EKW in DC

Great ride in. I felt strong, too. I think the tailwind helped! ;-) Not as warm feeling this AM as I had feared, though I'm expecting worse this afternoon. Back into the 80s again. Fans of summer, have a ball. The rest of us will continue to long for 60 degree afternoons and hope the real heat (yet to come) stays away as long as possible!

mjw16

EKW-I don't think I'm picking up anything on the MVT, it seems to be happening once I get into the city. I can't locate any objects in the tire, just multiple cuts. I've exhausted my supply of tubes, as I never seem to have much luck with patch kits, and am tired of changing tires at work and riding home on about 40#'s of pressure (the best my hand pump seems to do). I'll wheel the bike home on the Metro, the change of pace won't kill me. Also, if there were a persistent problem with the trail, I would certainly alert DC members. A few years ago someone was putting tacks on the trail, somewhere between Slater's Lane and the 14th Street Bridge. I advised other members and contacted the Park Service (who were very responsive). I can't wait for my new Conti Tour Ride's, they should really help cut down on these flats. Have a great ride home (if you can get out in advance of the storm), I'll look forward to a dry walk from the Metro :-)

sseaman

Yesterday the afternoon ride home was rough, the dirt left on the bike paths from the flooding was a muddy goo from an afternoon shower. I took two spills and was covered in mud from head to toes. I was glad I was my commuter bike, as it served the intended purpose. i can now go ride the road bike saturday morning and clean the commuter up in the afternoon.

HardyWeinberg

unusual day, just a couple out-and-backs to drop the kids (still ~15 miles)

zacster

OK commute today. It felt cool when I was leaving so I grabbed a light jacket. By the time I was up the first small hill I was drenched in sweat. The humidity is higher today than it has been. I'm going to try a different way home just to mix it up as I've stuck to the same route every time so far, although there aren't all that many alternatives in Manhattan. Straight up and down the avenues, or take the west side greenway. The main variation is to take a different bridge back to Brooklyn, but I've done every route a hundred times over, and adding city miles doesn't really do much for me.

pathdoc

Took the van in today. Very rainy here in TX today.

Samuikon

Today's commute was rather pleasant. In the morning, I was riding against the wind, but there wasn't too much resistance. The ride home was helped by the wind. I cross two sets of railroad tracks, so I time my rides almost perfectly so I won't have to stop for a passing train. Traffic wasn't too heavy going to or from work. It's a mile ride, only 10 minutes tops, and it feels great.

asphalt junkie

We've been getting hammered with cold, wet, windy weather this week (not to mention the last month ...). It's raining pretty good right now and I didn't bring my rain pants. On Tuesday I rode home in heavy rain and stayed dry until hitting a gushing river flowing at an intersection. Soaked feet for last half of ride.

caloso

Everyday should be so gorgeous!

bugly64

It finally felt like spring today. I didn't even wear my hoodie. Only one thing was bad --wind in my face both ways.

zacster

The ride home was more humid than the ride in, ugghhh. Thunderstorms for tonight they say.

JeremyZ

I have a short commute too, 1.7 miles each way. Do you work in Elgin, or is that to the Metra station? If you're like me, you'll find that as you get used to it, 1 mile is nothing any more. I got home from work today and felt like riding more, so I took the bike to the post office, stopped by the train station on the way home to switch lock cables and made a 9.3 mile ride out of it. Now, the endorphines are worn off and I'm ready to hit the hay. I probably should shower first...

I was going to gripe a little about the wind, but the last time I did that, it rained pretty much all week. Bring on the wind, and save the rain.

sixtyone

i'm so pumped... i thought my summer job was toast but due to some budget work, it's back so that means i get to ride to work every day... about 11 miles round trip, nothing big but great for the summer...

Grim

Had to make a road trip with my Boss and his Boss Friday. With no showers at work and needing to dress a bit better then normal I drove.
Rest of the week was nice to be back into summer mode and not needing a jacket. Just put on my cleats and strap my shoes to the rack and off to work.

Fizzaly

nice weather, just too bad i had to run over a construction staple and put a 1/4" tear in my tire that slime aparently will not seal woohoo i didnt pack any spare tubes today

Moskau

I biked home from a night shift this morning. It was tough mentally and physically but I went slow and enjoyed how calm it was. Got home eventually.

JeremyZ

No commuting today. But for me, who only bike-commutes 3.4 miles per day, I was overflowing with energy. I went shopping twice, and rode 15 miles doing it. Bought a digital bathroom scale, to replace our old, inaccurate $7 one from Walmart. Bought a rack, kickstand, & headlight for the TriCross, and a proper floor pump. It was pretty fun getting that all home on a rack and shoulder bag. Almost bought a used recumbent bike. (BikeE, they wanted $350 for a 9 year old model. Seemed a little steep, so I came home & Googled it. ebayed it too. It was steep.)

zacster

I did most of my commute today, but on my carbon road bike instead of my MTB just to see what it feels like. I'm usually the slowest guy on the Manhattan Bridge on the way up, but on my roadie I just blew by everybody and I'm still out of shape. I could see though that riding a road bike to work, even a less fancy one than I have, would be more risky. The tires wouldn't last, rims would start to wobble, flats...

Fizzaly

Had to put a new tube and repair my tire last night, then on my way in this morning i encountered a pack (more like a gang) of geese that refused to move so i went to go around them and they freaked and went into attack mode, i almost ditched them there where two of them that kept up to me for almost a mile. i really thought i was gonna get it mind you this "gang" of geese was probably 30 or 40 strong, at least this time i didnt get bit last summer i got bit by one why are they so mean?

buzzman

gorgeous weather today. I'm finally getting a bit more rest than usual so it feels good to ride the bike every day.

Was tempted to take pictures of the plethora of people wearing their bike helmets in the most ridiculous ways!- I mean, why bother putting the thing on if it's on backwards, on the back of your head, so loose it's cocked to one side, not strapped- it really isn't worth the trouble. It did lend credence to the criticism by those who say bike helmets are little more than superstitious talismans designed to ward off the possibility of injury and not worth much in practical terms.

The worse offenders are parents, who put helmets on their kids so improperly that they'll more likely die of strangulation by the straps than a head injury of some kind.

Regardless of my head shaking, eye rolling and judgmental gazing as I rode along the bike path it was a very pleasant ride.

Sansa

It was a nice morning. Only problem is I get winded so quickly being new and out of shape.

JeremyZ

Stick with it, Sansa. You'll get in better shape faster than you thought possible.

Personally, I had a great cycling day. I did a benefit ride for the American Cancer Society, and raised $240 for the cause. I was a bit disappointed when I found out that the 15 mile ride was five 3-mile laps around a pond in a forest preserve. Although it wasn't a race, I was the second fastest on my TriCross. Who was the fastest? No, it wasn't a roadie! It was a slim middle-aged woman on a mountain bike. She had those sexy, muscular legs that woman bikers have. She was pedaling too slowly in too high of a gear. But I guess when you're that slim, you can get away with it. She left me behind pretty quickly, even with the knobs on her tires acting like big fan blades. Humbling. I averaged 13 mph.

They were handing out 8 oz. water bottles along the route. Made me feel like a Tour de France racer. They had a barbecue afterwards. I had a couple of turkey burgers, a bag of chips, and a Gatorade. Came home and had a nice 2 hour nap. Tomorrow, no bike commute, as I have to drive so I can pick my wife up at the airport. (if the winds over Europe that are blowing the ash cloud around cooperate)

JeremyZ

The trick with geese is never to appear afraid of them. There were geese on my ride today. If you aim for them, they figure out that they're going to lose any confrontations. Make some roaring noises too. They can't possibly hurt you, unless you get one in the spokes. They have round beaks and no claws, and they weigh what, 20 lbs? Be the aggressor, and you won't have any more trouble with them.

When I'm on foot and geese start getting aggressive at me, I open my arms up wide & high, roar at them, and charge. It literally scares the crap out of them and they turn tail pretty quickly.

Sixty Fiver

Gorgeous day to go down and do some work on the south side... rode the old Peugeot which left here naked and came home with shiny fenders and a kickstand and also got to fix a flat en route which is a pretty rare occurrence.

Gotta say I was happy to have packed the CO2 in my toolkit today... made quick work of the fix and was nice to have had several other cyclists stop to offer aid.

fletchh

it was a pleasant ride in at 10 C (50 F). I rode through the raindrops, as it was a very light dripping rain, but with sleevless and shorts, there is little
to get wet. The odds are that I will get soaked going home, but that is all relative in the warmer temps. Watching for cars that don't expect cyclist in
the rain is the biggest issue.