I had a nice 8.5 mile commute at 3:30 AM. I just need to remember to change my route on days the sprinklers are spraying the path. :(

This past Saturday as I watched the snow falling, I thought, why do I live in such a miserable climate? Then I read posts on this thread from the southern and coastal USA, and I think, y'know, maybe I should be thankful for the cool nights and mornings during the summer. My thermometer showed 6C (43F) this morning, and I'll take that over an 80+F morning commute any day!

Fairly uneventful commute this morning. There are lots more people cycling to work these days, so more opportunity for some silly commuter racing. My road bike suffered a broken spoke last week, so this morning I strapped the wheel to my backpack to bring it in to get fixed (still no rack on my all-weather commuter). I felt a little conspicuous riding around with a wheel on my back!

And what's with the heckling this year? While some guys get stuff like "Nice butt!" yelled at them, for me last week it was, "Faster, daddy, faster!" and last night, "You go girl!" I'm not that old (mid 30's) and I'm (so I thought) unmistakably male. Kids these days.

Hi Bret, welcome to the forums. I used to avoid the sprinklers on my route, but in the summer, it can be quite refreshing to blast through them!

Take that stuff seriously if you feel it beginning to get to you. We get wildfires frequenlty here in Texas and when you're breathing all that crap in it can really knock you down. Be careful.

I love this weather...

Yesterday I got, the "go daddy go daddy go daddy go" and when I commented about the headwind my little passenger said, "wind... I don't feel no stinking wind" and sang her riding song for me most of the way which goes, "crashing, and burning, is how we learn *ding *ding*" which is also her hill climbing song.

It was an awesome commute and today my sole reason for riding anywhere is to pick up a busted wheel.

:)

I can't wait for stuff like this. My "passenger" is still a little too young/small (3 years old) for a trail-a-long bike; when we ride together she's in a trailer. Unless there's absolutely no wind and we're moving very slowly I can't hear her from back there. However, she and my wife often pass me on their drive home from day care. My wife tells me that Katie will yell, "You're going too fast, daddy!" :) :) :)

I'm totally looking forward to this too...my daughter is only 15 months though. I think that hearing my daughter cheering me on with "Faster, daddy, faster" will be far more uplifting and motivating than hearing it from a random teenager with nothing better to do than heckle cyclists!

That reminds me that I've promised to get the kids to school tomorrow and it's a perfect opportunity for the trail-a-bike.

I was cruising along at a good speed yesterday despite having a "stoker" who wasn't helping and made about trhe same time as we do when we ride singly... the girls average between 16-18 kmh on our 7km commute which has very few breaks.

When the tandem gets launched one of the girls will have to ride single and this will keep our speed down but if it just me and one girl expect that we will be able to move at a pretty fine clip.

My friend takes his son to school via their tandem every day and they cruise along in the low 30's (kmh) and this is with a little guy who is about the same size as my youngest daughter.

There is no greater joy for me than being able to ride with my daughters and fiance.

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l3...wm7fo1_500.jpg

I rode my bike to work (9.36 miles) today. Took the same amount of time as the train, and I was being leisurely. I looked over at some point and saw some really giant crows, one of them with a big clump of something in its mouth. I looked closer what is that? It was a rat.

That was one happy bird.

I treated myself to some cafe con leche when I got to work. Cheaper than the train fare I avoided by riding (any excuse, right?).

Heavy rain for 4 out of 5 commutes so far this week, one of which was thundery as well. I bought a new fair-weather bike three weeks ago and have managed a pitiful two commutes on it (but miraculously five weekend rides). Meanwhile the winter bike is overdue its relief and in need of a damn good clean and a new wheel. I like rain but it's getting to be a pain in the arse now.

I saw a crow lurching upward with a rat carcass - probably roadkill - in its beak the other day, then watched it perch on a rooftop and tuck in. Yum.

Love the sketch btw.

Z man. Good to hear from you. This morning lightning was shooting across the sky so I drove the truck. The bike seemed to be a likely lightning rod. Now I have to ride tomorrow and and extra ride Friday to make up for the mileage loss. Wing Nut

We've entered the rainy season here in Florida. I can expect a heavy downpour (with/without lightning) almost every afternoon/early evening now for the next 3-4 months.

Today though I missed the downpour by 20 minutes. I doubt if my luck will hold so I've stuffed a lightweight rain poncho in my backpack.

Beyond the daily rain factor, my commute is getting pretty routine. In the future, I'll probably mention my commute only if it's especially good, strange or pretty bad.

Got clocked going 22mph downhill by a couple of motorcycle cops. Made my day after some one yelled at me "there are sidewalks for a reason". Other than that all was good.

Met a guy on the highway riding a three wheel recumbent on his way from Wisconson to Oregon. I though he had a flat tire and I offered to help, but it turns out he was stopped because a motorist had stopped to offer him a cold drink. We chatted for a while and then I rode on home.

Interesting ride home today. Cloudy as I pulled out of the parking lot. 20% chance of rain predicted, so I wasn't too concerned, even though some of the clouds were rather dark. I rode quickly though, not wanting to tempt fate. About halfway home it started... a distant rumble of thunder some miles off, then another strike, a little closer off to my right. Then, one off to my left. So far, though, nothing too close; I just pushed the pedals trying to get home. Then another one off to the right. I saw the lightning bolt and it was probably about a mile or so off. Too close for comfort.

So I pulled into a strip mall that has a nice little restaurant- kind of like Subway, but everything in pitas. I call the wife to let her know what's going on, then order dinner, and start chatting with the owner. He asked how far I ride, how much further I have to go, etc. I called my son so he could check the radar for me and he said it looked pretty bad. I checked outside several times and the front seemed stationary. Hmmm....

So I ate my gyro and called my son again and he said the storm was just acting funny; hard to predict. Imad, the guy from the restaurant, volunteers that he lives near me and the restaurant closes at 7 (it was already past that by this point), so, if I wanted he could give me and my bike a ride home in his van. What the heck.... I took him up on it.

He dropped me off in my driveway and left. Nice guy.

It was a beautiful moring at 20 C ( 70 F).

As I was approaching a traffic cirle on my ride, I noticed a cyclist in the circle, which I have never see in early morning dark. As I got closer to the circle, I noticed that the cyclist was riding around the traffic circle repeatedly. As I got nearer, the cyclist peeled off down the street that I use for my commute.
As I got closer I noticed the cyclist had no lights, no reflective clothing and no mirrors, and I found that a little odd in the dark. The cyclist was going at a decent speed, so I just got in behind. As my lights caught up, I realized it was a woman riding, and this in itself is a pleasant happening. I followed her for a short distance, then decided she had no particular place to go, and I had to be at work. I passed her, and said, "Good Morning," but heard no reply. As I pedaled down the hill, I lost her in car headlamps.

Thanks. Actually it wasn't bad. It was bad on Monday but I didn't work, so no commute. It was so smokey that the smell woke me up in the middle of the night. (Open windows.)

Anyway, mid 60sF for me. I caught up to a guy on a hybrid but didn't pass. We were just staying ahead of rain. Now it's raining steadily.

Yesterday I avoided the MUP and took roads home. Stopped in the right lane for a red light. Right lane signal has a green right arrow and a red straight-ahead arrow. Woman pulls up behind me and toots her horn. I look at her. She's gesticulating toward the right. I point to the lights. Still red for me, sweetie, sorry! (Right lane is straight & right turn. If I was in a car, she wouldn't have honked, I'm sure.)

Beautiful ride this morning. Temps in the mid 60's with just a hint of a breeze. Kind of made up for yesterday morning's drenching and yesterday afternoon's heat.

Tue and Wed, we had air particulate alerts in place due to Canadian smoke drifting as far south as S. NH/ME Seacoast area. Funny--smelled like burning fir trees... from what I hear about Canada, I was expecting more of a dank, hippy weed smell...

Today was foggy and drizzly. Construction along a 45mph double lane road, and the road crew let me through, so I got a huge head start while motor traffic was stopped for road surfacing.

I had a d**chebag encounter last night. I was turning left through an intersection near my apartment w/ an long, obtuse angle left turn (it's the left from southwest-bound Commonwealth onto southbound Mt Vernon on the map). There is only one lane entering the intersection, hence, naturally, only one left turn lane. Halfway though the intersection, the DB in the SUV guns it and comes around me on my RIGHT side. What follows is our brief verbal/yelling interaction minus the profanities that I employed in the heat of the moment:

Me: What the...?! You couldn't wait til we got through the intersection to pass?
Him [indignant]: I didn't know which side of the road you were on!
Me: There's only one lane. I don't need to pick a side. You need to wait to pass.

Fun times. "I didn't know which side of the road you were on!" Like he would have even thought about passing a car (on the RIGHT no less) positioned as I was and doing a similar speed... Kinda spoiled an otherwise fairly pleasant (if hot and sweaty) commute.

Ride in this AM was much better. No a$$hole$ like the one from yesterday. Rode in early (for me) - 8 AM. Have to leave primary job early this afternoon to make it to my pedicabbing gig for the evening.

P.S.-Still loving my two-weeks new Cateye Strada computer.

10C, sunny, and calm. Just beautiful.

well, as it's my second day as a newbie member of this forum i suppose i should give my first official commute report. i've been a daily bike commuter for going on 3 years now, and my morning ride is ~15 miles from my home in downtown chicago up to my job in suburban evanston. a good chunk of that ride is DIRECTLY on the shores of lake michigan and wind can be a mighty curse or blessing. this morning was more curse than blessing, i had a ~12mph head wind coming right at me out of the NNE. it slowed me down to 50 minutes. if the wind holds its strength and direction for the late afternoon, going home is gonna be fun!

I felt fast and powerful this AM, but got stopped at almost all the lights. Seems like I got my drive train and transmission issues sorted out. Bike rode like a dream! Had to yell at an inattentive motorist drifting through a red to make a right turn.
Thunderstorm risk again today during the ride home, so more potential for fun!

This morning was amazing. Riding downtown, I normally hit a red light or two, but today, green lights the whole way. I found the magic timing this morning. Doubt I could ever repeat it.

I managed to avoid widespread thunderstorms yesterday, so decided to tempt fate again today. Yesterday the storms came through the city around 4 pm, so I delayed my departure time by about 30 minutes and avoided the worst of it. The roads were still very wet with light sprinkles but I made it home without getting much wetter than I would from just sweating. More of the same kind of weather is expected today, so hopefully my luck will hold.

My rear tire developed a slow leak on my morning commute but I was able to make to the office without flatting. I started noticing that squishy feeling and suspected the tire was leaking, and it has gone totally flat sitting in my office this morning. I guess that's how I will spend my lunch time today, fixing the tire.

...and they call Chicago the Windy City? Heck, here in North Texas, 12 mph is considered just a notch above calm.

Raining a little my last mile or two. No problem, could see fine with my glasses. Got inside, changed clothes, looked back outside and it was a gulley washer. Lots of soaked people just running in from the parking lot. hehe

depending on who you talk to, the 'windy city" nickname comes from the city's windbag politicians & boosters of yore. if you go by actual weather records, chicago is not significantly more or less windy than other major cities around the country. a 12mph headwind is really just a minor annoyance, hence my "more curse than blessing" comment. the bad days are when the gales are gusting at me off the lake at 40+mph. those are the days when i outright curse the wind.