48F, gray, sprinkly.

Left early for lunchtime errands because I forgot my daughter's lunch, so I needed to buy one and get it to her by 11. Stopped at Michael's (chain craft store) to get stuff for son's school project. Nothing to lock my bike to so I ... didn't (there were some trees but they looked either too big or too little). In and out, like always, and, you can guess, no more bike. All the ladies in Michael's were concerned and one had called 911 for me because she couldn't stand that I hadn't yet. Cops had recovered the bike w/in a half hour, pretty amazing. So potentially horrendous day was downgraded to 'eventful' status.

I am slack on locking, but I usually do some token effort, and I guess I was antsy enough around Michael's that I took the netflix dvd I was going to drop in a po box and, most importantly, checks to deposit in ATM, so at least they didn't get taken for a ride that they may or may not have returned from along w/ the rest of my bike.

Philly decided to rip up every other street for repairs--then leave them all for weeks at a time with that annoying uneven surface. The street I live on has been ripped up for over a week, and now one of the major roads I use to commute has been torn up also. This morning I had to bike on the sidewalk for a block or two, and then when the sidewalk condition deteriorated as I got further into the bad neighborhood I commute to, I had to get off my bike and walk a block. I'm sure I'll be doing this all week...and next week...and probably the week after. The only other safe and direct route involves a road with trolley tracks, which can be killer if you're not careful. The one and only crash I've had (knock on wood) was when a trolley track ate my tire.

58F and sunny with winds from the NW @ 17mph giving me mainly a tailwind. There was a party in my last class of the day. I ate a little too much there before i left the school and could feel it little bit in my stomach during the ride home. Had to take a detour because they were doing some road work. On one of the roads i was on going down a hill, i almost t-boned some idiot in an SUV. I was moving pretty fast going down the hill and there was a side road to the right of me. The SUV was taking a left onto the road i was on and decided he didn't need to stop. He completely blew the stop sign (didn't even make an effort to stop) and i had to slam on the brakes and swerve right to avoid hitting him. I was gonna yell "what the heck", but didn't really have the time cuz it happened so fast. It kinda came out as "TWHAT!" and a weird scream at the same time. Besides that little incident, it was actually a great commute even though my stomach wasn't feeling so great. I made a small pit stop at the hardware store to pick some things up. After that, i headed home and had a lot of energy climbing the hills to my house.

My commute today started with the usual frigid temperature, 37F. Just before I arrived at my shop a pickup truck decided to make a left turn from a stop sign and cut me off, but I had self control and didn't yell expletives. The ride home my jacket remained stowed in the freeloader.

After the lunchtime bike theft excitement I was on my way to get my daughter after work and a guy flagged me down, said he was attacked by a pitbull up ahead, his leg was bleeding. Fortunately it was after where I was going to turn off to get my daughter. So I went that way, called my wife to suggest she take an alternate route, and went on with it.

The trail network I connected up with after picking up my daughter could have been reached by the pitbull people, but I didn't see them. I did see a cop talking to a couple of hike-y looking kids, which I've never seen before (a cop on the trail, not hike-y looking kids, they are standard).

Anyway, it's days like this that make it worthwhile to me to post the no event commutes as kind of a positive control. Most days really aren't like this.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4055/...24e7581bf9.jpg

My dirt-cheap but really growing old quite fast Magna Glacerpoint had to be loaded up today. Being the resourceful man I am I threw everything in those reusable grocery bags which got bungee corded in place (along with my normal bag). This all worked fine, except for the extra weight, which felt like it was unreasonably slowing my bike.

So when I get back (thankfully my ride back was sans cargo) I get out my bathroom scale and do the trick of weighing yourself with something and then yourself to find the weight. It comes out to 37.1 lbs unloaded. I think I nearly cried.

All in all a good day then. (dear lord do I need to get a new bike)

It is still chilly at 0 C ( 32 F) this morning. Enjoying the ride in during the lighter days. Tomorrow, the day is supposed to be warmer, albeit stormy.

desuism - The bike I use for commuting is 22 years old, and it just keeps rolling. It's all steel, down to the wheels. I don't take it on trips or ride
it in snow and ice, but when it comes to sticking to the road, it does a wonderful job. I would never lean into corners the way I do on that bike
on my very light MTB.

My speed was slower this morning due to a headwind, but my overall time was less because I didn't catch so many freaking red lights for a change today. Funny, I made it to work 2 minutes faster than yesterday, even though the travel time on my computer was 2 minutes slower (the computer stops counting time when my bike stops at lights). So that means I spent 4 more minutes sitting at red lights yesterday.

Mid 30sF. Sunny. The wind was alternating between calm and light headwind. Passed one pannier'd rider carrying a helmet on his handlebar. (Handlebar more valuable than skull I guess.)

I think I saw someone behind me but it never got close enough to verify.

Oh, and a bunny rabbit ran along side me for a couple of seconds. :o

Temps in the low 50s w/ kinda swirly and gusting winds near the river. <sarcasm>Fun!</sarcasm> Looks like rain for the afternoon/evening. As long as I can make it to happy hour w/o getting too wet, I don't care about the ride home.

I'll spend the day hitting refresh on my UPS tracking page to see when my new bike goodies are delivered to our mail room. Have a pair of pedals and a new kickstand coming. If they make it before lunch, I brought all the tools I need to install both on my break. Tomorrow my new saddle should come in. (Thak dog that my pedicabbing income can finance these much needed repairs/ugrades to the bike.)

Almost got smooshed into the side of a truck by some JAM cutting me off to park in front of the truck. I yelled at him as I passed by, but he was so oblivious and his window was rolled up, I doubt he noticed.

Despite having lungs full of phlegm due to a cold I'm still in the middle of, I flew to work this morning. That was thanks to the new-to-me classic Celeste Bianchi road bike I picked up last night (see this thread). What a difference compared to the heavy mountain bike I've been commuting on. My trip normally takes about 42 minutes, but today, it was 37. Full disclosure: I took a modified route to avoid some gravel parts, which may have been a bit shorter than my usual route. I've never measured either, but I usually take the one with gravel because it's nicer (riding though parks instead of on streets).

got my wrecked bike back from the shop on sat... got different (narrower, lower) drops, and shorter/stiffer cranks (8mm shorter). It feels kinda weird cause I don't have as much leverage on the cranks. and I need to raise my seat a little bit but havent yet. But it has been so nice to ride my fav bike again.

except for the rain and super gnarly winds I faced this morning. sheesh.

Wow! The tornado went out before it hit Wichita yesterday, thank goodness. The weather yesterday cleared the air and made for a lovly ride thismorning into work. Could look up and see some stars even through the city lights. Very little traffic, and 47 degrees F. On my way home the air was still so clean and nice. The sky was soooooo blue, light wind and 67 degrees F. A fantastic day! I hope everyone has one.

Little chilly this morning so I took it slow instead of bombing down the long hill down the where the road crosses a creek that I normally hit around 30-35mph. Mid 70's for the ride home. It was nice.

Back into the mid 80's for the ride home for the rest of the week.

No commute today -- wife's early meeting meant I had to take the kids to kinder and there's no good way to get them there on bike. But the race bike is in the back of the van for the Tuesday night hammerfest.

Rode home this evening, perfect. Weather has been perfect in upstate SC lately.

I was dropped by a roadie on the way home today. Problem was he didn't even say anything when he passed me and it scared the fool out of me. I thought the silent Prius of death got me.

Used my Dahon Helios (folder) today for the first time in almost a year! I had rented a car for a trip on Sunday and didn't get back til this morning and had to drop the rental off and head right to work- so I threw the folder in the trunk. I had barely enough time to make it to work on my speedy road bike, never mind my usual commuter and even called in to say I'd probably be late- but I'd underestimated the power of the folding bike and got there right on time!

It was a warm ride in at 5 C ( 42 F). I had to stop along the way to take off my outer layer, as I dressed for yesterday mornings temps at 0 C. There is still some stormy stuff going on, but I have managed to avoid a good soaking.

The temperatures have been about 10 degrees warmer each morning this week -- 45 on Monday, 55 yesterday and 65 today. At that rate, it will be 75 on Thursday morning and 85 on Friday. The humidity has also gone up each day, and today was very muggy. There is a fair chance of rain, but it looks like it will be light sprinkles at most.

I was really tempted to sleep in and drive this morning because I went kayaking for 2 hours last night after riding home from work. It was really fun, but tired me out. I kept looking for excuses to drive, but couldn't find any so I rode after all. As usual, I was glad that I rode after a few minutes on the bike.

One of those great mornings. Crisp, dry air in the upper 40sF. Sunny. A light tailwind. The MUP was almost empty. I had energy and the ride was quick.

I saw one rider on the road, being a bit of an arse. Car stopped at stop sign. This guy was coming up behind the car and didn't even bother to slow down. The car starts to go. Meanwhile the cyclist is in mid-pass of the car, blowing the stop sign, and riding alongside the car in the oncoming lane. :rolleyes: I didn't see how it all ended.

And OH NO! :eek: My bike is here in my office. I was looking at it just now. Back tire looked "thin." I squeezed it. It's going flat. :mad: :mad: Well, I need a new chain and ring anyway. Time for a walk to the LBS when it opens. :p (One block away.)

Rain had been predicted for today as of a few days ago. At about 5:00 AM the streets were still dry, but heavy green was on the Doppler radar about 15 miles away when I checked at 5:30 AM. By 6:10 as I was leaving, my entire route was covered by green on the Doppler yet the streets were still dry. I didn’t put on my rainwear, but carried it with me on my 19 mile route. At about 6:40 I felt the first drops, but nothing significant happened until about 7:15 when there were a few sprinkles. At about 7:30 AM for my last half mile I had enough precipitation to call it rain. I really didn’t get any more wet than I was already from sweat, and I didn’t feel the need to wipe down my chain when I arrived.

At around 7:00 AM while en route I came upon an acquaintance walking her dog. Our chat time was probably equivalent to the amount of time I spent riding in my last half mile in the rain, and so I might have arrived virtually untouched after riding almost 90 minutes under the threat of heavy Doppler green. So my point is, and I do have one, the Doppler may not always be predictive, but I wouldn’t ignore it. Had I checked it at 5:00 AM, I might have headed out earlier rather than dawdle on Bike Forums. :lol:

No, I've been pedicabbing in Alexandria w/ ViaVelo. We serve the Old Town and Del Ray neighborhoods.

Great ride this morning albeit a little slower due to woofing down whole wheat pancakes right before i left. Yummy but riding on a really full stomach kind of makes you feel like a slug.

50F, sunny. No trailer = extra 3-5 mph on the speedo on the gradual uphill that is the 1st half of my route. Extra speed plus no pre-schooler dropoff = in the office 20 min earlier.

Cougar sighting on route, but not by me. Seems less dangerous than the demonstrated biting of the pitbulls the other day.

it was warm around 70 with a tough headwind, so I took it easy. Our greenways are a mess from flooding, so it took a little more effort than usual. I also tried loading my backpack on the rack but wow it throughs off your balance.

Had a nice envigorating ride home last night after a couple happy hour drinks w/ friends.

A fellow commuter reported a cougar sighting to me this morning, too. Said some 40-year-old hottie on a had hit on him. ;)

Seriously, though, not as cool and crisp this AM as it has been lately. Totally didn't need the long sleeves. Apart from that it was a nice ride in w/ a slight tailwing, temp in the low 60s. A little too warm for me for a morning commute, but I know in two months I'd give anything for a 60 degree morning, so I shan't complain.

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Had an interesting encounter in a traffic circle on the way home yesterday. No collision, not even what I would consider a close call, but remarkable nonetheless. A driver either didn't see me, or didn't expect me to be going so fast as she barreled into the roundabout without slowing down. I saw what was going on and was ready to take evasive action, when she suddenly noticed where I was and got a really surprised look on her face when she realized that I had the right-of-way, and she was heading straight for me. She jammed on the brakes, got behind me, and I went on my merry way.

This morning's commute was very nice, just warm enough to wear shorts and ditch the windbreaker (4C). Still saw a lot of other cyclists wearing long pants and jackets, but they were just tootling along, not tearing up the asphalt like me :).