I don't remember the last time I rode to work three days in a row, but today is my third day in a row. I feel something interesting happening. I'm putting in less effort and going faster. The few hills I have feel easier. Funny how just putting in miles seems to be making me stronger.

I bought some bib shorts last year and haven't worn them much. I wore them today. Wow, I like them. Plus I have a hand-me-down jersey that feels fantastic. I wonder if it's still available. It's from Performance. I have to admit, synthetics can do a good job.

Have you tried Marino wool ? For so many reasons, superb wicking, never smells, warm/cool... I think it's the best!

thanks @essiemyra and @phil_gretz for the kind words.

ride in today was effortless and awesome. until i hit chambers st and my chain fell off the chain ring as i started pedaling when the light changed. no worries as i just joined the huge line of pedestrians crossing and walked with them.

i had to dirty up my hands to put the chain back on. when i got to work, one of the men said, try using gloves? i chuckled at my black hands and said, i usually carry disposable gloves with me... and i usually clean my bike which helps the chain stay on. what can i say. i need to clean my bike.

chain falling off is always my lazy indicator to clean the bike. i used to be diligent every 100 miles, degrease and re-lube, rim wipe-down among other things. but i have fallen off the wagon for some time now. (tsk tsk on me).

This past Saturday evening and Sunday morning, we had a very, very strong wind storm and on Sunday morning, I noticed a number of trees and large branches that had toppled over or broken off. By Sunday afternoon, the storm was over.

On Monday morning, as I was cycling in to work, I noticed the billboard in the following photo and I laughed: I'll explain why. The billboard advertises the services of a local real estate agent, Keith Vaillancourt, who is a big man and he uses his size in his advertising slogan, "Big Presence, Big Results". The missing panel was the one with the photo of Keith and I chuckled when I saw this because the first thought I had was, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" or further they blow because the panel with his photo was about 100m/yd down the road in a gully.

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I often ride multiple days in a row, trying to take advantage of nice weather because we sometimes get multiple days of lousy weather. However, my experiences have been different than yours. My legs get more tired with each passing day, with corresponding drops in average speeds. Sometimes I take a rest day, even when the weather is nice, because my legs just need a break. However, in general, increasing your mileage will make you a stronger rider as long as you take some rest days or recovery rides now and then.

I couldn't get by on my commute without bib shorts, synthetic jerseys and other cycling clothes. I get sweaty even during the depths of winter, and in the warmer months my clothes are soaked after a few minutes of riding.

Nice ride in this morning. I passed a guy on a hill who then chased me the rest of the way up right on my wheel and then passed me back at the top. It's hard to tell under a helmet and sunglasses, but I'm pretty sure the guy was at least 10-15 years my senior.

Rode in yesterday too (couldn't post because of the upgrade). Very nice ride in. For the ride home, thunder and lightning with a deluge for the last 25%.

Today I drove to work for the first time since March. It was pouring rain, and I was already running late, but my main driving route was clogged up due to an accident, so I didn't even save any time. Learned my lesson.

Lightning and rain when I awoke this morning. Despite having already packed my bike for the commute, I showered and drove in today.


Now, I hang my head in shame...

Already 77F this morning with a forecast high of 98. Ugh. I took it slow and managed to not get too sweaty.

Heavy storms overnight, reports of hurricane force winds which I don't doubt based on the downed trees and limbs on the MUP. Still glad I was on a bike instead of a car - listening to traffic reports there are roads flooded, downed power lines, traffic lights out, basically a big mess - haha

Same here, except I was glad I drove. Good day to eat and hydrate.

It was 10C/59F, virtually windless, clear and sunny but early on in the ride, when behind hills or other sun blocks, it felt cooler but there was a lot of mist off nearby lakes and swamps. However, by about 20% of the way in to the 50km/30mi ride, I was on higher elevation and there was less mist in the areas around me.

My legs feel like jelly: 60km yesterday, 50km this morning, I shouldn't be surprised. A final push toward my June goal of 1,000km tomorrow and I can relax for the next few days. I won't reach 1,000km tomorrow, I expect to be about 50km short but I'll have the weekend and 4 days next week to do some slow easy rides to complete the distance.

Consecutive bicycle commute number ninety-two:

Took the long way to work this morning. We have a MUP that goes around the middle 1/3 of our city in a loop about 20 miles long. It's kind of nice because it's like having a bypass highway to get around via bike. I'll ride a mile from my house to get on the trail, ride the trail without having to deal with traffic or stop signs, and then get off the trail near my destination and finish the ride.

Anyway, at the client location I'm working at today I'll normally ride about three miles down the MUP. Today though, I turned the opposite direction and rode the long way around. Logged about 19 miles total. Wind was a little stiffer than expected, and I rode straight into it for a good chunk of the ride. Temp was in the upper 50s, but the humidity was high so it felt pretty chilly; I'm glad I wore gloves.

About a 1/2 mile from where I was supposed to get off the trail and head to the office there's a spot where a railroad track crosses the MUP. Today there was a train sitting motionless on the track, blocking my way. So I had to turn around and ride 1/4 mile back to a side road and ride the streets. Of course, once I was on my detour I heard the train start up and blow its horn. I cranked as hard as I could and rode two blocks farther down, then took a right turn and crossed the tracks before the train reached the intersection. I even made it across before the warning lights started to flash. It was a long train and I didn't want to sit there and wait for it.

In an unrelated note, after comparing numbers for a bunch of rides I've figured out my cycle computer is within +-.001 miles of accuracy as compared to what the GPS on my phone calculates. I'm impressed it matches up that close. Yes, I still use a cycle computer and keep my phone in my pocket.

Nice ride yesterday, but dang hot and humid. I usually ride Tu/Th but this week rode yesterday (Wednesday) and possibly tomorrow because I was feeling gross Monday evening into Tuesday. The good thing about hot and humid is that usually means a healthy tail wind for my afternoon commute, which is always fun.

Not a commute but I rode around town on my 90's MTB turned rigid gravel bike last Saturday, and ended up cutting through a golf course (concrete cart paths only, never on the grass). I went through there from the back to the front back in February without any problems. This time I went front to back, starting at the clubhouse, and a guy in the cart garage started yelling at me "Hey you!! You can't be on the course!!" I sprinted past and cut across onto a gravel path back in behind some trees (service path or something), then kept on going out into the neighborhood back behind the course. Oh well, it was quite the adventure.

Nice commute in this morning. Got started about ten minutes later than normal and noticed the increase in traffic on the highway section. Plenty of wildlife around to enjoy. Experienced several courteous drivers who waited for me to ride by instead of pulling out in front of me. I'm on a truck route for a few miles that's rough with potholes, no shoulder and several RR crossings within a couple hundred yards. Not a good situation except traffic is light. There's a distribution company on a side road and I've had a driver(s) who have waited for me to go by before pulling out and then stay behind me going slow until the road widens and it's safe to pass. Happened again today so as soon as I got to my office I fired up my computer and sent the company an email asking them to extend my appreciation and thanks for his courtesy and patience to that driver.

Today is the fourth day in a row riding to work (and back). This is a record for me at this job which I have had for a year and a half.

Yesterday I believe I made my best time ever on my trip back home. I think I have figured out how to fit myself on my bike better than ever. I'm feeling stronger than I have felt in years.

Not only that, as of this morning, I have ridden 315 miles this month, which breaks my record for any month since I started recording about two years ago. In about a week, I am going to break my record for miles ridden in a year. Last year, my record was about 1,200 miles, and I'll break that when the year is half over.

I decided to ride to work today even though there's a chance of rain later. I might get wet, but I plan to shower and change after I get home.

I haven't had headwinds in a few days, which is unusual. But today I got them. Not too bad, and with a little luck, the wind direction won't change in the middle of the day as it often does.

Good going, Tom!

My commute this morning was uneventful except for a lot of little bugs, the ones that look like snowflakes in the headlight and feel like... well, they feel like little bugs bouncing off me.

And another clueless deer grazing at the side of the road, jumped into the underbrush when I went by.

Nice and cool this morning. Decided to ride in from home so will get the ~48 miles and 3hrs on the bike today. Saw that it wasn't going to rain in the forecast so went for it. With riding from home 2 days a week, I'm getting close to ~160 miles a week. I feel strong so am happy. Just have to ride smarter on the longer rides to not burn out too much and have something left to play with my son (the crazy 3.75 yr old). Met a guy in central park yesterday on a BMC. He was hitting it pretty hard and out of the saddle for what seemed like half of the time. Rode with him from after Harlem Meer hill until the other side of the park. But on the other side, he dropped me like a bad habit. Strong thin dude he was. Told him he should consider racing but he didn't say anything in response. He could have been a hairly legged veteran for all I know...

One thing I dislike about riding certain areas at night is the number of gnats and mosquitoes. I'm generally going too fast for the mosquitoes to keep up, but it's like riding through a dust storm; can't inhale through my mouth, hits near my eyes are distracting, and I've occasionally gotten one up the nose. Finally got some light amber motorcycle glasses for the eyes, but still looking for a good hot weather balaclava-type mask.

I do not understand why drivers speed into the intersection and hard stop well past the stop line. I was driving today and I had two situations that made me gasp with drivers doing this. Plus it was really wet today and I fear for their stopping ability on a wet possibly greasy patch of road. There easily could have been pedestrians or cyclists that are obstructed by bushes and parked cars.

That is excellent about the distribution company. I hope they extend your gratitude.

I walked outside and it was 72 and 80% humidty felt like riding through fog. I was sweating before the end of the my street. Makes me glad I ride in bib shorts and jersey.

Cooler this morning but didn't help much. KCMO closed another of my routes due to some BS event. They don't give any heads up either and on a bike that means climbing a hill or hills. I hate this corrupt city with a passion and looking forward to the day I don't have ride to it.

A little cooler this morning than yesterday, though still plenty humid. Nothing to complain about. I made a short stop to try and get some pictures of some sunflowers, but I was short on time and it isn't what I hoped. I need to leave a bit earlier one day next week and have a few more minutes to get something better there.

Pretty good ride into work. Although my stomach was a bit messed up and I felt like crap at the outset, I did manage to catch my wind...right after finally breaking some. Perfect weather helped too.

At my workplace, we get Fridays off in the summer. I'm still in bed now at 9am.