It was a nice ride in, but I expect it to be a scorcher going home. Today, I lost my access badget that I wear around my neck. The string broke and the badge is somewhere. I backtracked, but couldn't find it. So for the next couple of weeks, I will be treated as a criminal, until I get a new badge. Being humbled is good training at any age.

Left the house at a bit before 6am. Temp was 66 degrees. Shared the road with maybe a total of ten cars. 7.33 miles, 12.4 mph average.

And the first commute on my new Surly LHT.

Going to be crazy hot today, I think they're calling for 102F or something like that. I focused on hydrating all day yesterday in anticipation of this week's heat and had a full glass of water this morning, before I left. I took it really easy as the heat is already evident and I want to conserve for the ride home. I checked the bike to make sure it was tip top and loaded up with new patch kits/tubes over the weekend. I'm wrapping up breakfast now and am already about half way through a 32 oz Gatorade-I'll go through 2 of those today, cut 50/50 with water, along with my usual Magnesium suppliment. I will also avoid anything sugary or full of caffeine for the next few days. I've ridden in similar temps, however, it does make me a little nervous; I'm planning on taking 2 to 3 breaks on the way home and possibly taking my helmet off once I reach the MV Trail (I'm a big guy and retain a lot of heat, the helmet seems to trap quite a bit in such high temps, otherwise I'd never remove it). Also, I've talked my wife out of riding this week as she's currently trying to get back into shape and may not be ready for this. I know the above sounds like overkill but, this kind of heat seems to really shut the body down. I'll likely feel ok at first then, have to stop a couple of times for breaks with legs that simply don't want to cooperate and, may feel light headed and over-heated, that's expected in these temps-so, I'm taking it seriously. Regardless of how I feel, I'm planning on jumping right into a cool shower when I get home, recovery drink in hand then, it'll be air drying on the bed, under the ceiling fan until I have to leave to go get my son. Will do it again tomorrow and, evidentally, Thursday as well. So, all East-Coasters, take it easy out there.

I set out at 6:00 a.m. The temperature was sixty eight degrees. The wind out of the south was cool and I felt a chill. As I descended into the creek valley, the fog got thicker. The moisture collected on every surface. The hair on my arms looked like grass collecting the early morning dew. I kept thinking that I should have worn a long sleeve jersey.

When I hit the trail, the visibility was about a quarter of a mile. As I progressed toward the river bottom, about five miles down the trail, the fog became thicker and, in places, was only about one hundred feet. There was not a lot of traffic, though, and even with the limited visibility, I was able to see oncoming cyclists as well as those who were in my lane.

I exited the trail at 36th. Back on the city streets and out of the creek bottom, the fog had melted away. I could see a wall of fog following the creek bottom as it worked its way down the the river.

Today's commute will be epic... 75km one way to work at the frame shop.

Nice cool ride in this morning. The weather is finally clearing up and it looks like summer is coming! I think I'll have a warm ride home in the sunshine.

Some photos from this morning's commute:

My Shiny new Surly Long Haul Trucker - today was my first ride

bwhite, finally another Ultimate player here on BF! I've never played down there in FL (except at Nationals in 2006, but it being late October the temps weren't bad). I can't imagine trying to play there in the summer--and I LIKE high temps!

Tomorrow's supposed to be even hotter, and I have a lunchtime pickup game of Ultimate. I must remember to bring my water bottle to the game!

55F and sunny, today might be the day summer arrives

Bunch of trivial crap to report:

I think that's it.

I know how my ride home is going to be. 95F now. In Burlington. Vermont.


There's a cold shower and tall glass of beer waiting for me at home.

No commute today, 102F in NYC. No thanks. That's the second hottest day I've ever been in.

yeah, i'm not a fan of ulti down here in the summer...our pick up games go from staring @ 2 and lasting till around 6, to starting @ 2 and lasting till around 3:30-4, or just bumping it up to 4 after a while and playing 3-4 hrs as it cools down. the plus side is we have outdoor pickup year round, which is uncommon in the north, from what I've heard. Where do you play? we go to alot of the local tourneys and just have fun. </hijack>

Today was not my day. I thought I'd take the long way home. It's through fields and woods so it's cooler. All was well until I noticed my front dérailleur seemed to be shifting sloppily. The cable was a tick loose. So I tightened it with the adjustment on the index shifter. Nothing seemed to be helping so I decided to look at it over a beer when I got home. Eventually I shifted with it and... SNAP... Broken cable.

I didn't want to deal with it in the heat so I limped home (about 3 miles) in the granny ring, trying not to let the chain drag on the dérailleur. Slow but not bad.

"Field-repaired" it when I got home. Put bike on stand. Knotted the cable next to a brifter. Hand-shifted the dérailleur and tightened the cable down at the dérailleur itself. Now it's in the middle ring and the drive is more or less clean through the 9 cassette gears. Good enough to get to the bike shop in the morning for a new cable.

95F when I left work. Here's my jersey before I departed.

102 degrees on the 28 miles home. F'in hot. REALLY hot. Enough said.

-R

Ride home was ~ 90F. Took a new route which brought my commute from 7.33 to 10.69 miles.
For the first time since I started riding again I showed an overall average speed of > 13 miles per hour (13.3 to be more precise) which made me happy.
I've determined the Long Haul Trucker is a LOT more comfortable for me to ride than the Trek 520 it's replacing.

I think the LHT is longer from the seat to the bars. It still requires an arched back, but I don't feel nearly as cramped. I'm 18 miles in on the new bike, and so far I love it.

I forgot the best part of the evening commute!!!!! I was on a rural highway, and as I approached a farm house I see a little dog in the back of the yard spot me, and bolt towards the road barking. He arrived near the road as I was passing him. He ran as fast as his little 4" legs would take him trying to take me down. It made me smile.

Lots of heart in that little sheetzu (sp? and No I promise I'm not trying to defeat the language filter)

My back tire started to lose pressure on my return trip.
Looking at it now its completely flat, thankfully I made it home without having to change it.

Longest commute ever...

Ride out was awesome as I had a nice tailwind and a net descent... the ride home was pretty brutal as the little tailwind that pushed me out turned into a nasty headwind (I hate pedaling downhill) but irregardless of that decided to take the long way home and make my commute a century.

Wind started to die down when I had 30 km to go and was able to rock it pretty hard and even dropped into our river valley and rode through there even though that means there's nearly 1000 feet of climbing to get out.

Will be riding out tomorrow but will bunk over before coming back in Friday... after a day of frame building I don't think I will be wanting to do the ride back.

70 degrees or so and humid. Nothing in the tank this am.... for some reason felt like I was dragging a boat anchor. Guess the heat sucked more out of me yesterday than I realized. Hope I have something left, still have to get home tonight and supposed to be 100degrees today.

It was a good ride in, and it was hot yesterday, but I did OK. It is supposed to be a couple degrees more this afternoon, but after yesterday, I should be OK. Go figure, the hottest day of the year and there were 3 bikes on the rack, and there was still one that comes infrequently that wasn't there. In my two years in this building that is the most bikes that I have seen at any one time on the rack. It's a small excitement, but none the less enjoyable.

It hit 102F here in DC yesterday, fortunately we didn't get the crushing humidity that typically defines Summers here. I had, at least, 80 ozs of wather/Gatorade by the time I left for my afternoon ride home and, drank another 1/2 a bottle on my 10 mile ride. My wife adised that I eat a bag of salty potato chips before leaving, which I did-even with all that I was slightly dehydrated by the time I got home. I took it easy spinning the whole way, I also removed my helmet near the end of my ride to help cool down and jumped right in the shower once home. My left leg developed a slight cramp and I had to stop once or twice, it's amazing how this kind of heat really shuts the body down. I spent the evening filling up on water and will continue to do so through the day. I think we're also expecting the humidity to creep back up today so, it may be an even more difficult ride than yesterday. In addition, I'm eating light and continuing my daily supplements. Hopefully we'll get some relief by tomorrow. Got my new wheels yesterday and am super psyched to put them on, probably this weekend. I will need to: put on rim tape, mount tires/tubes, and move the cassette over from my current wheels. Otherwise, everything is good.

Boring Stuff: 9.66 Miles, 12.6 MPH avg, 72 degrees, 84% humidity today. Made a poor route choice at the last minute adding a mile and a half to my commute which is good. It just wasn't a ride I particularly enjoyed.

Fun Stuff: Yesterday at work the owners of the company invited me to come borrow their guest house shower on days I ride into work. They live about two blocks away from the office and walk to work. So I took them up on the offer, rode into the office, and then walked to their house. It's nice to have the good feelings of a good morning ride, AND be freshly showered. Baby Wipes just aren't the same. Also this is my third trip on the Trucker. And I've got to say, this bike fits, and is comfortable. I'm sold.

Tonight's ride home should be ~90 degrees and still high 80% humidity. Tomorrow is supposed to have pop up thunder storms. (which I'll still ride in)

73F, dewpoint 69. I think it was a bit cooler this morning, but it's going to be just as hot later today. I rode in with a broken front dérailleur cable. Managed 13-16MPH okay. The chain was rubbing a little bit so I didn't go faster. Bike shop opens at 10.

<hijack>I play in and around Durham for pickup. I used to attend the "local" tourneys (Asheville NC, Blacksburg VA, Fredericksburg VA) and the Club series in the fall. I'm a little too old for that now and can't devote the kind of time required now that I'm married and have a kid.

Yeah, I moved here from Maine. The Ultimate season there is late April to late October...if you're lucky and if you're willing to brave the elements. Here in NC, like FL, there is no "off-season".</hijack>

Commute stuff: I decided to take the long route despite the expected heat and the fact that I'm playing in a lunchtime pickup game today. I'll take the short route home tonight, I'm sure!

Other bike stuff: I decided to get rid of our big, heavy mountain bikes--since my wife and I never really ride anything that isn't paved anyway--and replace them with lighter, faster hybrids of some kind. My wife isn't a strong cyclist (not that I am either, haha) and there's no reason for her to be riding something that heavy. I found a guy on the local Craig's List who's selling several hybrids, all about the right size for my wife. We're going up there tonight to test-ride them. Now if I can just find a good one for myself (I'm pickier than my wife), we'll be good to go.