EKW in DC, I've ridden the entire Canal at least 4 times now, it's a great trip: scenic, assesible, easy, enjoy it, I'll be following along in your journal.

Lucked out (and didn't) on Thursdsay of last week. My ride ended with another flat tire at the rugby fields, north of the airport. While the heat wasn't as bad as expected, I was trying to outrun the storm that was bearing down on Alexandria. I've been nursing a strained right knee and was unable to really push. While changing my tube, the pump broke and, seeing the dark columns of storm clouds heading my way, I decided to bail and ask a cabbie for a ride home. While I was frustrated that another ride ended with a flat (more than I can count this year) at least I was nice and dry in the back of the cab as the worst of the storm hit. My trip was delayed by downed trees and power lines but, I was grateful that I wasn't on the bike since many of these trees/lines were along routes that I would have been on at that time. The neighborhood suffered a lot of damage but, we were lucky enough to be without power for exactly 24 hours-some weren't as lucky.

Also, on Friday, after picking up my wife and son, we returned home to see some curbside freebies, stuff removed from a leaky basement. One of which was a vintage Trek road bike. I grabbed it up and am trying to figure out the model number/year, I think I'll restore it and turn it into my century bike-it's in great condition. Bonus.

Looking forward to a nice ride home today.

Back on the forums again after a while off. Been riding but only taking the short route--too much time taken up with doing physical therapy for back and Achilles problems, playing Ultimate at lunchtime, and dealing with a very sick dog.

Nothing to report fortunately.

60F and sprinkling riding home. Looks like summer was in July and I missed it.

Yes the days are getting shorter, I don't know why it seems so sudden, but it does. Today's ride in between 11 and 11:30Am wasn't too bad, home at 8PM mid 80's and very humid with a head wind. I used to be a runner and I can remember running at night and wishing it would rain, on the bike there is always a breeze and even when it's hot isn't too bad as long as I'm properly hydrated. I'm so glad to read about others rides, others who understand why I ride. Most of those who know me think I'm crazy to ride, especially after I got hit by a car last year but I love it. My wife makes me call her when I leave work and when I get too work. She offered to buy me a car if I gave it up but I don't care that much for cars, I sold my car when I started riding.

Wet.

It was a good ride in, and it will just be hot today. I love the morning rides, although, I am missing the light of day. I only get it for about two months a year, but it is nice. One of my lights didn't work on the front this morning and I like having two. It was an easy fix, when I got a chance to look at it. I also miss the chirping birds in the morning. I am back to crickets.

The heat and humidity are building again after a relatively cool weekend and Monday, which were actually pretty close to the normal long-term averages for this time of year. This summer has been so hot that average temperatures feel like springtime. The high is supposed to reach the upper 90s today with a heat index over 100. I could feel it already this morning, and I was drenched with sweat when I got to work. I guess this afternoon will be a slow commute. Nothing zaps me worse than high heat and humidity.

I've started leaving my water bottle in the freezer half full over night. It keeps my water cold for the entire commute, with ice still remaining when I get to work. If I put the bottle in my fridge at work, I still have ice for the ride home. Really helps on hot, hot days.

Very foggy, but I hiked 2.5 miles to the bus. (Beer event after work.) Saw an attack bunny on the MUP. :p

Yesterday I stayed later because of a big thunderstorm. I left work and traffic was backed up all the way down the hill outside my building. I did something I rarely do. I rode the sidewalk down to the intersection. :eek: Then I saw the reason for the backup. A car with a completely demolished front end. Debris all over the road. Police car sitting there. People talking on their cell phones. Sigh.

I pulled up alongside a cute young woman on a bicycle who was in a sun dress and singing. She seemed full of cheer in the light rain. It was nice to see. I warned her to be careful of the debris with her tires. She thanked me. Light turned green, we went. She hung out behind me for a bit, but then I got out of traffic and spooled up the FTL drive and she disappeared behind me.

I put my bottle in the freezer for 3-4 hours before heading home last night. It was hard as a rock when I took it out to get ready to leave. 15 minutes later it was all liquid. Air temp of 101° with a heat index of 113° will do that.

On Sunday I rode for a little over an hour in similar temps and the water left in my bottle was almost hot when I got home. And it's supposed to be like this through Saturday.

A few moderately interesting things from my commute:
- I saw some kind of rodent by the MUT today. It might have been a baby beaver.
- On the climb out of the valley today, I passed a cop on a bicycle. Shortly afterwards, I failed to yield to a pedestrian, but I think the cop was probably struggling too much on the hill to either take notice or do anything about it.
- The underground parkade where I keep my bike was nearly totally dark when I pulled in. Power outage I guess. Not a big deal. Power came back on as I was locking up my bike. As I was climbing the stairs up to the gym, I heard a woman yell, "DON'T TOUCH THE DOORS!" I thought maybe it was a neurotic mom yelling at her kid. Then I heard, "KEEP CALM AND STAY AWAY FROM THE DOORS!" which sounded like a strange thing to yell at a kid. Came around the bend, and it turns out someone was stuck in the elevator, and the woman was just trying to be helpful.
- The power outage apparently affected the gym's ability to produce hot water. :eek: That'll wake a guy up.
- When I left the gym, it was unclear whether or not the person stuck in the elevator was out yet, but the place was crawling with fire fighters dressed up in their slickers. I'm not sure why an elevator rescue requires two fire trucks, and why the fire fighters need to put on their full gear, but whatever.
- Cloudy but clearing, 14C. Made pretty good time today on my mountain bike. Might have been a personal best for that bike, but I haven't been keeping close track of my times.

Nice cool ride in this morning. Made good time coming in the long way. It was about 14C for the trip in, I needed arm warmers, but felt good otherwise. I've also gotten in the habit of freezing my water bottle for the trip home. Half full of ice is about perfect so that it's still cool for the second half of the ride. The insulated bottle is good enough to keep my water cool for the first half.

Last couple mornings it has been on the verge of being cold, wore my vest yesterday. Just not right for August in So Cal.

Is yours a Polar Bottle? Mine is, and it stays frozen way longer than a regular water bottle..

I replaced my chain for the first time on this bike, and I had forgotten how quiet the bike could be. There was an extended moment where no cars were around, and everything seemed silent except for the tires rolling against the asphalt. It was very pleasant. Saw another cyclist at a stoplight. Weather was warm and pleasant.

55F, sprinkly

Nothing like autumn in Seattle... If it's that cold now, what'll it be like come November. Maybe it'll rain every day??? :)

Meanwhile, it is 90F again today, and 99% humidity, here in the big apple. It is just too hot and sticky to ride in and be comfortable. I can see from my train ride that the number of cyclists is way down going over the bridge. It'll pick up on nice days.

My buddy bailed on our training ride this morning so I just rode to the office, dropped off my backpack, and headed out for a mellow 1-hour spin before work. It's been difficult to predict my work schedule lately so if I'm going to get in any mileage, I have to make sure it's early in the day.

I am no loger worthy of posting here. I drove today, just because I knew it was gonna be hot. My jeep thermometer said 100 degrees while driving home. I know, I used all the excuses, I need to stop at the Y and lift weights, I slept late, and on and on. I know in my heart it was just because I feared the heat. OK, I will ride tomorrow and I will feel better.

Tuesday. 88f and humid, on the way in and not much cooler on the way home. It seems everyone is freezing their water bottles, I fill mine half way and freeze it, then fill it the rest of the way with water just before I leave, too hard drink ice. The ride was uneventful.

Ok, I enjoy the heat, and I seem to breathe fine. The air quality is bad, and my doctor cautions me not to ride in it, because of the concentration of particulate matter. Outside of being sick or injured has anyone figured out how to stop commuting on a bicycle? While camping several time this year in the heat, there were advisories posted at rivers and lakes about high bacteria levels. Being an outdoor person is getting to be very difficult.

I seriously considered driving today because the high temp is supposed to be 99 with a heat index closer to 110. However, I did that last week when they forecasted 101 and the high only hit 96 or 97. Anyway, the weather tomorrow is supposed to be widespread thunderstorms and I would rather deal with the heat than lightning and downpours. If the morning commute is any indication, this afternoon will be miserable. It was already 80 F when I got up at 5:30 am, and the humidity was something like 85%. I caught every long traffic signal on my route, with the lights turning red right when I got to them, so that made my commute at least 5 minutes longer. Arrived at work totally drenched. Nevertheless, I'm still glad I rode.

I've dispatched the bike SWAT team. They'll be confiscating your bicycle commuter card until further notice. ;)

It was 60F here this morning. Another foggy day. At one point on the MUP, visibility was down to maybe an 8th of a mile. Not too soupy. Calm wind, of course. Lots of runners out. Only a handful of cyclists.

Guys, I have been missing my commuting rides the last 2 weeks, but the heat is making it next to impossible. The morning would be doable but tough to not sweat to much, but the afternoon are down right bad. The temps are around 100, with the heat index near 110. Hopefully cooler weather will be here soon.

I rode this morning. Pure undiluted hell. If I die and go to the bad place, I'm pretty sure I'll have to ride there, and I think I know now what the trip will be like. I'll just look back to Indianapolis on 8/11/2010 and shudder in fear.

On the positive side I shouldn't have anymore issues with flats for a while. I picked up a pair of Serfas Drifters for the Fisher in 26x2.0. Coupled with new downhill tubes, and a pair of Mr. Tuffy tire liners and I think I'll be able to go at least a week now without having to break out the patch kit.

The Drifters don't roll as smoothly as the Hank B's did, but they should have better traction on gravel and other crap that seems to permeate my normal route.

Thanks to a doctor's appointment, I was able to double my commute miles and quadruple the number of hills this morning. It was nice getting in some extra riding. Sunny, warm, and calm for the ride in.

I hate to jinx myself, but why do some people get so many flats? I ride in NYC and don't have a problem and our streets aren't in great shape. I don't ride on flat resistant tires, nor use tire liners.

I always make it a point to inflate up to the higher end of the pressure guide of the tire just about every ride. I also replace tires before they wear thin. These 2 steps should keep you away from sniffin' the glue of the patch kit.

It was hot this morning as I slept in, and left for work after 9:00 AM. I stayed up until about 2:00 AM making some modifications to my bicycle braking setup, and this morning was a good test ride of the new configuration. I am happy with the status, but the configuration is a work in progress and won't be complete until I purchase a couple additional parts.

How was the commute today?
well my commute today was not so bad at 7 am on my new TRANCEX2 , 1/2 way to work the chain broke :( , no problem little thing like this will not ruin my day , walked back home to get my road bike CAAD9 , now 1.3 hour late to work , a flat no problem a had a spare tube :) 1 mile from work an other flat :( , most be like the planets are aligning the wrong way or something, :(

Warm this morning, and hot on ride home. Hate it when sweat drips into eyes:twitchy:

Lots of bikes and runners on the route today. Commuter on red specialized caught up to me but didn't pass. I was on the road bike and riding 20-22 feeling pretty good. He's usually a bit faster but I guess he figured on riding my wheel a bit. On ride home was passed by one of those coach buses about 6 inches away:eek: Bad section of road so I couldn't move right and he wouldn't move left.

Wednesday, warm and humid on the way in and cooler mid 70's on the way home at 1:30am. No cars on the way home to speak of, very nice.