The commute this morning was very nice, and I was able to extend my ride by a couple miles. It is humid and warm this morning.

I rode to work yesterday but had to bail on the ride home. It was extremely hot and humid here, and strong thunderstorms started popping up near the end of my work day. I thought that I could leave before the storms hit and stay ahead of the squall line, but no such luck. It started pouring with high winds and hail before I even got my gear together, and the radar showed a line of storms training over our metro area. Sometimes I can wait out a storm, but this one was set up to last for hours, so I caught a ride home with a coworker.

I had to drive today since my bike and gear were at work, but the forecast is essentially the same as yesterday. Like yesterday, the forecast is calling for a 30-40% chance of thunderstorms but they always seem to hit right near the end of the work day. This is our typical summer weather pattern in NC, which is one reason why it's my least favorite season for riding. Bike commuting is like playing Russian Roulette every day. It might be very pleasant in the morning but the afternoons are a total crapshoot.

Preparing for a tour in a couple weeks so rode fully packed this morning. Interesting day to test the load - pretty wicked headwind and looming thunderstorms, the one (thunderstorms) negated the other (headwind)!

Warm 61 with 93% humidity and heavy fog. Might as well have been raining as wet as I ended up. Fog was thick enough to warrant turning on a headlight just so cars could see me. Supposed to be low 80's with full sun for the ride home.

Today marks my 100th consecutive work commute. The last day I drove to work was on Feb. 10th when I had to meet the washer delivery guy at the house 9 AM, then had a meeting across town at 10 AM.

This is the second time I've broken the 100 mark. The last time I made it to 148 days in a row before a blizzard intervened.

Only had to ride 4 miles in to the client's office this morning. I was smart though and brought a different shirt. The humidity was high enough that the one I rode in got pretty sweaty even though I wasn't pushing the pace at all.

It's really hot! Even at 5 AM and riding at an easy pace I was dripping by the time I got to the station, only a 5.5 mile ride.

I usually take it easy on the morning commute, but I felt jazzed this morning and put in a little extra effort, arriving at the office drenched in sweat. It was a nice 15C / 59F. At the bottom of a hill, I rode past another cyclist who was removing her jacket... why a cyclist would wear a jacket at these temps is beyond me.

I just looked at the temperature: 93ºF (34ºC)! Why didn't I feel hot on my ride in? Well, I didn't push hard, but I didn't hold back, either. I wore bike clothes made of synthetic, and while they are uncomfortable off the bike, they're very comfortable on the bike. There wasn't any wind to speak of, but I didn't mind.

I hate headwinds. I especially hate headwinds so strong I have to pedal down a 5+% grade. And not even in a very high gear.

At least it was only in the high 70s until shortly after my commute. Could have gone for some of the wind we had at the parade Monday, though; outflow off a storm and it was downright chilly. Perfect balance once the sun came out: it was like being in an air conditioned sun room for the first hour of the parade.

Looks like I might get lucky and have a 15mph right quartering tailwind for the ride home. Might almost balance out the 97F temperature and 55+% humidity.

First commute today since drastically twisting my knee in a tubeless tire blowout 2 months ago. Went great! Boy has my cardio suffered in the meantime though.

ps-> I am a drastically happier person biking than driving.

[MENTION=60072]HardyWeinberg[/MENTION] what model tire and rim, and what were the circumstances? If you wrote it up, Google isn't finding it for me.

Was hotter at 78F and more humid this morning. Am expecting to shake and bake at around 90F this afternoon according to wunderground.com:

https://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin...st?query=10029

Will just take it easy and go slower. I caught up to a Breakaway racing team guy in Teaneck. Took advantage of the downhill in Teaneck right before the highway overpass. :) Nice guy and he's small light and in good shape. We chatted a bit then he dropped me light a bad habit on the Fort Lee Rd hill. It was expected since he was going at a good pace and I was going to stay in the 39x25 on that hill like I usually do on the longer rides. Caught up to him again after that and we rode down Riverside Dr not going too crazy there. It good to ride with stronger guys in general. Just have to be mindful on days like today that you need to "leave some gas in the tank" for the ride home.

Edit: Almost went down by getting my front tire into a gap between the curb and sidewalk. I only take the sidewalk on the metal bridge over the Passaic River from Nutley to Lyndhurst. Was a surprise and scuffed up the front tire sidewall a bit. Note to self: either stay frosty on that sidewalk and/or go slower on it...

Ain't that the truth. I'm usually a stinky and sweaty mess but with a grin ear to ear. :D

it was a 28mm schwalbe one tire and a fulcrum tubeless rim, on the rear. I was cornering hard and fast and POW it blew off the rim. The first person to come and check me out was a landscaper who heard the explosion through her earmuffs and over her 2-stroke leafblower.

Pressure may have been too high (~100 psi). I only had it that high to check the seal. I had been around the neighborhood a few times with it at that pressure, this was the first commute with these tires. I found out later that a coworker's husband had a tubeless blow off a mountain bike rim on a checkout ride, and he attributed it to too-high pressure. Another colleague had a front tubeless blow out on him and he attributed it to awful manufacture of hutchinson tires. Neither of those 2 went down as hard as I did.

The rim was gouged during the accident but only on the corner, not inward toward the bead or outward toward the braking surface, so I used it again today, w/ the other 25mm schwalbe one, the former front tire that had not worn out. A friend has advised me to ditch both the rim and the tire, and he's probably right, but hey look I got in today! I am not cornering aggressively right now.

I couldn't really see any flaws in the 28 after the accident but when I put it back on this weekend it wouldn't hold air, and eventually it seemed like it might have had a bulge on the bead where the new leak was. Don't know if it had that when I had the mechanical. When I took the tire off, hosed out the sealant (this weekend) before putting the 25mm tire on, I couldn't find that imperfection again. But the 25 holds air great.

The other 28 on the front at 70 psi definitely was nice over the last mile of chipseal. Right now I have the 25 in the rear at 85psi. I had maybe a thousand miles on the 25s with no problems (other than persistent repunctures on the rear tire). I had been keeping them around 80/90 psi. Not thrilled with the longevity, but I like the self-sealing and lack of pinch flats. I definitely don't like the knee sprain, and really glad it happened as I was exiting a traffic circle rather than still in it.

When I put the 25s on last year I went through a 3 day process of checking the seal and pressure before taking them for a real out-of-the-neighborhood ride, I only gave the 28s one day and night of checking before firing it up this time, will not be that optimistic again in the future.

I'm not ready for tubeless!

Thanks Hardy. I was looking at the Schwalbe One or Pro One tires because they scored well in the rolling resistance test that I posted but when I look for real users there seems to be a lot of stories like yours... not usually with such drastic results.

Schwalbe has this note on their website about selecting a rim... of course this takes the onus off them...

with this figure...

http://www.schwalbe.com/files/schwal...ch_abstand.jpg http://www.schwalbe.com/files/schwal...gleich_3_6.jpg

Fulcrums meet schwalbe's requirements, I emailed with the Schwalbe NA people before I got them to rule out some other ones that are popular for use with other tires. I am a big schwalbe fan, but was not thrilled with the lifespan of the 25mm rear tire for sure or the blowout from the 28 (all tires are consumables though and its possible that not stopping to patch tubes when the sealant salvages the air in the tire after a puncture could be worth the hassle of more frequent tire replacement) (but no amount of skipping patching is worth a knee sprain). Not sure if it was a manufacture problem with the 28 that led to my problem but even if so it was compounded by me not taking enough time to make sure it was bombproof before taking it for a real ride.

Maybe I am just being dumb in keeping up with them for now, and in my toolbag I keep a tube.

The 'pro ones' seem to get awful reviews but it is possible a lot of the complaints come from goof offs (like me) riding them without sealant, which I would never do with any tubeless setup.

And following up from that, here's the best tubeless writeup I've seen in a while
Why Isn't Road Tubeless More Popular? Part One - How We Got Here - Bikerumor
Why Isn't Road Tubeless More Popular? Part Two - Current Options, Challenges & What's Coming Down the Road - Bikerumor

[MENTION=60072]HardyWeinberg[/MENTION]

Sorry about the accident. I can relate to how driving sucks the soul and cardio endurance from your seemingly barely alive body when you're not allowed to commute.

I have never tried tubeless, but a few years ago on a model of Marathons (can't recall exact model) I has three tires give me wire bead/sidewall delamination issues. Once I was incredibly lucky that I noticed a bulge forming on an easy slight uphill grade, because I had a screamer hill with three lanes of rush hours coming up next. I booted it and got to work. Two other instances I had the read bead/sidewall blowout, it is loud. They replaced at least two of the three is I recall correctly, I never had an issue since then.

I agree. The potential downsides are too great.

I definitely see your points!

Due to family responsibilities and other commitments, I rode less in june than I did in January or Feb. (I'm not complaining, I'm still lucky enough to ride about 3 days/week!!)


I broke a spoke yesterday AM. I took it easy, and then on the way home I stopped at MEC* and they replaced it, and only charged me for the material cost of a single spoke!! They did warn me that I'd soon be in the market for a new rear wheel--I knew that already...






* MEC = Mountain Equipment Co-op, which is similar to what REI used to be, although MEC is changing a lot in the last few years...

You mean, "They spoke to me..."

"Yup, that wheel's gonna be breakin' more spokes soon. Nah, don't you worry about what Earl's doin' to it with that file. He's a perfeshunal and we always act in yer best intrests."

Hot, sticky, humid...those frigid winter commutes feel like some fuzzy dream from the distant past. 77F/25C before 06:00 in the morning.

I took a different route to work today. I do not usually ride in this particular area and I have been trying to learn the area. I took a wrong turn and went about half a mile before I realized I was going the wrong way. Oh well just a little extra riding added in. Another humid day today but not to hot this am.

Yup, Sticky...
 

Man, I was dripping wet when I arrived this morning. I've been riding a road bike with a backpack, just to change things up. It's faster and maybe a little more sporty and enjoyable. But having my glutes and hamstrings engaged to much has changed the way my body feels. I was a little tight and sore this morning. Warm up took a bit longer.


The bike rack at work has been empty except for me. What is this, February? Where are all of my fellow riders from last summer? Anyone?

Wild ride this morning with the storms rolling in. Barely missed a flying trashcan and couple limbs even before I left the neighborhood. Awesome tail wind though!