Much better than yesterday's! My pannier didn't fall off. I think this is to do with the poor bungee technique. Was smooth and fast today. However almost arrival to office, I felt winded. I wonder if it is because I am cyclo-commuting back to back without a rest day which I normally do.

Excellent ride even with the heat! Found my screwdriver I lost yesterday in the rain good thing my shifter messed up on the way home. Drove to the gym which is 6 miles same as home gym is 1.5 from home. Had a good day at the gym to. Got yelled at by two women ... Peddle that bicycle baby! (trust me their wasn't enough beer in the world for those two) another guy yelled something else (not sure I want to know) and a thumbs up. I feel like a god today well till I got home the wife is mad at me for some reason.

Fantastic commute this morning. It was a little cooler and less humid, plus I had a tailwind much of the way. I had my fastest morning commute of 2010, even though I caught nearly every red light. The weather has been so hot and humid in NC lately that I am finally started to get acclimated. The high is supposed to top 90 today for about the 20th out of the last 21 days, but it should feel cool due to the lower humidity.

Last night temps were in the 92° range with high humidity. Headwind was 20 to 25 mph so it wasn't what I'd call a real pleasant ride. It sounds as though tonight will be similar.

Sunny and about 60F, but a little bit humid. More silly commuter racing. I've caught this guy before. He rides a mountain bike (me too). He kept sprinting. I don't know if he was trying to lose me, but at one point we were going down a bit of a slope close to 30MPH. He's certainly one of the faster riders I've seen on the MUP. He did engage in a questionable pass, however. Points deduction!

Also saw bmike but was a bit preoccupied with the commuter race and only got to say "hi" as we passed.

TGIF!

Probably not a good idea to sell gym property...

Saw a guy with an Xtracycle this morning. I had just about caught up to him when we hit the city streets and he turned a different way than I was going. Too bad... I wanted to let him know I liked the Xtracycle. (I don't have one, but I do think they're kinda cool. Come to think of it, that would be a cool thing to do with my hyrbid if and when I get me an LHT.)

Most bike commuters generally I've seen in the morning in a while. I did leave a little earlier than I normally do today, which probably contributed to that, but wouldn't explain it completely, I don't think. Anyway, nice to see.

Hope to tack on a few extra miles to the commute home this afternoon. Then it's pedicabbing tonight for me. Also hoping to do a little kayaking tomorrow AM on the Potomac (biking to and from the kayak rental joint, of course). Happy weekend everyone!

Today was fast! Clean, cool air, lighter than usual cars...and I've finally trained myself to bike at 95+rpm consistently. 5 miles, 12:55 wheels spinning, 25.9 mph average! Door-to-door time 16:01 which is about 3 min faster than usual. These roads are bumpy along the sides...according to mechanical vibration theory, going faster means less bump transmitted to my butt. I'll have to test that for this particular commute on Monday

I never see other cyclists out here. Only near dusk for fun rides. All the serious guys (university tri team) apparently drive to school to train in the mornings ... :/ xx?

Rode the kids to their school this morning. It was the first time they've ridden to school, and I actually had my wife ask if they coudl -- since nobody does, and there are No Bicycle signs on the school property. The principal was great and said not only coudl they ride, but he would have them bring their bikes inside and put them in a storage room -- he was totally cool about it. It's such a short ride, and 1/2 downhill. It's too bad school ends next week. They already have plans to organize a neighborhood ride to work when school starts up again in Sept.

Rode to the dentist after that. Bad - need a root canal. Good - all the cute dental hygienists seemed to think it was cool that I rode my bike there : )

Ride to work after that was nice, a bit later than normal so more traffic...but perfect temperature with sun.

Was really looking forward to the ride in this morning. Mid 60 temps, no humidity, last ride in for the week. Slowest ride all week, my legs were dead, I was sure I had a brake dragging. Of course the headwind I fought most of the way was double what was predicted. 80% of my ride in is to the south and there was a north wind blowing all the way in. About killed me. Oh well, rode everyday this week--got that going for me--which is nice!
have a great weekend!

I cant remember wether I said this or not, but another absolutely wonderful ride in. great sunrise and seen another commuter. Gonna be hot on the way home.

its bike to work week... saw some guy on a mountain bike playing chicken with the metra. dumb

Nice weather this morning. I got four unsolicited "good mornings," two of which were from pedestrians. Then I turned onto a four-mile stretch of my ride through a residential area in front of a city bus and was able to stay ahead of him the entire length. There were about twenty cars stacked up behind it. Made me smile. It was a no passing zone the entire way. Nice stretch along the lake. They still haven't finished a 200-foot segment of sidewalk that would drop me off closer to work. Had to backtrack a little.

Half a mile from my office I crossed through an intersection and suddenly came across a section of unmarked construction in the bike lane which included those metal plates they place over trenches. In this case the plates were about an inch above the street and mounded with fresh asphalt (I ride on 700x23). I turned quickly to try and make it up onto the sidewalk but missed and hit the curb and did a somersault over my bike. A few cuts and scratches, a little road rash. I knocked my head pretty good but it only tickled cause I had my helmet on. I sat there and watched the expression on the passing drivers' faces for a few seconds then hopped back on and rode to work.

Got to the office and started to unpack my lunch when I found my avocado had turned into guacamole. It was everywhere in my pack including my clothes I change into (bag lunch separate next time). I was able to salvage the shirt but not the boxers.

All in all, a great ride today.

Another flat on the ride home yesterday, I can't seem to go more than 3 or 4 days without one on these tires. It happened at almost exactly the same place on the trail and it was the exact same type of puncture: something, like a tack, that punctures the tire/tube then is nowhere to be found. The funny (lucky) thing is that, in both recent cases, the puncture happens and there's this huge rush of air from the tire, so much so that you feel that there's only seconds until it's completely flat. Then, by the time I've stopped and/or walked the bike to a better location to change the tube, it's stopped and I'm left with 40/50% of pressure. I've been able to make it home on the remaining air and the leak seems to seal itself (with regular tubes, not self-sealing). Both patches seem to be holding-another miracle and I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll be able to get home without incident today. I'm wondering, has anyone had a similar problem with punctures on the MV Trail, right near the rugby fields and 14th Street Bridge. The evidence points to tacks although I have yet to see any.

It looks like another beautiful day out there. Hopefully, I'll get home fine, drop the rr. wheel off for a re-build then, we're off for a week's vacation.

mjw, I've never had any issues w/ flats there, much less recently. Over the last year, I've gotten flats on or near the MVT during my commute in the following places:

Coming down from 14th St Bridge to MVT junction (guessing road/accident debris that got kicked up from the highway exit ramp)
On-street in Crystal City (running errands on way home) and
On 4MR Trail passing under Route 1

Sorry to hear about your continued flatting issues. Hope things improve. Enjoy the ride home and the vacation!!!

I am so frickin' tired of this wind.

My a.m. commute was a tad interesting today. I actually passed another cyclist - on my trike no less. It was nice to use the halo "on your left" call to actually let the cyclist know I wanted to pass - I swear some people are just so slow . and he actually understood it cause he went a little to his right and slowed down - which is what I usually do when someone wants to pass me. Cool!!!

Mind you he wasn't exactly flooring it on his bike but considering that most cyclist easily pass me, it was nice to be the one doing the passing for a change.

Unfortunately my little "Yayyy" moment got somewhat squish later on in the day. I had a bit of a disagreement with a telephone pole. The pole won.

First commute ever! Rode the 14 odd miles from my home into downtown Seattle. Got kinda lost several times, but with the help of a passing runner and another fellow bike commuter (who offered to let me follow him into town) I was back on track. I made pretty good time despite getting lost...don't always trust Google maps. Things were mostly downhill and the weather wasn't bad either, so I ended up not having to shower when I got to work. Then I rode the bus part of the way back home after work, planning to ride the rest of the way...which I did, but let's just say the ride home had me cursing under my breath and wishing I had built my bike with a compact double (I didn't have to get off and walk though). My legs feel like jello now, but I can see myself getting used to this.

Not bad at all today. Going to work was good even though I was running a little late. I spent 7 hours on my work bike today. Then beet the rain on the ride home. In all the day was a 8 1/2...

Mom happened so no ride in on Friday. called me Thursday night to ask me to pick up a Freezer she bought from sears by my office.
Thursday was nice though.

super super nice weather the last two days mid 50s in morning low 80s in afternoons no complaints nice light traffic.

Just another wonderful warm ride in. I started off with my left knee creaking, but that was cleaned out a couple years ago, so no problem.

My first commute in to work was this morning. Nice morning, the right temperature, no wind, a little sun. I have a 10.5 mile ride and only have to use roads for 1/2 mile from my house, the remaining mileage is the national cycle route-- no traffic, no traffic lights... couldn't be easier. Well, if I was fitter it would probably be easier.

The hot spell continues but my body is starting to get used to it. I didn't sweat much at all this morning, despite temps in the 70s and 90% humidity. Also rode a metric century on Saturday and felt much better than I did riding a 40-miler the weekend before. I hope the whole summer doesn't continue like this, however. The temperature topped 90 F on 13 of the first 20 days in June, and it was in the upper 80s on 4 other days, with high humidity almost every day. No break in sight for this week either. Our average daily temperature is running 7 degrees above normal for the month so far.

A comfortable ride this morning. Sunny, low 60sF with a light tailwind. Another cyclist and I met at an intersection. He was on my right so I let him go first. I rode behind him for a mile or so but he was only going 13mph so I went around.

Then I reeled in a young woman on a road bike with pink bar tape who, like jyossarian said in an earlier post, had a nice form. She was doing 16-17MPH so clearly there was no reason to pass her.