It was a mild -2C/29F with a bit of snow pellets falling. I had a bunch of chores to do around the house before I left so I had to take the shorter route but I should be fine to take a longer route tomorrow. The rest of the week is calling for warmer and warmer afternoon temperatures, melting more and more of the snow and ice and so I'm looking forward to getting out the Kona Sutra for next week.

Nice is the word I'd use to describe my first commute in too long. It's great to be back.

You should shoot the Captain an email saying thanks and that it has no longer been an issue. Then Murphy's Law will kick in...

I think that's tweet!

I did thank him the first time he emailed back saying he reviewed the pertinent law sections I sent him and sided with me.

Nice ride this morning. Cool but not cold. The 50s are about the perfect weather with a light jacket.

Great ride in Raleigh as well, with a nice tailwind pushing me along. The forecast for the next 5-6 days is strikingly similar -- clear with highs in the 60s-70s and lows in the 40s. Perfect weather for bike commuting.

30F, I've decided this is the last sub 40 morning of the year and informed the universe of my decision

Consecutive commute number 44.

Went for a run before I got on the bike this morning. I was running along when something across the street caught my eye. As I was staring I lost focus on what I was doing and rolled my ankle. Nearly fell over, but I stayed on my feet. Walked for a few yards but seeing as I was still a fair distance from home I picked up my pace and finished the run. By the time I got back to the house it had loosened up and didn't feel too bad. Now that I've been off it a while though, it's feeling pretty stiff.

Today they said the wind would only blow about 15 mph, which is a nice change from the 30-40 mph winds we've been having pretty much every day for the last month. I took my chances and pulled the fixed gear down from storage. The breeze was pretty calm on the way to work. It's supposed to increase as the day progresses and I'll be fighting it on the way home so hopefully the forecasters were correct about it not topping out as fast today.

On a different note, as I was leaving the client's office yesterday afternoon the director I report to asked me where I park my bike. I told him there was a spot out in the parking ramp next to the trash can that had some pipes I lock it against. He showed me a spot inside the building under the stairs and told me I could put my bike there instead if I wanted. So that was pretty cool.

Dropped off my son's car at the shop this morning for its bi-annual state safety inspection. I took the bike with me, and rode it over to the bus stop after I dropped the car off. So the ride this morning was fairly easy. 1-mile from the shop to the bus stop, and another mile from the bus stop closest to my work to the office. This afternoon is supposed to be nice, so I'll ride from work all the way to shop to pick up the car.

I always feel like this is a big victory.

And sorry about the ankle that's crummy.

Cold morning in DC today - 31F - but I actually dressed correctly for a change. Missed the last week or so commuting, so I'm happy to be back on the bike. Didn't see the usual bike commuters but there were a lot more runners than usual. Just a beautiful morning!

Another uneventful ride home yesterday afternoon. A little windy but I managed. Lots of "control and release" maneuvers for passing traffic on 2-lane roads, which worked out very well. Sometimes I just use an assertive lane position when coming up a hill or approaching a curve, and hope that common sense in the motorist keeps them from doing something stupid, but that doesn't always happen. This time I took a more active approach by signalling to motorists to hang back when passing was unsafe, then waving them by when it was clear. No honks, no close passes, no revving of engines or yelling or anything like that.

First back-to-back commute of the year. It felt good. No problems. I even got up without hitting the snooze.

I'm curious to see how the ride home will go, it's a 10 mile longer ride. If all goes well, I'll do it again tomorrow.

Great ride in.
lol, clever vandalism on the MUP:

Nice ride in, very pleasant weather (first time in shorts this year). I think Sudbury and Edmonton must have traded springs this year.

Lots of other cyclists out, and a few familiar faces. I encountered two bearded cyclists who weren't riding recumbents! What's this world coming to?

Today's ride in was a nice uneventful ride with the temp at 35f degrees and mostly clear skies.

I noticed it is getting even lighter by the time I leave, so I am going to start leaving earlier to get a longer ride.

Well, my last commute was April 9th. 35-40F out with a 5-10 mph wind. 6.5+ miles one way, a few large hills that I have walked in the past. I reckon I'd wear a thin running jacket at least.

Getting to work wasn't bad. The gusts on the way home were terrible, and it started snowing/sleeting on me. I'm glad I had my MTB instead of the roadie.

I don't ride aggressive, but I do the same on signaling. If there's a curve - I don't want the impatient city drivers cutting the turn short and surprising anyone. If it's thick, I just dismount and let the traffic simmer down.

Third commuting ride in a row this morning. The sits bones felt a little sore at the outset, but it wan't anything I couldn't deal with. By the time the first few miles were behind me, I felt just fine.

The run-time was pretty good. I knocked 5 minutes off of my 1:20 morning commute from earlier in the week, which were under roughly the same weather and wind conditions. So, I'm probably in pretty good riding shape already. Best start to a season yet.

Last night's ride home was 100% into the wind. It wasn't horrible, but I did spend over an hour and a half in the drops. Not my favorite position this early in the year. But, I survived.

How was my commute today? Scary, I nearly got hit from behind. I looked behind me and saw two vehicles coming down the hill but they were far enough back for me to cross their two lanes into the left-only lane and when I was in it, I heard tire sounds and saw the left vehicle on MY LEFT in the oncoming lane but there was no oncoming traffic in that lane. The driver continued on my left, passed me and moved into "my" lefthand turning lane and then made a left in front of me.

I was certain that I had judged the distance and speed correctly but maybe not but the car could have stayed in the same lane and passed me on my right rather than going into the oncoming lane. I suspect he didn't see me until late and made that dodgy move. Although my tights are black and my top is predominantly black, it has lots of red and white stripes on it. I also have large reflective strips on my jersey and there are some around the heel zippers of my tights, I had a bright flashing red light and two red panniers and lots of reflective tape on the back of my light-gray helmet.

This section of this route has always been a bit of a problem, it is often that I've had to stop at the side of the road to let traffic pass so I can move into the left turning lane, perhaps I should have done that this time but I was certain I had sufficient time. I think I'll avoid this route from now on.

Other than that, a beautiful sunny ride in (oh yeah, it's not like I was riding in the dark, I was traveling south and the sun over the horizon and shining on me from my left). It was a bit cool, -6C/21F but, other than my hands near the end of the ride in lightweight wool DeFeet gloves, I was comfortable.

LOL, that's something that Banksy might do!

Ah, that's where it went, I'll ride over and get it, IF YOU DON'T MIND!!!

For the next two weeks, the Weather Network is predicting overnight lows of 0C to 5C (32F to 40F), so it will still be coolish in the mornings but highs in the 10C to 15C (50F to 58F) range and half the days will be sunny too so my shorts should be out next week, maybe even in the mornings.

Strange commute this morning. There were traffic jams in two different spots along my route in which cars apparently collided with city buses. The first collision was clearly the fault of the car driver, who apparently turned left in front of the bus. The second accident I didn't get to see up close enough but it seemed to involve a bus. However, I turned off that street to avoid the jam. I bring this up because it's rather discouraging. If drivers can't seem to avoid hitting buses, what hope to cyclists have?

[MENTION=247277]jrickards[/MENTION] - sounds scary. I imagine he saw you but was impatient all the same. Drivers are used to passing on the left so he went that route.

Cool morning here - 41F - but pleasant. 41 in April with the sun coming up is much different that 41 in January and no sunrise for another hour. I wore shorts and a light jacket. I don't see many cyclists on my morning commute, especially if it is below 60F. But I did see a guy today all bundled up with full tights, jacket, and something covering his face. Looked overdressed to me.

Yikes, one of my biggest fears is getting hit from behind. There is some wisdom to "taking the lane" and take it boldly. Then again, some drivers just don't give a crap.

37F this morning, not quite the 40 minimum I requested to the universe yesterday but I'll take it!

Consecutive commute number 45, which means 9 straight weeks and counting.

53 degrees this morning and sunny. One of the nicest mornings we've had yet this year. Easy ride in to work. After our single day reprieve yesterday (only about 15 mph) the winds are supposed to return to their usual 30+ mph this afternoon. I'll get to fight it on the way home.

On a different note, after nearly 7 years I pronounced my panniers officially dead. Over time the black fabric had faded to a reddish-brown, the lower straps on both sides had broken, the rear velcro attachment had lost all stickiness, I had some wear holes here and there, a few zipper pulls were missing and now one of the zippers themselves will no longer close. I think I got my $40 out of this set.

This time I decided to splurge and I ordered a nice set of Ortleibs. Hopefully they'll last just as long or longer than the old ones they replace.