...aaand, for my next trick, I'll get smashed into by a car on my return commute, while pulling a zippy manoeuvre at a dangerous intersection where I usually use the pedestrian crossing. Heard the squeal of car brakes, thought oh bollocks, then enjoyed the feeling of still being intact as I flew through the air, then thought well, my bike is certainly ****ed this time, then a glow of joy when I saw it was still in one piece. Driver was a nice bloke. His windshield was a write-off where I impacted it on the driver's side: quite frightening for him. Got out of it with a swollen ankle and a couple of cuts and bruises, I could so easily have been killed. Bike seems fine except the rack is smashed and the rear fender is jammed into the wheel. Had to carry it 3 miles home, will get it properly checked out at the shop tomorrow.

As I was walking home I was feeling this strange, wan mix of elation and relief, thinking of wife and two little kids. Still grinning now; I'll never again complain about my luck.

You've had quite a day!

Just fecking ridiculous.

Ready for a few days off the bike now to be honest, but I've gotta ride it into the shop tomorrow to get the frame checked over.

And it was running bloody perfectly after my lovely LBS had ministered to it today! Poor bike. Rock-solid, though. I believe the term is "bomb-proof".

It was a cold ride in and slow again on the MTB at 18 F ( -7 C) . Traction was much better, and parts of the other lanes are starting to emerge. I even saw some curb.

Yarb, best wishes for you. I think we all fear that experience, and we think about it everytime we get on bikes.

1-12c/-21 windchill & of course, I am heading into the wind too.
Being the festive season & all, it is also snowing here in Montreal

12F and horizontally blowing snow, with a wind that was shifting from head to side and finally to tail. Today I went with the balaclava, which turned out to be a good idea because at one point I was getting a frigid blast of wind and snow right in the face for about a quarter of a mile.

About an inch of light powder. First bike tracks on 5 miles of MUP.

My hub finally let go on me about a mile from work. Too cold. It's not engaging. I dismounted and spun the crank for a while until it engaged, then was very careful to keep pressure on it until I got in. Today is my last commute until January, so I'll service the thing over vacation. Should be fine on the ride home, as it'll be warmer.

37F this morning, not too bad. The nice part was the 15mph tail wind. Gonna be a drag riding home with that in my face tho.

Last two days awesome commutes. Mild weather between upper 30s - low 40s. No rain!

Was almost right hooked and run over by a large Ford F250 last night though. Closest right hook I've ever experienced. He passed me right as we both got to an intersection (yeah, what's that rule, "no passing in intersections?"), then immediately turned right, no turn signal, nothing, across my front tire w/out even slowing down. I YELLED at him, saw his head jerk around to look at me in surprise and took his foot off the gas for a second. I don't think he even *saw* me. In spite of 2 red lights (one superflash) on the back, lots of reflective tape and two lights on the front. And the fact he had passed me. I even moved slightly left as I approached the intersection so the approaching vehicle could see what I was doing. Do not think he did it "on purpose" was just oblivious. OR he was suprised he had nearly run over a "girl on a bike" rather than a guy. Had that happen before. I couldn't find him after that; think he was "short cutting" through the neighborhood. Happy Holidays to him.

Cold, cold, cold going in today - possibly the coldest-feeling morning of the season so far. Work let us out early today - it was the last day before year-end shutdown - it was fun going home in the daylight.

What kind of hub do you have? I had the exact same thing happen to me the other day on my Chris King hub. I guess mine needs servicing?

On the ride home tonight, full dark with snow falling on greasy pavement, I had the classic "SUV come from behind me and turn right", right in front of me as I entered an intersection. What was it Sheldon called that? The "frightie rightie" or something? Dog that infuriates me! I'm lit up like a sum***** front and back and in a blaze yellow jacket with 3M tape all over and this chowderhead comes from behind me and turns. It was close. If my front tire had washed out on that emergency hard right maneuver, I could have ended up under his rear wheel. I passed the jerk as I approached the intersection and he was not signaling a right turn. BTW, did I mention I was in a bike lane and entering the intersection at a cross walk on a green light?

I drove a school bus years back and an instructor said a funny thing. "Always hesitate to start". I took that and many other safe driving tips with me that serve a rider well too, and that second of hesitation may have saved me a serious injury at the hands of an uncaring fool. Merry Christmas ya dip!

Otherwise the ride was cool. Sure glad the holidays are here. We may see 20 inches in the SW metro of the Twin Cities by Friday PM... Time to wax up the boards.

My commute is now 95 blocks long. I go 85 blocks in one direction. 8 blocks a mile
15 stop lights
14 stop signs
2 yield signs at traffic circles
1 unsigned stop sign (bad sight lines)


Car free dead ends
1 Ped bridge
1 canal crossing
1 berm

Bicycle parking right out front of the door. I bought a ulock and removed the front tire so it would fit in the ulock.

I found an ingenious way to haul my suit. I will take a picture when I get home. I place the hook of the hanger on the top of back pack. I then place a reflective vest on top of that.

I always tell myself it could be worse. I really don''t think it is all that bad. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Pretty damn great, shorts and t-shirt weather. Ride to the base of the Golden Gate (I back track about 2 miles to get to that point), then 5.5 miles along the SF waterfront to the office. Round trip it's about 15 miles a day with 550 feet of climbing (the 12% grade trudge on the way home takes it out of me)

Wettest December on record in New Orleans. As of today (Dec. 24), 25 inches of rain fell since December 1. Needless to say, I have my rainy day routine down to a freakin' science.

Today a strong front came through while I was at work. Rode home in a light drizzle on wet streets. At least it was warm enough to wear shorts! Had a nice double rainbow too. Captured some of it on the helmet cam and will post it sometime soon.

Yea we got an inch of rain JB. Very wet December indeed. 25% of o

It's a Shimano. It needs to be taken off, cleaned, and re-lubed. I think that's all there is to it. Mine doesn't even "tick tick tick" when I'm coasting, so I know it's pretty gummed up.

Thanks!

It helps when you eat.
Much better ride. 66 miles and my week is complete.
Unless I go out on the weekend.

My video of some holiday lights I found along my way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekEGoDOgarAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekEGoDOgarA



A pedestrian bridge, which will be my preview of my new commute movie some day during my weekends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgrZfy5nu6g
*************************************************************
*************************************************************

I splurged and got 4 servings of this,
Tuna subway.
Calories 530 ### Calories from Fat279#######% Daily Value*Total Fat 31.0g 48%#####
Saturated Fat 7.0g 35% #######Cholesterol 45mg15%########Sodium1030mg43%
Total Carbohydrates
45.0g
15%
Dietary Fiber
4.0g
16%
Sugars
7.0g
Protein
22.0g
Vitamin A 8% � Vitamin C 30%
Calcium 10% � Iron 30%

I did not ride today because I chose to clean and lube the bike. I also switched seats because my butt was sliding most days during my commute.

It was a gusty 30 f ( -1 c). I got slammed from all sides, but espeically around the highways. The rain on Saturday obliterated most of the 23 in ( 58 cm ) of snow from last week. The only thing left is the where the piles were built. So lots of curb and little ice laying around. If it wasn't for the wind, it would have been a balmy ride.

Really windy this morning with temps in the low 30's. The MV Trail is largely clear from Pendleton up to and including the 14th St. bridge. A couple of the foot bridges have some residual ice pimples and, the foot bridge just north of Slator's Lane is icy, but nothing that should keep you off the bike. It's good to be back after a week off but, it's amazing how out of it I feel. Riding felt awkard, my knees were sore and, I didn't have much in the tank. Could be due to our hectic holiday schedule and the fact that I started lifting again this weekend. Good news is that I worked on the bike last week and was finally able to eliminate the clicking/pinging sound in my bottom bracket as well as replacing the back brake pads.

I've been off work since Dec. 18, so it was my first commute in 10 days. Great weather for this time of year, with temps in the mid-30s and little wind. Best of all, the roads were dry. I did a lot of riding on my week off, and it was very cold with morning lows in the 20s most days. So I just waited for it to warm up before riding, which I can't do while commuting.

I got a Tubus Cargo rack for Christmas to put on my commuter bike. I don't really need the rack for commuting, but I'm trying to make the bike tour-ready. My next step is to buy some heavier-duty wheels, install some larger tires, and get some panniers. Then I'll be ready to hit the road.

Very pleasant ride in today because many people are off so the traffic was very light. Just a dusting of snow on the road except the bus routes has been heavily salted. With my return trip home from work today, I will have logged over 5,000 kilometers so far for 2009.

Beautiful day here in PDX... temps are supposed to reach 44 F today and it was nice enough to have coffee outside after the ride in with The Girl... folks here are freezing but this Canuck is really enjoying the weather.

Nice to see so many cyclists this morning but then again, this is a cycling mecca.

I suspect that there wasn't any bicycle congestion on the bridges at home.