Fishmonger

I terrified a jogger yesterday. She was just slightly to the left of middle of the bike path (I can't call it a jogging path now, can I?) walking uber slow and taking enough space that I felt uncomfortable passing her. I coasted in, letting my crank set purr behind her, but she didn't notice. So I paused about 15 feet behind her and said, "Coming up on your right!" And she jumped and looked and made a joke about how she can never hear bikes. I told her I'd get a bell.

I don't want to get a bell! I guess I could sing out loud. . . What do you guys do to notify oblivious joggers?

dramiscram

Last night my bike started to make a loud clicking/clonking noise. Once I got home I found out my rear Wheel bearing was loose, I ajusted it properly but the sound just got worst. This morning I did put my spare Wheel (having a spare Wheel is a very good thing) on the bike. This week end I'll take the axle out and see if a good clean and lub will be enough but I fear the hub is toasted.

Still the morning ride was great, nice sun, a bit warmer, good tailwind.

spivonious

I ring my bell.

My bike computer hits 3000 miles today. That means I have about 3200 on my current bike over the 19 months I've owned it.

tarwheel 

Took a day off work yesterday, so I missed a commute but gained some chill time. Rode with my friends late in the afternoon, and we got caught in a storm and thoroughly soaked. Ironically, I would have missed the rain during my usual commute time. Hopefully I will be able to dodge the showers today, as we've been having a lot of pop-up storms in the afternoons lately.

joeyduck

I had a nice ride this morning. Chatted with another commuter for a bit.

Cool, quite roads. I ranted about the new bike lanes the city built.

They must have installed the barrier yesterday on the first bunch. I did not ride in it this morning, but took the lane. I noticed that a car already hit and rode up leaving rubber, paint and scratches in the concrete on the eastern leading edge. There was a few more tire rubs on along the way also. It has certainly been less than 39 hours (since I last went that way) and cars are already hitting it.

Rothaí

The rain radar looked like a monsoon over Ireland this morning....but I managed to only cycle in light drizzle !

essiemyra

The commute this morning was pleasant with the temp at 62f degrees and a sunny sky.

parkersdad

I rode 19.8 miles yesterday between work and getting a hair cut. Today no commute for me. We have high winds, rain, and no power when I left home. I drove the truck today since they are calling for 80 percent chance of heavy rain and stroms today.

mgw4jc

It rained pretty good all night. Increasing intensity woke me up a couple of times. Our power was out when I woke up at 5am. I bailed on the ride in though due to pretty heavy rains. Driving in was bad in itself. Lots of overflowing ditches putting rivers on the roads. My wife brought me and my bike in. I'm hoping for a break so I can at least ride home this evening.

RidingMatthew

I rode home in a drizzle last evening. It was not to bad. We had friends over and grilled out. (some great food) I am glad that I chose not to ride this morning. Mrs. is happy too, she is heading out of town for a weekend without the kids. It was raining hard this morning.

@mgw4jc & @parkersdad sorry to hear about the power being out. So far... so good here just north of you!

tarwheel 

My advice would be to get a bell if you ride on MUTs very often. We have a 30-mile trail that I ride quite frequently on the weekends, and I often encounter joggers, walkers, skaters, etc. who take up most of the trail and are seemingly oblivious to cyclists. When you call out, they often get confused and move the wrong direction or freak out. However, most people react more sensibly to a bell and seem to appreciate it. My bell has a friendly ring to it, and that probably helps.

jimmuller 

I don't usually read the Commuting forum, let alone post in it. Today I will. Background, FWIW: My commute is about 32 miles round trip through mostly suburban areas between west and north of Boston. Over 50% is on easy roads with a shoulder wide enough for parked cars where no one ever parks, in short a fairly safe and easy run.

Now I'm sitting in my office after a commute in which fortunately was uneventful. It had the nervous potential to be eventful several times. I don't know, maybe it's the weather, a warm, humid day and on a Friday no less.

I was waiting patiently for the traffic light to cross Trapelo in Waverley Sq, with cars coming out of the Star Market parking lots on a green light. On my left one lane inbound on Trapelo held stopped traffic waiting at their red. Some guy dressed in business clothes driving a big SUV came through the inbound right lane apparently having not seen his red light nor noticed that everyone else going that way was waiting. He nearly T-boned a car coming out of the lot. Fortunately his target hit the brakes and he noticed and swerved quickly enough to miss. I yelled as he went by. He pulled over and stopped for a few seconds, realized his mistake (I hope), and then after seeing no further ramifications continued on his way. I kind of hope his pulse is still at 180.

Fast-forward maybe five miles into Lexington. This time it was another cyclo-commuter. We were westbound on Lowell St approaching the Maple St light, I was trailing. The light turned green and we continued, only he slowed and pulled up onto the sidewalk to enter the intersection from its access ramp. I stayed in the street and kept moving with the traffic. By the time he was ready to re-enter the roadway I had pulled even with him, and I called out "Passing on your left!" It made no difference. He pulled out into the road on my right as a car was passing close on my left. Fortunately the car braked for me, we didn't bump each other, and I pulled away safely. When I got the chance I called back "Did you not hear me call out?" Silence. No answer, no apology, no "Oops." At the Woburn St light I turned right and he continued straight. It's the first time I've encountered a cyclist who was both deaf and blind, but that explains why he felt justified using the wheelchair ramps on the sidewalks. (Jerk. If you're going to ride a bicycle take the earbuds out of your ears, open your eyes, turn on your brain, and become engaged in the world around you. Or maybe that's too much to ask.)

The rest of the ride was less hazardous but I saw at least half a dozen other blatant driver errors, running red lights, poor timing judgment, discourtesy, and of course the obnoxious extended horn blasting at the Market Basket.

Of all that the only personal threat to my safety was by the cyclist. However I am now safely at work.

joeyduck

There is something in the air on this coast too @jimmuller. I have had a seemingly increase in unaware drivers this week. Also cyclists acting like complete space cadets. In two blocks Wednesday I saw three cyclists turn right, directly into the path of oncoming traffic. I yelled at them to watch out, the drivers of the cars appreciated me berating other cyclists based upon their smiles.

I had a woman in a van come awful close and honk at me this morning, when the real crux was the guy on the cell phone not going on the green. I still might call her in for information purposes. She had aggression in her eyes and I do not think it would take much more to swipe someone.

Yesterday was filled with enough yahoo's I honestly thought about driving today.

But I biked and it was nice. A few blocks from home my son remember he needed to bring his backpack for the daycare field trip to the lake. I had no idea he needed and he remembered all on his own. I was impressed and we were only two blocks from home.

We (I) pedaled nice and leisurely. I tried to explain how energy is transferred between objects. It was still over his head. He cannot yet make the connections between energy transfer from photosynthesis to how it applies to pedaling a bike and all intermediaries. He is still ahead of kids in HS and university I have taught, or so it seems.

A ride home tonight and then a week off, not sure what I will do not biking. My in-laws did get a spin bike, maybe I will work on my cadence.

edit: I rode by some accident debris this morning. It was a motorcycle and car based on debris. I think (emphatic hope) it was a car hit a parked motorcycle. I know that a Honda Shadow is always parked around the debris, but I failed to notice the motorcycle today. I hope all are okay.

PatrickGSR94

Ride in yesterday was pretty uneventful, except for dogs trying to chase me a couple times on both the ride in and ride home. On the ride in it's this one house with a couple little dogs that they let roam free around the front yard. 2-lane rural road. I swear one of these days I'm going to stop and yell for the owners to come get their damn dogs because one day they're either going to get run over by a car passing me, or maybe got shot (which would be a total bluff). On the way home it was a different house, and the dog looked like a damn pit bull. F-in idiot dog owners I swear.

THENNNN the big event. My first flat on my bike while out riding (had a trailer flat a few weeks back which was my first flat while out riding ever). Happened on my rear Conti GP 4 Seasons tire. Why the rear picked up whatever debris it was, but the front did not, I have no idea. It was a weird feeling having the rear tire flat, didn't know what it was at first. I was doing nearly 20 MPH when it happened.

I was only 1 mile from home when it happened, in the city park. We had to take my son to his preschool's open house that evening, and I was hoping to make it home in time to take him in the bike trailer. The flat made that impossible, unfortunately. But since I was only a mile from home and had to get on home so we could go, I just hoisted the bike up on my shoulder and hiked the last bit, taking shortcuts through some grassy fields to get back to the house. I didn't want to roll the bike for fear of damaging the flat tire. I'm just glad I left the trunk bag at work as that adds a good 5 pounds to the rear of the bike when it's empty of stuff except for my U-lock.

I never could find what caused the puncture. Found a tiny hole in the tube which I patched, but looking inside and outside the tire in that same spot, I found nothing. It wasn't 2 holes side by side so I'm pretty sure it wasn't a pinch flat. I run about 90/100 PSI front/rear on my 25C tires and have never had a problem in over 2,000 miles, even when the trunk bag is loaded up, so who knows.

Notso_fastLane

Good morning today. Legs were feeling really fresh after a couple days off and some easy rides.

I beat my best time in this morning by a full minute. Going to have to try to match that on the way home, which is more uphill.

esmith2039

Are you in the city? I always get the address and call animal control. Not sure if it applies to the country also, the sheriff might help out there. Had a lab chase me for 3 days and I called the animal control, he disappeared. That's the 2nd one I've called on. I have no hesitation in calling.

esmith2039

It's been a good week. Cool almost cold in the mornings and perfect on the ride home. I slowed down this morning, went a little fast yesterday and was tired all day. Commuted 500 miles after the ride home.

ill.clyde

I'm off next week too. An entire week off with my kids. A staycation but it still should be fun. We'll be hitting the state fair on Thursday, and that's always a hoot. Going to see if I can get my arse out of bed early and ride in the morning before they're up and about.

joeyduck

Yeah we are going to my in-laws, who live on an island off an island, so a morning of travel mostly on boats. The island is about 5 km around. So leisure biking on gravel roads. My son can work on his two wheel skills (with training wheels probably). We are house sitting an ocean view place and have no obligations.

PatrickGSR94

^^^ man that's a good gig right there.

joeyduck

Damn straight it is. I did forget we have to dog sit a spoiled old blind dog.

ill.clyde

Nice! Hoping for a few leisure rides with the kids myself

PatrickGSR94

I live in one town and work in the next town, with part of my commute going out into the county in between towns. I may try calling or emailing sometime if I have more issues. The one house with the little dogs is the one house where I consistently have more issues than any other along my commute. I'm really more concerned about those dogs' safety than anything else. But some of the others with larger dogs I have been concerned with my own safety.

joeyduck

I went by a sketchy dog the other day. It was some doberman cross, unleashed in the park with its owner. I slowed and went cautiously by in case he lunged or chased. Nothing happened to us though. But right after I got through the park I heard him bark growl and saw him start to chase a longboarder (I think). He seemed to respond to his owners call though. Worry some though with the little man in his seat. I have not seem him since.

I did have a dog freak out and try to get me once a month or so ago. He was on the opposite sidewalk leashed, he almost took his owner with him towards me. It was a big dog and she barely held on, but that dog was not happy with me.

PatrickGSR94

Emailed county animal control, exchanged a couple more emails, then got a call from one of the guys there. He said he drives almost the same route I commute on, and he will be keeping an eye out for dogs in a couple places I mentioned, including one residence specifically.