Wow, that is weird - why would someone steal the Bishop? It's usually a pawn that people lose.

50F, sunny, day 3 of riding regular inner-tube bike, massive puncture from staple that went in one side of tube and out the other, hit the rim...

Yikes! SO this brings up a question I have had about going tubeless/commuting tubeless -

I understand most of the advantages and that flats theoretically should be fewer; however, if you get a straight-up puncture, then you have to repair or replace the tire which is a lot more expensive than the tube??

Well, on my tubeless bike I have a bigger puncture on one tire than I got from this staple (and a bazillion little ones across both) and the sealant keeps it airtight. The tire with the big puncture could use retiring, but it still holds air for the length of any ride (up to around 50 miles), I just need to top it up each time out. So, no interruption of rides. The staple puncture is big enough that it might be exposing the replacement tube to additional road hazards more than I would like. But, I did keep a 2" big apple rolling with a quarter inch flap hanging open for about a thousand miles before I finally gave up on it.

I guess the hassle is that it's an indeterminate process (for me) reseating a new tire for tubeless, so it can take a couple days to get it just exactly perfect before a new tire is definitely rideable. Topping the tire with the big puncture up before each ride is easier than dealing with taking the wheel out of commission for an indeterminate time period to make sure a new tire is actually ready to roll.

No, someone stole everything except the bishop

Sealant will stop pretty big holes. Some people carry automotive plugs.

An outright slice would be fixed with a tube and a boot... or a dollar. And that kind of damage would have killed an equivalent regular tire too.

It could be ... there are two clues there, that the tableau was set by a scoundrel and not a player. At first I thought it may be a commuter game, one move per day, but now it looks more like a coded message, such as those used by MI5 spies in Germany in WWII, who used postal chess as the media. Else why Knight to h3, (or to a3, since the setup is backwards), a move no player would make?

Did you leave it intact?

I left it. I didn't take note if it was there today.

A few times on my morning rides in the last couple of years there have been events that have seemed like omens. This wasn't one of them.

Liking the temps lately.. the wind was cooperating this morning so that means it won't tonight. I was hearing a click..click on the way in. Staple in the back tire, also check the front and it had a piece of glass, let's see if Mr. Tuffy saved my bacon.

A good 15 miles this morning. Traffic was alright. I lucked out on one stoplight catching the green and not even slowing down. Well, I did slow down because it is a short, steep hill up to it.

Downright weird morning. Cooler 64F and looked forward to an easy ride. First a woman gave me that look and hands up signal when I took my turn at a 4 way stop (after she did the no stop, creep up into the intersection thing), then an old guy walking on the MUP in the other direction stopped, started yelling at me and pointing his umbrella. When I got close enough I realized he wasn't saying anything just spouting gibberish. His final "words" as I rolled by, and I quote, were "ha ha hee hee ho ho woop woop." Then at a downtown intersection where I'd stopped at stop sign waiting for traffic to clear an older lady started honking at me starting about 20 yards away as she approached the intersection then stared at me as she rolled by. I must have missed the announcement that it's harass a cyclist day.

Nice ride this morning; cool with a high overcast that was enough to keep the bike shed at work close to comfortable (it's usually like a steam bath in there).

My contribution to this morning's weirdnesses was a rather young-looking woman standing on the edge of the sidewalk near downtown, talking and gesturing wildly towards the intersection 40 yards away. I looked at her, at the intersection, glanced back at her, and decided she's either doped up or mentally unstable. I kept rolling.

Thinking back now, she might also have been on her cell phone. Does that rule out the other possibilities? ;)

Kudos to the real regular commuters!
 

Today was my fourth time commuting to work, 30 miles round-trip from my University town to a small community. It's along rural two lanes, and what's great is that everybody commutes opposite of me, so I rarely get passed. I try to commute on days my wife doesn't work, so I don't have to drop the kiddo off at daycare.

It was a gorgeous sunny morning, temps in the upper 50s. I overdressed slightly thinking it would be cool, but the dewpoint was very low and it turned out to be a very comfortable and dry ride! I absolutely love being warmed up and ready to go when I walk through the door at work, it's the best! I don't have a rack on my road bike, so I wear a nice smaller hiking backpack that is surprisingly comfortable. I didn't expect it to be as unnoticeable as it is. I'll leave it at work in the afternoon so I'll have a really nice ride home.

I saw some people working in the field, loading bales of cornstalks, and waved. They waved back :) I've shared this image before but will add it again, the same road I took this morning. 15 miles, 305ft of elevation gain, 17.7mphhttps://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fb0b2db24.jpeg

60F, gray

Smoke, fog, or cloud-gray?

Just a low cloud ceiling today. Maybe some more smoke next week. We had to wash our car last week to get the soot off.

I had to be at work super early today. I work at a university, and it's orientation day for graduate students. Commuting in more than an hour early has its pluses. Traffic was a lot lighter. I saw two separate tandem teams. The first looked like a couple commuting, but I'm guessing. The second looked like a leisure ride. If I spied them correctly, the wife was the captain.

Derpy Bike
 

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c6b5848bed.jpg
Saw this gem on our nightly ride to the library. I think the owner's strategy is to have a bike so weird no one will steal.....

Lorelei said it's nice but needs longer handlebars :-)

Happy Friday! A thunderstorm woke me up at about midnight last night. It was short enough though and clear for this morning's ride.

A nice little scene at one creek crossing this morning with the morning mist and wispy clouds at sunrise.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...55cbbc111b.jpg

Cool, muggy, uneventful... I like it!

Those handlebars look like someone disassembled their grandmother's walker and bolted part of it onto the stem. All it needs are a couple of tennis balls on the end.

Quiet ride -- you'd think it was the Friday before Labor Day weekend or something. Fairly heavy overcast; as I was riding down one suburban street with the trees hanging over the street, I noticed the stop sign a block ahead seemed to be doing a slow flicker. I deliberately swerved left and right; yep, the auto sensor on my dyno headlight had turned itself on. C'mon, it's just August, not December!

I had a brief conversation with a delivery truck driver at a traffic light. "Anyone ever try to run you off the road?" "Nope." (Not strictly true, alas!) "You do get yelled at sometimes, though, right?" "Yes, I'm one more person on the road, but I'm different, so some people think it's OK to yell at me." The light changed, but I hope I gave him something to think about.

Had a nice streak going last week, then completely fell off the wagon. Rode today in rather cool temps (about 5C/41F)...the gloves that made my hands sweat at 10C weren't warm enough today. Stupid gloves.

58F, sunny. A fall 58, not a summer 58. Still sticking w/ short sleeves though.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...065157573a.jpg

5 days this week! Took last week off completely, mostly due to smoke but also some amotivation. But the smoke was real...