Class is over and things are settling down so hoping to pick up riding again. Today was a bit cool for shorts but wore them anyways. Little wind so wasn't bad overall!

5th beautiful morning in a row. So nice that when I found myself running ahead of schedule this morning I tacked an extra 3.5 miles onto the commute just for fun.

Sounds like the rain will return next week.

it's been a wet commute in and out this week.

more pedestrians and cyclists have been killed this past week while they had the right of way bc drivers ran over them. the driving culture here is awful. really awful. the congestion is so terrible it seems like the drivers just lose it and speed anywhere even when they are going 20-50 feet. it's really ridiculous.

seriously. this happens multiple times everyday during my super short 25 min commute in and 25 min commute back.

apparently cycling is up between 300-800% depending on borough in NYC since the 90s. but the infrastructure is no where near close to help people transit predictably. (except 2 boroughs, the bronx where it is up ~19% and staten island where it is up ~9%)

the UES just finally got approved to install crosstown lanes. even tho woody allen and some other anti-bike people oppose it stubbornly. more and more people are riding bikes and it's the city's duty to protect people. bike lanes have the added affect of traffic calming - so this is very good for pedestrians as well.

[MENTION=397406]snow_echo_NY[/MENTION], I'm sorry it's so hellish for you. I really have no problems with drivers on my 14-mile commute. Nine of the miles are on the Hudson River Greenway, and the street traffic is in the Bronx. The drivers here in the Bronx may not be the best, but traffic isn't hellishly heavy, so I guess that's one reason I don't have problems. On streets with no bike lanes, I occupy the middle of the bike lane so motorists see me and have to make conscious decisions to pass me. I wear a Take-A-Look mirror on my glasses so I'm constantly watching behind myself.

I saw the weather report called for rain all day, and before I left for work, I walked the dog. The wind was very heavy and coming from the north. Coming from the north means headwinds for me, so I took the subway instead. Now I wonder how I would have fared if I had ridden. My spirits might have been a bit better. I visited my mother last night, and she is in the final stages of dying with dementia. I got pretty upset and cried on the subway ride this morning. Maybe riding would have held that off. Then again, maybe not. I've been crying at the office today, too.

oh no Tom, i'm really sorry to hear about your mom :( hoping you are feeling comforted and safe.

Thank you. No, it's very tough going now. I'm calling people and talking to them, and it helps. This is just how it's going to be for a while. If I break out crying while talking to someone at work, they'll just have to deal with it. Someone asked me how I am in the usual way, and I just grunted because I didn't want to get into it and give her an honest answer.

Driving my toddler home from the playground today, I was just passed on the right by a weenie on a hopped up goped doing 50 in the bike lane. Wearing an armored motorcycle jacket! He's going to kill a cyclist if a car doesn't kill him first. Stay safe out there.

Sorry Tom. My wife's grandma went that way last year, I know it's very hard.

Sorry to hear that Tom.

Today's commute was a little faster. I replaced those huge 26x2.125 cruiser tires with my Kenda Semi-Slick 26x1.95 tires. What a huge difference.

Woke up to check the weather on my phone app - WooHoo!! 2km tail wind. Set off and realized my app wasn't current. 40Km/hr + headwind :notamused:

However, the wind didn't change so it was a tailwind coming home. For my 1st commute of the year, I'll take it though!

[MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION]. I'm sorry about your mom. My grandma passed on Easter and it's been tough for my dad and aunt.

I'm thinking of you, try to remember the good times.

And it's okay to cry.

Tough wind conditions on the ride home last night, but otherwise a really beautiful afternoon. Sunny and warm, but pedaling into a 20 mph headwind felt like trying to move a wall. Surprisingly though, I made the same time (1:45 to knock off 30 miles) that I always do. I wonder what I could have done on a windless day...

Discouraging though was being passed by a cycling club about an hour into my ride. These guys were flying. I estimate 27 mph. I cold not even speed fast enough up to attempt to hang with them for a minute. They came, and then they were gone. Whoosh!

I often carry a wireless door opener in the front pocket of a pannier so it's easily accessible when I need it. Yesterday, when I reached for it, it wasn't there. It must've fallen out somewhere along my ride. So I back-tracked the entire route looking for it. Nothing. After returning from my long, round-trip search, I unpacked my pannier, and lo and behold, there was the door opener sitting in the bottom of the pannier. I must have mindlessly placed it in the bag rather than in the outer pouch like I always do.

Anyway, long story short, my commute was longer than usual yesterday.

I have a small keychain type G-Door opener in my triangle frame bag. For easy access, I attach the little clip on the opener to the tassel on the bag's zipper and then stuff it inside for safe keeping.
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Excellent option. I'll have to look for this. As an alternative, I'm considering installing an external keypad so I don't have to carry an opener at all.

My new-to-me house didn't include garage door clickers, so needing three of them I went with an app based option rather than installed keypads or buying clickers. EG: http://www.amazon.com/Chamberlain-MY...ilpage_o01_s00

One advantage is you can open and close it remotely, or check its status. One disadvantage is it takes a few more seconds by the time you unlock your phone, open the app and hit the button.

That's why I like my clicker on the tassel solution. I usually hit the button as I am coming up the driveway and then coast right into my parking spot.

I really hate carrying around an extra door opener--enough to justify the few extra seconds. Thanks for the suggestion.

Weather for the upcoming week looks ugly. Rain is forecast every day. I'm not sure what that means in reality though. Often it means scattered showers and isolated T-Storms more than heavy rains. I'll have to keep an eye on the hourly ticker all week.

Oy. Woke up with my cell phone clutched in my hands. A sure sign I'd turned off the alarm, as it turned out, 40 minutes earlier. I dressed and left asap, figuring I'll catch the next train at a loss of 25 minutes or so. Rode fast.
But my rear tire went flat. At this point I realized I has removed my frame pump and not put it back. Fortunately I was near enough to a gas station, so I walked there, changed my tube, pulled a 3/4" finishing nail from my tire, and used the compressor.

Of course I didn't have a presta adapter either. I cut the tip off a presta valve cap and installed it backwards, which served well enough once I figured out how to work the compressor (which had instructions on the side... incomplete instructions).

I'm on my train, about an hour late. Could be worse! And it's not raining.

It was a nice commute ride wise, though the temp was a little cool at 37f degrees. It is light enough not to have to use the head light, but I think I will continue to use the rear light on blink mode.

My sincere condolences [MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION].

Last night, I was ready to put my tights and some other cool weather gear away for next fall when I checked today's forecast and discovered that the first couple of days this week start with cool temperatures, like today's commute in to work at -2C/28F. However, the afternoons will be warm so I can ride home in shorts and a short-sleeved jersey. I'll have to wait until next weekend for packing away cool weather gear.

Or possibly, "Long story short; short commute long."

Way to go MacGyver! And if it did start raining I'm sure you'd figure out how to convert the old tube and nail into an umbrella of sorts.

Nice enough ride in this morning. A comfortable 59F when I left, getting up to 84 this afternoon.

Strava is telling me this: "Ride with us on May 10th for the first-ever Global Bike to Work Day." Is this a thing or just a Strava thing?