.

they need to suspend licenses of people with multiple traffic violations and get them off the road and make them all do educational training again to get back their licenses.. also installing red light cameras on the most dangerous thoroughways of nyc like queens blvd, atlantic ave, meeker ave, would be a start. i'm sure there are many dangerous thoroughfares that need attention.

people's lives are at stake and it boggles my mind that the status quo remains the norm.

when are they going to do something about it?

snow_echo_NY

my commutes this week:

riding home on the manhattan bridge on Monday, my light bounced off. i thought someone had set sparks on the cycling path on the bridge and thought "how annoying" and moved on. when i descended into BK (there are no lights in that section) i realized my light was gone. then i realized what i thought were sparks was my light falling off. at the bottom, i circled back around to retrieve the light but alas it was gone.

either (1) it bounced off into the east river or (2) someone swiped it.

i went to my LBS and got the same light.

yesterday's evening commute was wet. the rain was rather misty. so i went slow and it was fine.

the commutes have been pretty good overall, more people on the road feels a lot safer than the past weeks. but the road aggression is still there. i've seen some spats between cyclists and motorists.

noglider 

@snow_echo_NY, my fantasy is to shoot magnetic darts onto cars driven badly. When the car accumulates enough darts from various people not in law enforcement, the car owner's license is suspended.

If drivers are rattling you daily, there might be something you can do. I don't know what it is. Positioning yourself differently in the lanes, choosing better routes, getting stronger nerves. I don't know.

joeyduck

Wow it sounds like it has been a rough week for a bunch of you, I am sorry and I hope that the days improve.

I was out running errands Wednesday and I dealt with a ridiculous number of idiots on the road.

I saw one cyclist try to commit suicide it seems. He came down a small hill at a decent clip on an old bike in the wet approaching a traffic circle. It was a blind approach due to a van being parked in a way to minimize traffic approaching on the left. He chose to go left the wrong way around the circle almost into the grill of the car. I just shook my head amazed.

Then later I was driving with the family and some young lady flew off the sidewalk into the crosswalk from behind a bus on her bike while I was mid left turn when the crosswalk was Don't Walk and I was clearing the intersection on a yellow light. I was not impressed with her actions and shook my head and grumbled that's why you don't do that.

Recently, I have gotten on a spin bike successfully as part of rehab. I have managed ten minutes at about 60 rpm which puts my pulse at about 150 by six minutes. I think I was averaging 18 km/h or miles/hour )there were no units, I'm erring on the low side). My left leg is weak and not greatly controlled. I am glad I have cages for it or my leg would just fly off. I get a tightness and a little pain in my knee at the high point of flexion. I have the seat set as high as practical to minimize flexion but it still pains me. I am glad to be able to get to use this and it gives me hope to get back on the bike.

snow_echo_NY

I've definitely been spoiled by the better cycling environment we've been lucky to have this spring and summer.

I think when NYC people are stressed it shows in their driving. Haha.

I've been reading story after story of drivers mounting sidewalks and killing a bunch of people, its lately been kids in the Bronx. Very sad.

I like your darts idea. I've been following NYC Dept of transformation on gofundme and twitter. @NYC_DOTr - I'm a fan

noglider 

@joeyduck, that sounds like some serious improvement. I'm happy to read it.

@snow_echo_NY have you been following the city's Vision Zero program? I'm not sure things are improving yet, but we can still hope it takes effect.

baron von trail 

Looking to do a quick ride into work this morning. Going for a ride is a for sure. The debate is whether or not to stop by the office to catch up on some paperwork...I'll decide when I reach that particular cross road, either head toward the company or stay on the trail and circle back to the house. That's a fun decision to make.

Edit to add: funny how we still call it "paperwork" even though it's really just writing emails and maybe adding a few attachments to them.

noglider 

I'm attending a one-week-long conference, so I might not get on a bike until a week from today!

Maybe I'll get a chance to use the bike share in Washington, DC, where I'll be.

GovernorSilver

If you do get to ride here in DC, I suspect you'll find our bike infrastructure to be quite idyllic, compared to riding in NYC.

noglider 

Idyllic is a difficult word to apply to most places in NYC. DC is gorgeous. I made it here earlier today. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll have much time to play tourist.

baron von trail 

Coming home this afternoon, I found myself still needing my jacket and ear protection. The T was 53, but the wind and low humidity made it feel like about 43. Shorts were almost unbearable for the first few miles, just like they were in the morning when it actually was 43.

dcb23

43 F / 6C but it felt colder, or maybe that's just Monday.

For VA > DC commuters if you cross Memorial Bridge you'll see that it is closed for bike/peds on the South side...I snuck through this morning but it looks like it'll be 14th Street bridge for the foreseeable future.

essiemyra

It was a cool 29f degrees when I left the house this morning. It was a very nice uneventful commute with light coming up in the sky.

Phil_gretz

Nippy ride. I came in one of the Post's back gates today, and was greeted by a large portable roadside electronic sign that alternated "road is there to share" and "watch for bicyclist". A duplicat sign appeared around a bend, about 1 mile further up the road. Pretty nice.

I was sluggish this morning, and couldn't feel the bike at all. Just plodded in...

mgw4jc

@joeyduck - good to hear you're at least getting to try the bike a little.

I bailed again today (same as last Monday) due to steady rain and 43F temps. I have rain gear and could have gone for it, but decided it wasn't worth it. My biggest challenge is that once I get to work I don't have a place to put wet gear. And it's supposed to rain all day too so I'd be putting wet gear back on to ride home. Instead my wife brought me in and will pick me up this afternoon.

The rest of the week looks to be more promising with cool mornings and nice afternoons.

bmthom.gis

Wet wet wet and wet. First time doing a multimodal commute in a long while, due to various reasons. As much as I like the bike I use for it, I wish I could fit some fenders on. Even in rain pants and coat, I still missed having fenders. Stupid track ends. I might be able to squeeze one on front though.

Beyond that, I stayed mostly dry. My Timbuk2 messenger bag is indeed water resistant as advertised, and my Chrome shoes kept my feet pretty dry. I did get splashed by some jerk in a truck. That was pretty unpleasant, but I doubt the driver had any idea of anything happening outside of his little box.

The color combination of my rain pants and jacket happened to also be the colors of the rival university of the college I cut through. I had a bit of a laugh to myself being decked out in Clemson colors riding through USC.

Looking forward to hitting the gym this afternoon. Probably a full ride in tomorrow, then a multimodal on Wed. Haven't decided about Thurs and taking off Friday to hopefully install some hardwood flooring in my dining room.

KCBikeCommuter

First ride outside since my wreck last week. Ribs are still a little sore, and it hurts to accelerate hard... so I don't. Problem fixed!

It was around 36F/2C this morning, with light winds. Really nice ride with the exception of one a$$hole honking at an intersection. It's a fairly large intersection, but at this time of the morning it's nearly empty. In fact, I was the only person stopped at the stoplight before this guy pulls up directly behind me. As the light turns green, I start to accelerate and he lays on his horn and then passes me too close... even though this is a four lane road and he had an entire lane and no other cars around. After he passes, I notice he goes up a block and turns right... so I decide to follow. He pulled into a strip mall and drove up to Golds Gym. So I pull up right next to him as he's parking and ask him, in a fairly stern voice, "What is your problem"? He just looks at me, refuses to roll down his window and then makes some dismissive gesture and proceeds to park. I wait until he parks, but he refuses to get out of his car. What a tool! He's wasn't nearly as tough once the situation became personal.