It was raining fairly hard when I woke up, so I took my time getting ready. It paid off, as the rain had stopped before I got on the bike. Chillier than it has been, back to normal after a week of spring weather.

Such a beautiful ride this morning. MUP paths were clear, bridges a little frosty. 20F, clear. I can't believe how much earlier the sun is rising! I didn't ride Friday--I chose to sleep in a glorious 45 minutes, then got to regret not riding all day long! So I made an extra effort to ride this morning.

There really isn't any better way to start my day. Dawn patrol is the best! And a hot shower at work--it doesn't get any better. The results of riding are clear for my mental state: feeling relaxed yet awake, blissed out on endorphins. I can't believe it took me so long to get back into bike commuting. I'm in my 2nd year of it, after a 10 year hiatus.

Second commute of the year and things were much more enjoyable than the first.

It snowed Friday so I took the MT bike. Great traction through anything.

Today was mostly dry with some ice patches so I took the road bike. Way faster. For the ice patches, just sit down, don't pedal or steer and hang on!

I shot this on the way home tonight. Scenes like this make the headwinds worthwhile.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qL...w2080-h1562-no

FINALLY some awesome sunshine today!

February has pretty much been a total bust for me. Today was only my 3rd commute this month. First 2 weeks were spent dealing with flu among my whole family. Got in 2 commutes week before last, then last week was almost non-stop rain the entire week. The one day I could have ridden I ended up having a doctor appointment. Today we had sunny and upper 60's for the afternoon ride, which was just glorious. 30 total miles round trip with perfect motorist behavior. 100% lane change passing. Doesn't get much better!

A very nice uneventful commute this am with the temp at 28 f degrees.

Last night I had a scary moment. All this probably happened in about 3 seconds. I was driving my kids home from activities. It was dark and around 8:40pm. I noticed something moving fast on a side road and immediately recognized it as reflectors in spokes going in circles. The side road has a stop sign and I'm on a 35mph road.

I realize he is not stopping and there is no way I could stop to let him go in front of me. All at once I see him about to hit my right front wheel and hear a scream like, "AAAAAAAAH!" I recognize there are no oncoming cars so I swerve into that lane and hit the brakes. I fully expected to hear a thud of his front tire hitting the rear right side of our minivan, but I heard nothing and catch a glimpse of him having somehow gone behind me and turned the other direction. A car behind me was luckily not too close, but had to brake too and probably saw the whole thing.

It appeared to be a BMX or mountain bike with an adult riding with a long jacket. He had no lights and apparently either didn't have brakes or didn't know how to use them. Anyway, my heart was pounding for several minutes after I continued on. The road he came out of has a steep hill that he must have picked up speed from and didn't care about cars with the right of way.

Back to riding this morning, but may only get two days this week. A jump back to normal February temps and 36F this morning. But totally clear skies and bright enough that I wore regular sunglasses leaving at 7am.

first commute of the year today. The snow levels receeded to reveal the breakdown lane again and to make it safe bombing downhill at 6am without hitting crud and ricocheting into the traffic :-) ooh did it feel great today ! Yay!

@mgw4jc : Glad that incident didn't turn tragic for you! I had a similar thing happen once. Was driving the car and was stopped at an intersection waiting for a break in traffic. It was a one-way street coming from my left, so that's where most of my focus was pointed. After sitting there a while there was finally a break in traffic, so I started to move out into the intersection. Suddenly there was a bike in front of me. He was riding down the left side against traffic on a one-way street. I jammed on the brakes and just brushed his leg with my bumper. Thankfully he didn't even go down, but he did scream at me for a few seconds and then continued down the street the wrong way. I don't think there's many worse feelings than a cyclist who almost hits another rider with their car.

Today's commute was icy but uneventful. Yesterday afternoon the sun came out and the temp hit about 40 for a little while, which caused our snow accumulation to start to melt. Then when the sun went down the temp dropped back into the teens and everything froze. This morning it was 21 degrees when I left the house and there was a lot of ice patches littering the road and MUP. I stopped and took a picture of a couple, just for the heck of it. The marks from my studded tires carrying out their assigned duties can be seen in the ice.

https://scontent.ffsd1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...32&oe=5B4D119B
https://scontent.ffsd1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...25&oe=5B01591E

Pleasant 36F and no wind. Anyone noticed it's lighter in the morning?

Picked up a new (used) bike over the weekend and was so excited to ride it to work today. Put in a few extra KMs through a provincial park so I could say hi to the deer. Great ride. Temp was just at freezing but sunny and very nice. Thoroughly enjoyed my ride!

:twitchy:that is some impressive weather. [MENTION=175954]Tundra_Man[/MENTION] you win that is some serious snow and conditions to ride in! :thumb:

[MENTION=322871]arsprod[/MENTION] that is funny. I actually laughed out loud. I have had those conversations with myself before.

[MENTION=366933]mgw4jc[/MENTION] he is so big and bad. it is those moments when I wish I had a camera and could report it to police..

sign for a new bike or what? N+1 time?

I drove yesterday too because my body was exhausted. I could have ridden yesterday as well. but didn't.
Strong winds and rain yesterday.

today I saw 28F on the way in. I tried something new short sleeve wool jersey under the jacket. So hard to figure out weather when it jumps around like this. High of 60F so who know what I will end up wearing riding home. :twitchy:

Back to normalish 35F, misty

Clear and cool ride this morning, like it's early spring. Weather app said 40, it was closer to 50, so I was a bit overdressed.


Took the route (NOT a detour!) through the woods a couple miles from work. The native birds sound like they're ready to nest, but the migrants haven't seen the memo that it's been so warm lately, so they're not back yet.

Yes, but more at the end of the day. Until the clock "springs forward", at least.

Another really nice day a brewin'. Was ~40F this morning but should go to the mid 50'sF. The sun was really out for perhaps the first time in a week. I also just replaced the casette and chain on my drivetrain on the Ridley. It now feels nice and silky smooth. ;) The 26t cog on the cassette helps to spin a little more than the 25 up the Ft Lee Road hill.

Ha, of course I can... when I have something to fix it with.

I don't commute with a repair kit or spare. As I mentioned to someone else, my do-everything/fix-it-all bike repair kit is my metrocard. Very light weight and will get me home from anywhere.

OK, if it works for you, then great. I'd rather fix a flat than carry my bike onto the subway. I can fix a flat in ten minutes or shorter.

I hear you, and I respect your preferences. Personally, I don't mind carrying my bike onto and off of the subway. And while fixing a flat is fairly easy, I wouldn't want to do it on the city streets simply because I couldn't wash my hands immediately afterward (seriously, the nastiness). Although I guess a pair of latex gloves wouldn't add any weight or bulk to a repair kit...

Yeah, I'm more tolerant of dirty hands than most people. Latex gloves are a good idea. Also, you can carry hand wipes. I have them in my tool kit, and I forget to use them!

beast from the east!

Another nice uneventful commute this am with the temp warmer than yesterday at 39 f degrees. This will be the last day this week of commuting by bike as I have to pick up my grandson after school tomorrow and Friday we are expecting a northeaster with rain no riding in that weather.

Low 50's and little wind.. not bad overall. But today JOCO drivers were competing for who can be the worst driver award.

I love the civil discussion between our friends [MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION] and [MENTION=465722]robertorolfo[/MENTION]. To each their own. I consider the smears of grease on my riding clothes a badge of honor, heh. Although since now I roll with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, I haven't had a flat in quite some time--but I still roll with a couple of tubes, a multi-tool, CO2 inflation, etc. I should consider nitrile gloves (which I carry) to see how it works with changing a flat.

I got up extra-early this morning so I could ride, and as always, I'm glad I did! Beautiful ride. Although I need to check into more hip intrinsic stretches--my left side has been bothering me. I don't want it to get worse.