I definitely agree. Also, re the traffic, good reason to bike-commute at least when I don't need to go north, which I do about once a week.

[MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION] I always found wool was great in the heat, despite many people thinking it was foolish. Now wool is getting trendy for athletic wear.

This morning was a nice commute, my legs were a bit tired after our 16 km Sunday ride. I am not in the shape I used to be in.

Just curious, but which backpack and which Lemond? I used to have an early 2000's Malliot Jaune that I still miss. *sigh* I actually have a 53cm Buenos Aries from the same vintage. I just wish it was a 55cm... Might have to try selling or trading it.

Today's ride was nicer than yesterday's. No getting wet for the ride home this time. I got a front flat yesterday. Changed the tube and realized that it was due to me trying out the pipe wrap tape (as a rim tape). (slap forehead). So I went to the LBS on 110th St and bought the blue 22mm plastic stretchy rim tape from Schwalbe. Great stuff for wider rims like the Velocity A23. And for $2.50 you just can't go wrong...

[MENTION=25132]ptempel[/MENTION], this is my BF thread on the bike. It is a 53cm whereas my ideal size is 56 or 57cm, but I make it work. I might get a taller stem for it.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2D...w1620-h1210-no

The bag is the Timbuk2 Especial Raider Cycling Pack which was on sale at REI.

Ah, yes. I forgot that your Ti bike was a Lemond. Really nice one that is. Was the Lemond Ti bikes built by Helfrich?

www.cyclingnews.com news and analysis

Edit: This thread post seemd to corroberate Gary Helfrich's involvment in the Ti bikes:

http://www.bikeforums.net/14024610-post12.html

Took a shortcut this morning - a singletrack mountain bike trail that shaves a couple of km off the trip but is substantially more difficult. I've tried it before but it didn't work out too well because I was on a fixed gear with slick tires and I kept spinning out on the slippery ascents. This time I was on a cross bike (with touring tires). I still had to walk up a section of hill because I didn't gear down in time and stalled, but otherwise it was okay. With the hard tires and rigid fork, my brain felt pretty rattled by the time I got back to pavement. I'll have to time both ways to see if I actually gain anything with the shortcut.

It was sunny and 72 degrees for the ride home today with a 15-20 mph tailwind most of the way. Why can't every day be like that?

Love commuting in Manoa, one of the only places in Honolulu that isn't a terrifying ride. Anyone familiar?

No, but wish I was. Love Hawaii.

It has a lot of things going for it, but commuting on your bicycle is not really one of them. The city has been trying to increase bike lanes but are doing it all ass-backwards. a two-way bike lane on a one-way avenue, for example.

Manoa is a valley and is where the university is located so things are a little more tranquil. Recommend checking it out next time you are here.

Yeah, I figured it out after I posted. I had never been to Honolulu, other than lay overs, before, but was there with my family for Thanksgiving a couple years ago. I saw that neighborhood and valley, but we did not go up into it. I enjoyed our stay there very much, but it looked like cycling could overall be challenging. At least in town.

We stayed out west at a Marriot resort that my Mom had booked. I really enjoyed hiking out way west to the far western point of the island, and Kaena Point State Park. Looked like maybe there could be some cycling out there.

Yea, Kaena Point is awesome. Cool that you made it all the way out there. A lot of of tourists never go further west than the airport. The North Shore (basically the other side of Kaena point, but not connect by a road) is another place to cycle. A couple shops on the island do rentals too, so maybe you could check that out if you are real interesting.

Commute was super foggy today. Saw a toilet seat on the side of the road.

-Shin

:lol:

That's a good one. The best I can offer would be the morning I packed my wife's socks.

What did you do? Go back for your jeans? Or tough it out in hers? :D

-Shin

I enjoyed the North Shore too, but we were further east. We crossed by the big pineapple plantation and connected to the North Shore there. It was November and big waves, and we got to catch part of a big surf event over there, after a really touristy feeling tour of the cultural center that Mom wanted to do. And yeah, looked like there could be some cycling there. I have been most to Maui, and Kihei, but it was really fun to explore Oahu.

I liked it over there, and also really liked it way out west.

Fortunately I had a day-old pair in the filing cabinet

Brrr 45 degrees this morning.. no way I was wearing shorts this morning! Good tailwind at least!

Too funny.

I feel like I "gain" when I find a long-cut that adds mileage. :)

I've been lucky that my commutes have been between downpours this week. We've had a lot since Sunday afternoon, but I've had nothing more than a drizzle for my rides. It has been humid though. I am definitely more sticky at the end that I have been all winter and spring.

My formerly mild depression has been a bit worse this spring and early summer and so I haven't been riding as much as I would like, despite the fact that I know that it helps. However, I think it is turning around, I've had some good news recently that is helping because one of the items was something I was worrying about. I've ridden twice this week, a recreational ride last night in the nice warm late afternoon sun and I commuted to work this morning in 9C/48F, overcast and very light rain weather.

Feeling much better despite not getting as much sleep last night as I would have liked: I had to pick up my wife from work at 11:40pm so we didn't get to bed until after midnight and my alarm goes off at 6am (and if it isn't the alarm that wakes me, it's the dog or the two cats, wanting to be fed or let out).

The rest of this week also has rain in the forecast, in fact, if you believe long range forecasts, every day until June 3 has rain in the forecast, yuck!

There are days when I'm thankful there is a porta-potty north of the airport. Today was one of them.

https://scontent.ffsd1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...0f&oe=59AE52A9

I wear merino year round - the stuff is magic. In summer I wear icebreaker t's, I have one long and one short sleeve. Both are at least 3 years old and I can wear the same shirt every day for a week. When I tour these are all I carry for tops. I'm a merino evangelist - don't know why folks wear anything else.

[MENTION=339610]Darth Lefty[/MENTION] that might be the funniest post on this thread! The burning question is how one selects one's wife's pants... accidentally?!

... oh the commute, uneventful - gonna rain today, gonna get wet

Whoa, I know they're great and all but dang I couldn't stomach $70 for a t-shirt. I don't even spend $70 on true cycling jerseys with all the pockets and everything. I don't think I own one single bit of bicycle kit that cost $70.

45 here too. But a beautiful day. Looks like a headwind thermal like normal, so time to suit up and show up I guess. I think I am going to take the converted mountain bike commuter today. Put a different bar on it the other night that I would like to try out.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...n.jpg~original

[MENTION=368966]sunvalleylaw[/MENTION] Oh hey my wife has the same car, same color even! We just got it for her in August of last year (2014 Touring model) and we both love it. Such a massive upgrade from her 96 Corolla clunker she drove for nearly 2 decades.

Yeah, that is my wife's care also. She got it to replace a 2005 Subaru Outback, which was also a good car.

The expression "get into her pants" isn't meant to be taken literally. :lol:

51F, sunny.

Alternative mountains riding home last night.

I paid $60 for my Smartwool shirt, and yeah, it seemed crazy, but my wife has a whole lot of them, and I thought I ought to try one. I'd say after only a few months, I've already gotten my money's worth. I also got a Woolrich merino t shirt from Sierra Trading Post for a lot less, somewhere between $20 and $40. It's very thick and not as useful, though it is nice and warm in the winter. You could save money by watching for sales on Sierra Trading Post but you won't get the most benefit from something like Smartwool which I highly recommend. Like leather saddles and other things that cost a lot initially, you end up getting your money's worth.

I pushed myself to ride in even though I'm sore and sleep deprived. I promised myself I have permission to ride gently. This time for perhaps the first time, I kept to a gentle pace and didn't change my mind. One of my goals is to make the commute NOT seem like a burden which is hard when it's so long. But it always pays off, because it's better than sitting still for so much of the time on the subway.

You could find some bushes or some high grass if you have to take a #2 break. Tom Dumoulin had to do just that in the Giro d'Italia wearing the maglia rosa :) :

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/cycli...-giro-ditalia/

Hope he's not sick (or has diarrhea).