The last few years that my stepdaughter lived in Manhattan. She lived on Sullivan Street off Houston by McDougall. It's really fun to wake up in the morning, Walk out of the building and have all sorts of options for coffee and baked goods and then again for lunch and dinner even.

Thursday's bike commute was pleasant. I was thinking about how to write it up when a couple miles from home. I did something stupid that I don't want to remember or really think about except to remember not to do it again. It didn't have to do with cycling per se but rather an encounter with a person. Unasked, I tried to be helpful and got involved in something that became complicated to extricate myself from. In the end I suffered no consequences but felt stupid and ashamed.

Friday I didn't feel like riding. I had a late dessert of ice cream while watching TV with the wife and the sugar caused me to feel stiff and achy the next morning.

I took the big big heavy rock hopper again today. I just love that bike. It was a little bit nippy in the low 30s when I started but in the low 40s when I arrived at work half an hour later.

On a quiet side street there was a car coming from another quiet street on the left and signaling to make a right. But as I passed him he began to accelerate and veer right towards me. I honked my air horn and he slammed on his brakes and put his hands up and was mouthing. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. At least I think that's what he was saying.

It was a moderately busy and very satisfying day at work. It was clear and in the mid-60s so I rode home in just shorts and a hi-vis top. The bike felt half its weight and I had this feeling that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I stopped at the pharmacy on the way home and as I was walking in I realized I was really happy and content. I mean, as an adult, I have learned to compartmentalize my thoughts and emotions somewhat so that I can concentrate on work or riding and not let world events or problems relating to my family or personal life intrude to the point where I can't function or enjoy what I'm doing. I don't think it's poking my head in the sand, I just think it's waiting until there's an appropriate time of the day or appropriate situation where these feelings can be considered and expressed.

​​​​​​ Biking to work certainly helps, and 16 years of improv have also helped me to go with the flow and trust that I will land on my feet more or less.

Actually, a lot of it is just cycling, especially in the warmer weather where as I have mentioned before, it's much easier to make eye contact with pedestrians and other cyclists and just share a smile.

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2302:

Most morning temps for the last few weeks have been in the single digits or teens. This morning it was a balmy 35°F. It started raining last night on my ride home from work, and continued raining until early this morning. We desperately need the moisture so I welcome the rain. I'm glad the temp wasn't five degrees colder however, as we would be buried in snow instead.

When I left the house, the pavement was still very wet but there was no more rain falling. I opted to take the road bike and ride around the the puddles as much as I could to try and keep the spray at bay. There was a hint of a cross wind, but overall it was a calm morning. I got out the door a few minutes late due to my laziness, but still made it to the office around my normal time. So apparently I was keeping a decent pace even though I wasn't purposefully trying.

The other night when I was waxing the chain on my road bike I notice my Brooks saddle (a B17 narrow) has gotten noticeably lopsided and saggy. I tried adjusting the tensioning bolt, but it made no difference. So it looks like I may be saddle shopping. I have two Brooks saddles on two different bikes, and frankly I'm not overly happy with them. I've got more than 10k miles on both, but neither one has gotten any more comfortable than when they were brand new.

I had the tensioning bolt break on my road bike saddle about a year after I bought it six years ago. I contacted Brooks to see if they would send me a replacement bolt under warranty. They refused, and insisted I ship the entire saddle back to the UK for warranty work. The price of shipping back and forth was half what the saddle cost, plus I'd be without a seat on my bike for weeks. I went down to Ace hardware and cobbled together a makeshift tensioning bolt for less than $1. In any event, I doubt I'm going to buy another Brooks.

A local online magazine interviewed me after I hit my 10 year consecutive cycling anniversary. I have a Google alert set up to alert me if a new web page containing my name shows up somewhere on the internet. I originally set up the alert to help me catch scammers or identity thieves before they do too much damage. A fringe benefit was that it also alerted me as soon as the magazine posted the article:

Yesterday, 32F am, 60F pm, almost all remaining puddles finally all dried up. This morning, 45F, dried up dirt back to mud, from condensation I guess. Still supposed to hit the 50s today. Tomorrow supposed to top out around 42. I am working at home the next 2 days.

A lot of car traffic today on what is generally a footpath sneaking through a college.

Oh yes, replaced my brake pads on the cross bike this past wknd and commuting got a lot more fun. Also fixed the flat on road bike; yesterday would have been a great day for it but I didn't really feel it in the am...

Also, Friday, talked my daughter through replacing her chain, up at college, via combination of text and discord

That was sure a lot of words just to still be vague!



Try a Selle Anatomica X-2 this time:
https://selleanatomica.com/products/...=7644358508574

I bought one and it's my favorite saddle. I have it on my endurance road bike. It has about 6,000 miles on it so far.

Then fortuitously a year later, a buddy in my coffee riders group gave me the original model X saddle, which I put on my gravel bike. It's almost as good as the X-2. It's tensioning bracket broke on me in 2025. I was surprised to see it was cast aluminum. I reached out to Selle and ordered a set of rivets and the hardware to fix the saddle, and had them within a week. They offered to fix it free and ship it back if I sent it in, (US address) but I fixed it myself. The replacement tensioning part was stamped steel, so I don't think it'll break again.

The X-2 was more supple out of the box than my Brooks after several thousand miles, and it got even more comfortable. Sounds like Brooks is not bending over backwards to satisfy its customers outside the UK. Same mistake Brompton is busy making.

Yesterday, I left some clothes at work to make space in the panniers, and stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Have not done that yet with the new bike, as I'm a little leery about leaving it outside, even while locked. But it was OK, of course. Felt good to be a cyclist-first guy again, arranging my life around a bicycle.

Rode 2nd day. Yesterday was a late in, early back ride as it's a kid day. Today, rode at dawn, the morning fog on the meadow above China Wall burning off as the sun came up. It was nice.

Here's a video of an egret I flushed off the path

We always throw up obstacles to ourselves but the ones I find especially pernicious in my life are thresholds we need to get over to do something rather than nothing. I need time after work, I can do it someday after I'm done with this job, I need stuff, I need a membership. My wife was nosing around the idea of signing up for a gym again, I told her she barely walks the dogs much less driving somewhere else to work. But she's had that before and barely went. She needs something she can do right out the door, I told her. For me right now it's the feeling of being "on call" all the time since my kids are not self-sufficient, that makes me want to have my truck with me.

edit: JUST NOW, wife texted to see if I could take kiddo his day planner. Nnnnope!

Oh, I hate to do three posts in a row, but I remembered a story to tell from yesterday afternoon. Several times I leapfrogged a couple of guys on e-bikes. One of them had a dead battery or something and he was taking a tow from the other. The bikes were heavy looking things with 20inch wheels and fat tires, but I don't know and didn't ask why he couldn't just pedal. The bikes were nearly the same, but one was black and one was white - and the guy on the black bike wearing black. The guy with the white bike had taken off his white t-shirt and they were using it for a tow rope. They seemed to be keeping cheerful about it

35 and foggy this morning, but not much wind! The birds are starting to amp up the singing for mating season. Mourning Doves, Black-capped Chickadees, and American Robins so far.
We're in that time of year when it's nearly always above freezing during the day, but often freezes at night, so there's a ton of salt ground into the road. I'm not taking the nice bikes too often.

Quite right. I saw my cardiologist yesterday, and on the subject of getting more exercise, he said it doesn't matter WHAT you do, as long as you do it. Ain't that the truth. He said metrics are fine if they motivate you, but don't let them be an obstacle. He was referring to things like how many minutes, how much weight, whatever.

So I today finally rode my own bike to work for the first time in a long time. I really enjoyed it. I told myself I don't have to ride hard, and that gave me some freedom. And then the mood hit me, I wanted to ride moderately hard. Halfway up the incline of the bridge, I shifted UP and pedaled harder to the summit.

I can't say my mood is better today than yesterday. Maybe it will improve with a few more cycling days. My new job is severely stressful because there are so many things to do, and I'm not good at any of them yet. It's normal for the first year or three of teaching, so I was forewarned. I'm also sleeping very irregularly. Last night a leg cramp woke me up, and I had to get up and walk it out. It was very hard to straighten my leg and ankle. Stuff like this happens a lot, with and without cramps. Monday night I was asleep for hours in the middle of the night.

I won't join a gym until I'm sure I'll use it. I hope to design my schedule to accommodate that soon.

I think you're doing a fine job, Tom. As a city slicker, you get plenty of natural exercise that a lot of America doesn't get: walking to trains, walking to closer destinations, climbing a ton of stairs. I'm a bit jealous that you could actually get by without a car.
You're of retirement age, but you still work, and with that comes physical and mental exercise that retirees who have parked their butts in the couch don't get.
From pix you've shared, you're not overweight.
I'm not sure if you smoke or drink, but I doubt it.
You're setting a high bar for yourself by comparing yourself to folks here instead of "typical Americans".

We all have our own challenges. For example, I ride a lot more than you, but I also am always fighting the urge to drink too much or too often.
We have one guy who has a very high-maintenance family life.
Another guy with a >25 mile commute, which he meets the challenge of by taking an eBike.

Outside of this subforum, are a bunch of "sport cyclists" who don't also seem to see the bike as a tool, but only a piece of exercise equipment. That's kind of a shame to me, but that's how most American cyclists are, due to our overall poor infrastructure.

It's true variety!

Jeremy, thank you for all the encouragement. I'm a little embarrassed that I'm working at my age because I didn't save enough to retire. But I'm also proud that I'm working and taking on a new profession that also happens to be very hard. I hope it keeps me young ... if it doesn't kill me.

Yes, I don't have to struggle to stay at a good weight. I don't know why that is. I think I have a kind of built in calorie counter. I quit eating when I've had enough. I'll occasionally overeat, and the next day, I'll eat a little less. I don't drink or smoke.

But as you say, we all have struggles. Since I am my age, I have health concerns, and I've started to take doctors' advice seriously. I also wish I had taken it seriously years ago. I have so many doctors! Nephrologist, cardiologist, urologist, jeez, I can't even remember all of them, and most of them want to see me at least once a year. I'm stiff and getting weak so even though I'm doing better than a lot of Americans, I don't think it's a good standard to compare with since so many Americans abuse and neglect their bodies.

I have deep empathy for the guy with a high maintenance family life. I divorced my kids' mother and had custody. Both of my kids were high maintenance, partly because of the abuse and neglect from their mother. Man, it was tough. An angel fell from heaven to help me, and I'm still married to her. My kids think of her as their true parent. She detests when I call her an angel, so I'll only say it when she's not listening or reading. And now she has her third cancer, and this time, it's leukemia, so I'm scared as hell. She might live a while but already the symptoms are coming, and treatment options seem limited, and the form of leukemia could at any time mutate to a worse form that takes her quickly.

Despite all of this, I have a lot to be grateful for.

Oh, and car-free life is nice. My wife has a car. She commutes to her work one day per week, and we use it on weekends at our weekend home. I just don't want a car, as it's more of a liability than an asset here. Driving in the City is masochism, in my view.

"There was a urologist for his urine, a lymphologist for his lymph, an endocrinologist for his endocrines, a psychologist for his psyche, a dermatologist for his derma; there was a pathologist for his pathos, a cystologist for his cysts, and a bald and pendantic cetologist from the zoology department at Harvard who had been shanghaied ruthlessly into the Medical Corps by a faulty anode in an I.B.M. machine and spent his sessions with the dying colonel trying to discuss Moby Dick with him."

Thank you for the occasional kind words. I am grateful. I hope your wife does well with her treatment. Grownup is harder than kid leukemia

Check out these mistletoe clumps in the sunset

I was feeling a little punked, so I drove Tuesday. Yesterday was my regular Wednesday meeting up north after work so I drove. I was eager to ride yesterday...and I did, leaving a little late, but since it was after sunrise, temps were already in the 40Fs, which felt like the 60s. Took the main commuter (2015 CHarge Plug-non-electric). I pushed a little harder and it felt great.

Had I been on time I would have possibly been in a live news shot about the bridge construction two doors down from the office. The half of the bridge on "our" side has been mostly completed and the curb lane has been re-opened. Replacing the separate pedestrian bridge is a new incorporated sidewalk, and while that looks done, it is still cordoned off. As I rolled up to the intersection from the trail I could see our camera crew cater-corner from me. I navigated the lights to where they were and they said I didn't;t have to go out of my way to say hi, but I showed them that with the bridge construction, and the sidewalk still closed, crossing the three sides of the intersection and then crossing again in front of the building was the only safe alternative to the missing sidewalk. there is still some curb and sidewalk work between the bridge and our office, but I expect the sidewalk to open in the next week....I hope.

On the way home I was excited because even though the sidewalk was closed there was a mini bike lane painted on the street and bridge. However I have had to cross the bridge and then hook back right to enter the trail. While the curb lane was officially closed I could safety do this, But with the curb lane open and a new pedestrian island I had to now swing around into the on-ramp/frontage road which just re-opened, and cars tend to fly around the corner. I wasn't expecting that and was a little unnerved. When the sidewalk opens it will be perfectly safe again.

It was around 60 and clear with a noticable tailwind on the way home so I was a happy camper.

Then, last night I got an email from a police officer regarding the transient who has been repeatedly laying down in the blind chicane of an underpass on the trail to trail extension that was built just about two years ago.

Last week I had dramatic helmet-cam video of a scooter shooting out from under the bridge just as I approached it and then you see the lying man and his belongings blocking half the trail and it's obvious that had I been a few seconds earlier I would have been in the half of the lane where the scooter was speeding with little chance for him not to run into me or the man. I attached the video and a still frame to the city's online reporting app, plus a letter to the city council member for that district (which I did a year ago), the biggest bike advocacy club and the city manager.

Well this time I got personal responses from everyone except the city manager's office. I even got a personal responses from the city's online app since the person who fielded it was some one I had worked with years ago and have reconnected with on FaceBk, although I didn't know they worked for the city now.

So last night the police officer emailed me to let me know he has made the underpass part of his regular overnight patrol for now and has engaged the man twice this week, and that if it happens again he will arrest him. In fact his response seemed a little too enthusiastic...in fact he shared his personal cell with me in case I encountered the man "anywhere in the area". So I thanked him and explained that it is just this one location that is an issue and that all the other underpasses are wider with plenty of good sight-lines and I usually only report when there is a fire danger, debris blocking the trail or someone seems to be having a medical issue.

45F and misty this am, so happy to have new brake pads; fastest commute time today since last summer, according to strava

Nice & warm this morning: 45 °F. But it was foggy & wet again, and the forecast said it was going to rain all day. Dammit. 2nd day in a row missing the bike commute. I had to drive all over the suburbs yesterday; at least my car is a hybrid, so I got 45 mpg doing so, and I feel a bit proud every time I can coax the engine to turn off for a few miles.

Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer, but with a quickly-changing, sketchy forecast. I think I'm going to join the coffee riders on a bike with full fenders and get 30 miles in.

Most forecasts called for snow yesterday...a lot and all day with cold, high winds. Although swapping on the studded snow tires takes only about 10 minutes, I did not relish riding against 30-35 mph headwinds. And without fat tires, biking in wet, heavy snow over 4" is difficult to impossible, as I was reminded earlier in the winter when it snowed much more than was predicted while I was at work.

It was still, dry and not too cold in the morning, but I drove instead.

Around 10am it started to snow something fierce...big heavy flakes of wet, splatty snow, the wind had kicked up, and the temperature fell. To err on the side of caution the company turned us loose at 2pm. I had about 4 inches on my car, but it didn't feel that cold. And after a couple of weeks of afternoon highs in the 60s the roads were warm enough that the snow melted as soon as it hit the pavement. On the drive home I could see that even on the side streets where I would have biked the pavement was wet, but clear of snow.

When I got home our driveway and street was still full of snow since we are in the shadows most of the winter. I started to shovel and watched the snow melt-away from under me as the temperature rose and the wind dropped.

I could have biked easily. Especially since I would have left a little later and arrived even later.

To add insult to injury, someone from a local bike group posted a video of his afternoon ride showing that the bike trails he rode had been plowed by the city and were very doable.

Oh well, I was still feeling great from the ride the day before, although this morning, I'm feeling a little restless to ride again.

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2306:

We had snow/ice on Friday evening/night. I didn't know when it would hit, so I rode the winter bike with studded tires. Turns out I just had rain for both my commute to work and back home, and I could have easily ridden the hybrid with fenders. The rain didn't turn to snow until my last mile on the way home. The ground was covered in snow by Saturday morning, but by that evening it had all melted away.

DST is kicking my butt a bit. Yesterday evening around 6 PM I could barely keep my eyes open, then by the time I crawled in bed at 10:30 I was wide awake. I laid there until at least 1 AM before I started to doze. This morning it felt extra dark and early when the alarm went off at 6:15.

The temp this morning was 42°F and it's supposed to push 60°F this afternoon. I decided to wear shorts for the first time this calendar year. It felt wonderful, and my messed up road bike saddle wasn't as uncomfortable as usual. I'm wondering if some of my nether region discomfort is coming from my cold weather pants?

Yesterday a friend of mine was riding his bicycle and crashed. He rides not because he's a cycling enthusiast, but because he can't afford a car. I don't know the details yet, other than he went over the handlebars. I'm not sure if he was in the street or sidewalk, or if another vehicle was involved. He normally wears a helmet, so at least there's that. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where they found he has a broken left wrist, and a broken right shoulder. He's having surgery today.

Oh, sorry to read about your friend's crash. I hope he's well soon. I was up late last night too and am really tired today. If I was working from home, I'd probably take a long nap over lunch and just work a bit later, but I'm stuck in the salt mine.

Easy eBike commute this morning, as I cooked my legs this weekend, going about 110 miles in 15-33 mph winds. At least it was warm though. (I posted about those rides in the How Fer Did you Ride thread in General Cycling Discussion. This post and the following one: How fer did you ride today?!

I rode in today, yay! I couldn't find my lightweight jacket so I wore my winter coat. I opened the pit zippers which I suppose helps. As I reached the middle of the bridge, I wondered where the father-daughter tandem team was. Then they came. Maybe I was a little ahead of schedule. Their schedule seems to be pretty steady. Other than that, I think my trip was uneventful, and that's good in a way. The sun is out, and we are having unseasonably warm weather for a few days.

Tomorrow I have to make a stop at the doctor's office to investigate my persistent anemia. If we manage to solve that, maybe I'll feel more energetic. Here is hoping! Then I have a rehearsal as I do every Tuesday evening, so it will be a busy day.

And yes, DST is kicking my butt, too. My first period students were catatonic.

Squandered my ride time today on a fruitless badge hunt. Drove, and the badge was on my desk, where I must have left it going back and forth to get the bike ready on Thursday.

I am in love with my callipygian commuter! Sometime in the last couple of days there was a post wondering if fenders were a hinderance when riding on gravel. maybe on my main 700x35 commuter where the tolerances are tight, but not on my 26x2.125 '97 Rockhopper (or its '97Nishiki predecessor) But it reminded me of the notice from the local bike advocacy group that the paved west-side of 'my' section of the Greenway Trail would be closed this week for work, but that the gravel east side would be open. I don't usually do gravel but I thought it would be a nice change. So I grabbed the Rockhopper, and packed my light commute bag (that's my big 'everything's-in-it bag in the photo from last week).

It was sunny and a warm 36F when I turned onto the start of the gravel portion already at speed and absolutely thundered down the path! The weight of the bike plus the momentum of averaging 20mph on a slight downhill with the big tires floating over the smooth gravel parts and soaking up the rougher ruts was absolutely intoxicating. The bikes longer wheelbase imparting a stability surpassing its stubby Nishiki predecessor. I think it's a little over three miles of gravel taking this route.

I ended up working an hour late and left at 6pm with the sun still up and a temperature of 66F. Just my performance Hi-viz Tee and shorts and a noticeable tailwind. I took a different, paved trail halfway then quiet, wide surface streets; slightly uphill but with that boost at my back, still pretty fast.

The morning gravel was thrilling, but taking a big fast turn on dry pavement on the copious shoulders of those big smooth 26x2.125 tires is just as thrilling if not more so. Thanks to the wind my average speed on the way home was 12.8 which is just a little faster than on my main commuter on a still day...but not as fast as the two light road bikes, which each offer their own unique ride qualities.

I feel so fortunate to be able to have, ride and store the six, very unique bikes I have to choose from, but lately it's the "big girl" that holds my heart.

Arranged to meet a mate at 0615 this AM 1 hour from home. Alarm at 0420. Left the house at 0510 and was actually on time for once. Waited 5 minutes then gave up. Found him waiting round the next corner

Rest of the ride was good, steady effort. Cloudy but dry. The Park had quite a few deer hanging about. Bridge over the river had the usual rank air quality. The London ULEZ is great and EVs are everywhere but there are a few hotspots where you still get nightmare buildups and often too much diesel exhaust.

Then we got to the usual crit circuit of the embankment along the northern side of the Thames and a guy came past on a Pinarello with no baggage and some private jet company jersey . Damn he was quick. Managed to hold his wheel for a bit then decided I’d die if I carried on and had to drop. Remaining 2 km of the ride I was in recovery mode haha.

Smells are very evocative, and one certainly is more exposed to them cycling than in a car. In this age where the number of electric vehicles are growing and where almost all ICE vehicles have electronic engine management and other devices to meet emissions targets, every one in a while I'll encounter an old diesel truck or and old gansoline-fueled car running rich or lean. Those three smells immediately transport me back to my youth in the heavy traffic of Chicago of the 1960s and 70s. The population and traffic in Colorado Springs has grown so much in my 33 years here and yet, cycling in heavy traffic, or stuck in a standstill on the highway in the car, I rarely smell engine exhaust the way I used to as a kid...although I'll admit my sense of smell isn't what it used to be.