Nice chill in the air this morning, which I like. Had an amusing conversation with a rather well wrapped rider who commented on my short sleeves and shorts. I commented that it was just like an English Summer's day

I broke 3 spokes on my rear wheel (at the hub). What's wrong with me? haha

Not a bad ride..very windy though both ways. I saw 2 other commuters..some bums on bikes too.

Got up early so I could beat the storm to work. Radar check showed that the storm was still about an hour out, so reset the alarm for a crucial snooze.

working at home. Too much to do, no extra hour for biking in the rain.

it would be wise to change all the spokes together...

today was a very very rainy day, my shoes were soaked during the morning commute. tried to set them near a a/c vent but at the end of the day they were still humid...no matter, at 5:00 i clocked out and put the shoes on.....LETS RIDE! no rain, had a great ride, the sun is going down at 6:00 and so the B&M senso got to work at 5:45, the lights look so cool...

im having a lot of fun commuting!

42 degrees, wore the fleece balacava this morning... ah, glad it's fall. Also enjoyed morning light on Foothill Exprssway; however, it will be dark returning to Menlo at 6:30pm. Just purchased new micro wool undergarments at Patagonia outlet in Santa Cruz yesterday - 40% off the sale price!!! Wahoo.
Will be "commuting" through wine country this weekend in Ojai.

Great commute this morning, as opposed to yesterday morning.

Yesterday it was seemingly dry, yet a thin frost covered all, at 4:30am. I headed out and, within 30 seconds, my not-made-for-slick-condition Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase tires bailed on me. I subsequently bailed off the bike, as I was wiping out. Luckily, I landed on my right bar end, and my knee and shoulder. I did, however, trash my front Planet Bike headlight. I took the bike inside, and saw no further damage, thankfully.

By that time, it was too late to ride, so I hopped in my car.

Now I am going to be very paranoid on these tires in the wet (which I try to avoid, anyway). They are tough as nails, but they will scare the hell out of me on wet pavement.

Caught a pinch flat 1/2 mile into the ride. Walked home and drove in. Stocked up on tubes on the way home.

Well!

Okay, so I figured I would take a nice leisurely evening ride home that included a few miles on the Trinity River Trail. We've had a wet fall, but no rain for the last week or two. Where I get on the trail I have to go over one of the low water crossings. Would it be clear? Well, it was dry... kind of. A little muddy. But there was a lot of debris on the crossing. You know, little twigs and stuff.... like this:





I was determined though so I cyclocrossed the low-water crossing and went up the other side. I got to the other low-water crossing where I usually cross back and waddya know? This one was still flooded.



So now I had to ride a few more miles down the trail and get off at a point where I can take a road bridge across. I settled in for the longer ride and started pushing the pedals. I noticed a headlight behind me on the trail that was getting closer and closer. The guy finally caught up to me and it turned out to be a good friend of mine. We've known each other for years, but never rode together. I found out why.... this guy can really hammer away. Still, he preferred to ride with a partner and had pity on me and allowed me to hang around. I hadn't ridden in almost a week, had a leisurely ride into work (read: I had no energy) and this afternoon wasn't much better. I didn't want to hold him up too much, so I pushed harder than I really wanted to.

We did probably about 10 miles together before splitting up about a block from his house. I rode the mile or so to my house and nearly collapsed from exhaustion. It was a great ride.

Weather today was fantastic, 60's on the way home.

I was close to home on a 4 lane street with a 35 mph speed limit going around 22 mph, next to the curb. An SUV zooms around me, immediately hits the brakes and turns right into a driveway. I had to brake hard to avoid hitting him.

Ruined a decent ride because he couldn't wait 5 additional seconds.

A few days ago, on a very nasty part of my commute (one that i only have to do on thursdays. 4 off and on ramps to 495 in a half mile section of road with no real shoulder and a good-sized climb, all with a 45 mph speed limit), i ran into another cyclist who was braving this stretch with me. 1st time i have ever seen anyone do so, and it was great. I wasn't super worried about getting hit, we took up a good chunk of lane and just kept going. best part? i wasn't thinking "osh**osh**oshi**osh**osh**" the entire time.

the end.

A warm ride in at 42 F, ( 5 C ). I played hookey yesterday, and went riding on the C&O canal for the weekend. The weather was too nice not to be outside near some trees, and the river helped too.

nice commutes people!! thanx for the pics doohickie

Today the streets were super wet, but no rain on sight...rode to work with no issues...im trying to ride different routes

Pleasant ride this morning, it was 51º when I left the house.
Should be up to 65 or so again today, weird.

Wow, interesting event last night.
I have a 3-way intersection that I go through every day. One road goes straight through, and I follow that, but the majority of traffic follows a 45 degree turn to the right. There's a stoplight. This being Michigan, NOBODY signals their turns, so I just have to assume most people are turning right whether they're signaling or not, so when I get to the light and it's red, I move far left to avoid right hooks. This blocks straight traffic, but only for a few seconds; when the light goes green, I proceed, and as I get across the intersection I move back right to allow traffic behind me to pass and proceed.

Last night I was about 4rd in line at the light, the guy in front was going straight so the two right turners behind him couldn't proceed. I moved far left. Traffic took off, I went straight. As I was nearing the far side of the intersection, I was returned to the right tire track, and then I realized that the guy behind me was going straight and had decided to PASS ME ON THE RIGHT and even after I was moving to the right, he kept passing.

So I actually RAN A CAR OFF THE ROAD INTO THE DITCH. That was different, and kind of amusing, really. He just kept going and pulled back onto the road.

Actually it was a pleasant ride today, <looks over shoulder at commuter sitting in conference room> however I didn't get to clean it up this weekend - it's a mess from all the rain we've had, etc. Missed out on a marble sized hail storm last week - yippey! Wish I saw more women commuting.

very nice ride today. Overcast and in the lower 50's. Perfect

Nice work, IJM!

We are into bonus days here. Today marked my 74th commute to work for the 2009 season. Last year I made 75 trips, so hopefully I will be able to surpass that milestone. I had to take my car into the dealer for transmission work yesterday. The service person indicated that it might be a couple of days to fix the problem and would that be ok. I said not a problem...keep it all week if need be. Just another great reason to be biking.

You just have to love the challenges and opportunities that a bicycle can provide. Thanks for the pics. Nice to hookup with a fellow rider, especially unexpectedly.

You just have to love the challenges and opportunities that a bicycle can provide. Thanks for the pics. Nice to hookup with a fellow rider, especially unexpectedly.

42F, drizzly, fixed gear

A nice ride in this AM. I felt a little sluggish, but I think I'm still recovering from 36 hours in a car and a bachelor party and wedding (where I was best man) that all happened between Thursday night and Monday morning. And I worked yesterday. Lots of driving, lots of drinking, lots of errands, lots of dancing, and not too much sleep...

The commute I wanted to talk about was last night's though. It was my first dark commute with adequate lighting!!! My Terralux flashlight came in while I was away and yesterday's evening commute was my first chance to use it. It's not quite as bright as I had dreamed about, but honestly, it's what I realistically expected, and it allows me to see the trail in front of me well enough to ride along at almost the same speed I'd run in the daytime, and it's WAY brighter than the camping headlamp I was relying on to complement my little "be seen" 1 LED Planet Bike light.

All in all, I give it , especially for the $28 I spent on it (including shipping). No bike-specific lights can even come close pricewise in the 200+ lumen category. Other flashlights, yes, but not bike-specific. And as for riding at night, it also gets It's a lot of fun!

First ride on my newly repaired folding bike - bike/train commute from work to the dentist.

The bike shifted smoothly, even going uphill, and performed well overall. Now if I can just figure out why the frame keeps flexing at the hinge joint I'll be set.