53F this morning with a northern wind. Took a different route to work for the first time ever, but I think I'm going to stick with the usual since it seemed to take longer. Came upon a lady cyclist bundled up on her cruiser; all she had was a taillight, and we were in a very dark area. Said good morning as I passed her, and I could barely hear her reply back through the scarf. Glad to know I'm not the only person out there cranking. Other than that the ride was uneventful.

Cold and very wet, just like the ride home yesterday :(

A pretty mild morning. I left a couple minutes early and didn't have to rush, which was nice. A deer ran across the road right in front of me and I saw more coming, so hit the brakes, and one after another five more deer ran blindly through my headlight. Close.

Set out today and didn't get a block before deciding my sit bones are too sore, turned back and drove. Still not quite back in the swing of things, but getting better!

Nice riding day, though a few less than ideal encounters on the way.

Came close to being right hooked by a very large SUV 2 blocks away from my house. Not sure if the guy knew I was there or not. Luckily I was towards the back of the SUV and slowed quickly enough to not have him clip me. Gave him the finger and went on my way...

A couple miles later, dog on a very long leash lunged at me. Not really that close a call, but annoying none the less.

Shortly after that, the MUP I ride is broken up by a fast moving 4 lane road. I was at a driveway exit from an apartment building half a block down from the bike path trying to cross the road. Another large SUV was next to me on my left looking to pull out into traffic. The person in the passenger seat rolls down the window and asks if I could back up away from the road, they want to get out. I politely said 'no, I'm trying to cross the street without killing myself, sorry.' She said 'well we want to pull out.' I was not in their path in any way shape or form....I think they might have been worried about gunning it to get into the nearest lane but weren't sure if they could do it without clipping me when I tried to cross.

I said 'no, you can wait, you look warm in there.'

I may have been slightly extra snarky from the last 2 encounters. Normally my commute is very peaceful...

Dead legs today, maybe staying up too late for the election excitement. Speaking of which, my headlight died just as I rolled up to vote on my way home, so I was ninja the rest of the way. Fortunately there were no lines and voting was quick, so it was still twilight, and on the bike path it was no particular problem.

There were three patrol cars and an officer standing guard across from the lamp post where I locked up. We had a laugh when he asked why I didn't trust them to watch the bike :roflmao2: I honestly figured they were busy watching out for terrorists and election monitors.

Not a typical commute but I dropped off my van for an oil change at the dealer near my work and rode a bike to work during lunch hour. I'm going to pick up my van tomorrow during morning ride so I will be riding home tonight. On my way back to work during lunch I had to take a big road which I never rode before. Speed limit is 50 or 55MPH (but they drive over 60MPH) and whenever a big truck passed by I was swung by quite a bit although I was in the middle of an ample shoulder. That was scary. There was a big downhill but I went slow and easy. Expecting a tailwind tonight so hopefully it will be an enjoyable ride home. Tomorrow morning route to the dealer is also new and expecting a long climbing. Will see..

At lunch, a new-ish co-worker asked if it will soon be getting too cold for me to bike to work. I politely replied, "No, I'll ride all winter and just dress warmer." BWA-HA-HA-HA! Newbie.

Of course, people around here would not be able to fathom what you folks north of the Ohio River ride in during the winter.

What's Charlotte like in the winter?

stinging rain this AM.

A very nice commute to work today with the temp just below freezing at 31f degrees. The sky is lightning up on my way to work since the time change, but this will not last long. I do like riding down the last hill with some light. I feel the cars have a better chance of seeing me. But the Dunkin Donuts is right there so I know where their minds are focused.

Not that cold in nj. Really nice morning to be out on a bike, bright stars, not a single cloud. Slept well on the train. Traffic in the city was light.

Got to my office and found my key card isn't working on the elevator, so I'm standing on the sidewalk. Rrr

My coldest commute was this morning at 36 degrees F and it was not too bad. It should be in the 50's for the ride home.

Pretty mild really. It can get into the teens or maybe single digits at night, but not usually for many nights in a row and only in January or early February. The highs can vary but often will be above 40 and even close to 60.

Most precipitation is rain. Any snow we get either doesn't stick or melts quickly. Significant storms linger longer and make everything icy. They also tend to shut things down so much that many offices open late, close altogether or tell employees to work from home.

The weather app said 35F so I bundled up and even wore long tights for the first time since last winter. I may have been a little too heavy on the upper layers, but I was able to unzip and let some cool air in when needed.

Almost Friday!

Fairly cold this morning. Half commute yesterday and today. Safely arrived at the dealer to pick my minivan that I dropped off yesterday. I had to take a road with a steep hill and it was brutal. I am thankful that my normal commute route doesn't have these steep hills.

Wow, and I thought my hitting a runaway skateboard years ago was one in a million. Getting hit by a deer must be that or one in a billion but technically possible. Earlier this summer I saw a doe with two fawns in my backyard! More surprising for Bloomfield, NJ. They must have used the tree lines on either side of the train tracks to move. But my town is so urban, they had to have crossed a few roads to get there.

This morning was colder but still nice at 41F. I wore two layers on the chest and one on the legs (bib, bib tight, baselayer, long sleeve thermal jersey, winter cap, gloves, shoes, shoe covers, helmet). Saw a small group of three rider spinning up Harlem Meer hill in CP this morning. They all had two water bottles so I guess they were going for longer distance.

35F this morning and feeling the annual cold riding slowdown, though it was more feeling than reality. A friend reminded me that in a month we'll be thrilled with mid 30's temps

Yesterday was 32, today was a balmy 45. Considered just riding in shorts with a jacket but decided against it. Battling a headcold but my nose doesn't run when riding for some reason. Watched a guy roll through three stop signs in his SUV, caught him at a redlight and was going to tell him not to get pissed at bikers if he sees one roll through a stop sign but the light turned green just as I got next to him. Typical Thursday for traffic, very light. No idea why it's any different, just an amusing observation.

Had a guy nearly run me down about a 1/2 mile from home this morning. I was heading towards and uncontrolled "T" intersection. I was going on the straight part of the intersection. A guy in an SUV was approaching from my right and didn't look like he was slowing down. I began braking and figured he'd see me.

Nope. He continued towards the intersection without slowing. I braked harder, still thinking that because he can't go straight he'll have to slow down before making a turn.

Nope. By this time I could clearly see the guy behind the wheel. At the last second he looks up from his phone and slams on his brakes, suddenly seeing both me and the intersection in front of him. By now I had come to a complete stop and he had to swerve to avoid running me over. I gave him my best, "WTF?" look and he sped off.

Thankfully there was no impact and no confrontation. In the end, the worst part about the situation was I had to scrub the speed I'd gained coming down the hill and start going up the next hill without my usual momentum.

Wore tights for the first time this fall today. I could have gotten by with knee-warmers but felt like wearing the tights with the temperatures finally cooling off a bit here. Temperatures are only expected to be in the 50s during my afternoon commute as well. Tomorrow is a holiday (Veteran's Day), so today is my last commute of the week. We are supposed to have beautiful weather over the weekend, although much cooler, and I hope to get in several rides.

I, too, have a stupid cold, although mercifully I feel much better as I ride. I can't wait til modern science figures these things out!

When I got to work, the shower I use wouldn't turn on, so I had to shower at a different location, which resulted in some cussing on my part. At least I wasn't interrupted by a maintenance guy banging on the door, yelling that there was a leak somewhere and to let him know when I was decent so he could come in and fix it.

The ride itself was magnificent--it's such a treat to ride with some light in the sky! I kept worrying I was late, though. It's been a struggle with me overdressing, then being hot and sweaty during the ride, which no one wants. I just don't want to be cold those first 10 minutes of the ride! Also, I am sufficiently inexperienced that I feel I need to stop to readjust clothing (I don't want to wreck trying to unzip or loosen a layer, for example).

It was about 36F, and I wore: chamois shorts, legwarmers, lycra tights over that, wicking sleeveless top, merino wool half-zip jersey, high viz synthetic long-sleeved shirt, earwarmer, skullcap, helmet. Wool socks and hiking boots. fingerless cycling gloves (and my hands were fine, mercifully).

I probably should have not worn the lycra tights over top, I think I should save those for when temps reach 32F or lower. I'm glad I didn't wear my Buff as a neck gaiter, that would have been too warm.

Tuesday afternoon was dry, as opposed to that rainy morning. I left work about 4, got to my polling place just after 5 PM. Took about 10 minutes total. Saw a big crowd coming in right after me. *phew* :)

Upper 30's to around 40 this morning, by far the coldest since last winter, so I had many firsts of the season this morning: first time wearing my less vented MTB shoes, wool socks, long bib tights, long sleeve jersey, full finger gloves and ear warmer band over my skull cap. This afternoon will be in the low 60's so I'll just wear the bib tights and long sleeve jersey. I brought my half finger gloves with me in my bag for this afternoon.

I'm getting over bronchitis. I was unable to work Tuesday-Friday last week. I'm back at work but still coughing up phlegm and blowing my nose copiously. I'm not riding yet, but I will soon.

Today is colder than before, but it's sunny and clear, and it's pleasant to me. If someone rode in this weather well dressed, it would be quite nice. It's interesting that this secret is only beginning to catch on. The volume on the Hudson River Greenway goes down a lot in these months, and we remaining people get to enjoy it.

Smoke from the North Georgia fires have drifted into the area, smokey haze over everything. It's enough to make my eyes sting, walking between buildings here. It's going to be a ride home today, and tomorrow probably.