on my road home last night - somewhere in the last 7 miles I was passed by some you spoke out "hello-hello" he was moving right a long; looked happy and fresh and I spoke back; "hey - looking good" as he blew past me. his cadence was quite high, especially compared to mine.

just wondering if he is a fellow BF member? this was at around 6;00 pm on route 27 in Sudbury or Maynard, MA he was wearing a yellow jacket with a reflective chevron on the back (which showed up quite well) red strobe in rear, mounted on a rear rack I think and some kind of light up front, but it wasn't as bright as my Magic Shine.

Nice ride in this am, although I was running later than usual. 24 degrees when I got on the bike, supposed to be 44 today for the ride home. For some reason today actually felt colder, it's either a mental thing or what I was wearing today didn't break the wind enough. First day in two weeks my legs were cold.

Not too bad this morning, it seemed a little warmer at 16 F ( -9 C). There was more traffic on one road, so maybe a detour or something somewhere. we are being promised the 40s (single digits C) tomorrow and Friday, at least during the afternoon.

There seems to be change about to happen with the weather. It has warmed up to minus six degrees Celsius but I had to fight a brisk twenty-eight kilometer an hour head wind. We may be in for a January thaw, (fingers crossed).

Not as cold (21 F) as some other days over the past two weeks, but it felt just as cold. Perhaps the humidity was higher, as my glasses were fogging up more than usual. I keep thinking I will get used to the cold and 20 degrees will start feeling relatively warm, but it hasn't happened yet. We are supposed to have a "warm spell" over the next few days with highs in the 50s. Unfortunately it is supposed to rain over most of the 3-day weekend.

This is my first day back on the bike after about a week. The temps were not too bad today, high 20's/low 30's. My layers are working. The SmartWool balaclava I just got works pretty well for ears and neck. I didn't need to cover mouth and nose, thank goodness. As a treat I stopped by ye olde bagel shoppe and picked up some all-the-way and rasin/cinnamon bagels for the rest of the week. You just can't beat fresh ones! Hopefully I'll be biking in the rest of the week.

Agreed - I wore exactly what I've been wearing over the past few weeks but actually felt colder this morning. I thought that was strange considering it's warmer. I think my expectation is what may have done it - I expected a warm(er) ride and when that expectation was not met I felt cold. There's no way that's happening on my way home at 40 degrees though!

Nice ride this morning. Uneventful, and still cold, but nice. The snow on the canal towpath has mostly sublimated away, and its been too cold to do any kind of freeze-thaw cycle, so the surface is good now. The sun was just coming up at the east end of every street on Manhattan when I got to the office.

I'm still getting used to increasing my commute from 7 to 17 miles each way due to a job location change. One thing that's helping (mostly) is that I can ride with a friend for about 2/3 of the route. I say mostly because he's a stronger rider than I am and I feel helpless, especially on the uphills; he just doesn't slow down. He's very good about it; he waits at the top and says I'm still getting my legs.

The one clear positive about the new commute is that the new building has showers so I can take my shower after riding in, which I did for the first time this morning. No more birdbaths and baby powder. There was one other bike parked there, and a car that was parked there when I got there (showers are in an outbuilding). The guy in the car was just leaving as I got there; maybe he's a jogger? We're not supposed to leave stuff in the locker room, but especially this time of year I figured it's be okay to leave some of my stuff down there. We'll see if anyone messes with it during the day (I hope not!)

46F and clammy. Test ride suggested 8 yr old is not ready for 24" hand-me-down mixte, back on the Raleigh Rowdy for the trip to school. He's as OCD as me, if not more so, about creak/squeal from his brakes/drivetrain, kinda cute...

gah... I'm still sore from those damn headwinds... ~20mph according to weather channel. Can't wait for my ride home... gonna fly!!!

fixed the spoke tension on the bike last night... now its better (but stiff). I miss my squishier rides.

Meh. I have a 12 mph headwind to look forward to.

13.5 miles in 17 degrees with a 10mph sidewind. not looking forward to the ride home...

Very nice commute this morning after a HUGE rain storm last night. Roads are still wet, but so very clean. I'm going to celebrate this rare day of January sun with a ride out to the river during my lunch break.

https://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca...26341006124045

cheers!

The streets near my house were filthy this morning. I think the downpour overwhelmed the gutters, so there was a nasty slick of mud and decomposing leaves all over E. Curtis. But the blue sky makes up for all the petty complaints.

We went from deep freeze to major thaw in about 4 days. Today's high (59F) is higher than the high a couple days last June. Thank goodness for showers. I've been overdressed and arriving quite damp.

Almost got run over from behind last night due to impatient driver who couldn't wait 3 seconds. Driver almost took a header from the oncoming car who had to slam on brakes to avoid car. Funny thing is this was on a very steep hill w/a stop sign at the top. Car got stuck behind some other vehicles at the top. I caught up, pulled alongside, and must have freaked out the driver because they took one glance at me as I was yelling, "Was it really, really worth it!?", floored it, almost broadsiding a passing SUV. Jeez. The lady looked nice too.

Today off bike needed to let water recede from bike route and to adjust brakes this evening. Going to yoga to get mind frame back tonight.

BTW: I have the best LBS ever. Stopped by last night to get some things that they were out of, sales rep for supplier was there and I'll have them tonight already ahead of time as a courtesy. Chatted about a hub generator for light (will get this fall for sure) and generally had fun.

That's the best kind of LBS; mine is kind of like that. A rep for one of the suppliers is also a part-time employee, so I know him a little. This shop always has a pot of coffee on, the cold bottled water is free, they sell snacks and cookies and candy on the honor system ($.75 each, just put it in the jar), and they have comfy chairs to hang out in. I've gotten there just as they're starting in on the pizza they got for lunch and they'll offer me a slice or two. Cool place.

This morning's ride was a little tough, but the sunrise made it worth it:



Coming home turned out to be 14 mph headwinds with gusts to 21, but I did really well with them. It only took an extra 5 or 10 minutes, and I didn't feel particularly tired when I got home. The longer, 17-mile-each-way commute is taking some getting used to, but after this evening's ride, I think I'll be up to it.

I was just about to head out. When I started to hear the rain drops on the roof. I got that o crap look on my face. It has been a month since my last rain ride. I had enough of the rain. I could use a three month dry spell. So I quickly ran through my room trying to find all my rain gear.

I then looked at the radar to find, as usual it's one line of rain showers with thunder and lighting. Yes even in January. I was already trying to time my ride, so this was going to be some good motivation. I managed to package my suit, and get everything ready.

Of course it was now light rain, but there was a second line of rain. I decided to just keep everything on. I had roughly an 1 hour and 40 minutes to ride 12 miles. I also don't have fenders as you can imagine from my location. So rain pants are a big yes.

The ride was uneventful and ok. The moisture made things much warmer, and the lighting was an exciting addition. There were a few gusts of headwind, but for the most part it was calm or not an issue. Only about 45 blocks resulted in rain. Today's morning ride is going to be great. The rain has washed all the smog away. I brought my camera along, so so I should have some nice pictures. Rather disappointed in that it took me 70 minutes to ride 12 miles.

Balmy 24 degree morning. Other than pissing off a road rage cager at 5:30 am pretty uneventful

Only one street had snow on it to push through, things are looking up. I still run my lights at 7:00 AM but it is getting less dark. Minus six Celsius, very little wind. Forcast for today is sunny with a high of +1.

32*s... felt great cept for the headwind (again). But last night I flew home with the tailwind... love those days. Listened to Grandaddy - Sumday on the way in to work. Such a great album

I learned my lesson this morning on why it's not always a great idea to ride on the sidewalk. I only use the sidewalk for one half block of my commute, from my home to the next street up, and only because my street is one way in the opposite direction of my commute. Going around the block seems foolish for one half block.

Well, guy was walking on the sidewalk, I rang my bell a few times, then tried to go around him, he did not hear me, did not move over, I hit a medium sized tree root coming out into the sidewalk and down I went. My first spill as an adult.

Now I have a sore knee and my left wrist is killing me from breaking the fall with my hand, typing hurts a bit. Tonight have to figure out how to get the chain working properly again.

Today's commute = one half block.

Finally - second commute of the year! After breaking my rear wheel the maiden commute on the 4th and waiting a looooong time to get replacement wheels and a new 7-speed freewheel set installed and dialed in from the shop, it's really nice to be out and about on two wheels again.

3 miles, a chilly 50° or so (San Diego County, doncha know), passed three other commuters going the other way.

It's over 30..... life is good!!!