Cool, actually. It was in the mid-70s, but things have heated up enough that temps like that are very pleasant to ride in. I drove yesterday (had to make a large purchase at a store near the office), but an office mate rode. His wife rode from home to meet him in the afternoon, then they rode home together. She didn't make it; the heat got to her and their son SAG'ed her home. (She's okay now).

So I'll be doing my minimal-hill/maximum-shade ride home this afternoon. This may be my first 100+ commute this year.

canyoneagle - those tires sound interesting - you got a link to them somewhere? Are they 26"?

Chip seal is pure evil!

New route; 10 miles, 85 minutes. 45 min riding 3.5 miles w/ nearly-8-yr-old to his camp, and 40 min to get him settled and ride to work, including stop at strawberry stand. Nice and sunny; fixed gear.

Last night was awesome. Randomly ended up in a group of about 5 commuters going home. Lots of mirrors and backpacks! We were all content going the same speed for the most part. A few times I felt like passing, but the MUP was a bit crowded, so I couldn't find the space. Just sat in line at a slightly slower pace than I would have maybe wanted otherwise, but still an acceptable speed. Good tailwind. After a couple miles, finally got a chance to pull out and dropped most of the group, except for one guy who eventually passed me. Fast forward a few miles and a red light shortly after leaving the MUP brought three of us together again, though we all quickly went separate directions.

Girl in front of me in that pack had some sort of cool sound setup for her bike and was cranking out some tunes. Didn't see any speakers or anything, but am curious what she was using. Worked well.

This morning was not as fun. The afternoon's tailwind was the morning's headwind. Only got about 5 hours of sleep last night, too, so the legs weren't what they usually are. Still enjoyed the ride, though, and was still bathing in the happiness that comes with your wife realizing you're serious about cycling and agreeing that some of the money saved by cyclying commute can be used to buy cycling accessories/clothinbg/necessities.

I finally bit the bullet and purchased a Brooks saddle(B17) and some clipless pedals(m520 and some Specialized MTB Shoes)this week.

Wow. Nothing like being able to efficiently pedal and be comfortable on the bike.
I was a bit timid to shell out all the cash for the set up, but man, talk about a change in my morning commute. The difference is immediate and wonderful. All of those thinking of either, just do it.

+1 for the right gear for the job!

This looks like the current iteration of the tire I have - folding bead. These are 1" but I'm pretty sure the 1.5's are out there. I bought mine in '03 or '04.

Hope this helps!

Woops! here's the link:

https://www.bikesonline.com/Hutchinso...ack-Silver.htm

sorry for not "editing" the post, but I can't access the edit function from my office

This afternoon, we had a rain storm that cooled things off, a little. North Florida is very hot and muggy these days. I had a good ride home and got good opportunity to really blend into traffic to make a left-hand turn. There are two lights closely spaced and usually when I approach them there's a good line of traffic in both lanes. Today, there was enough of a gap (and traffic was moving slowly enough) to let me move out of the bike lane cross two lanes and get into the LH turn lane.

I'm trying to build confidence moving out into traffic for lane changes. The morning's ride in was not as good in that respect. I got too close to a traffic light with too much on-coming traffic to blend in. So, I just had to stop and wait for traffic to clear. No big deal really.

I biked to and from work but it was very unpleasant. You don't want me to go into detail, trust me.

At least I saw a red-winged blackbird singing on an wire, haven't seen one of them in a long while.

Hot and sunny, at least for some of the ride. This in a month of all rain!

Folding bikes are truly conversation starters. A cyclist who rides to the station and locks his bike up there asked me about my Dahin Curve; he's strongly considering getting a folding bike. We ended up boarding the wrong train together, and having to wait for a connection in Rahway. It turns out he lives in the next town; we exchanged emails, intending to ride together.

canyoneagle - thanks!

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

Hot! Well, for these parts. High 60s.

Is there some sort of "ride your bicycle" event that I don't know about? I lost track of how many cyclists I passed, and several more were going the other way. Roadies, MTBs, hybrids, comforts. They were all out this morning, and it was my job to pass them. The weather is really nice, which would explain it.

miserable ...

I wholeheartedly agree! Took the Race bike in this morning for a change and I could leave it in the big chain ring most of the time as compared to the longer chainstay bike. Cadence 700X23 slicks at 120 psi makes for a bumpy ride. It is warm and humid here but nothing like Florida. 18* C, (65* F), this morning and will reach 30* C, (86*F), this afternoon with 86% humidity. It is difficult to dry off when one has no shower at work. I stink therefore I am.

Well, I sort of recruited another bike commuter in my office. He has seen me commuting for a while and decided to give it a try. We talked a bit about bikes as he was initially considering a Walmart special, but I encouraged him to go for a better bike. He ended up buying a decent used Fuji hybrid from a pawn shop. I brought him a blinkie tail-light today that I got at a Bike-to-Work event and plan to bring him some other gear I don't need, such as a bottle cage and pedals with toe clips.

The weather in NC this week has been absolutely perfect. Warm but low humidity. However, I drove yesterday because my knee was hurting and I didn't want to make the injury worse. I stupidly tried lowering my saddle when one of my riding buddies commented that it looked too high. After several weeks of riding with my saddle .5 cm lower, my left knee started aching, and the saddle height is the only thing I can attribute it to.

re: "It is difficult to dry off when one has no shower at work"

At my last office I would daily bring a washcloth; handtowel; diluted shampoo & a change of clothes. I had access to a private bathroom and was in early enough to finish the sponge bath at the sink, dry off and change into dry clothes. I then of course had to stash the laundry in a plastic bag for the ride home. As far as anyone knew I drove to work.

Heat wave here. Waking up to 80 degrees and humid is no fun at all.

Yesterday I put on a new bottom bracket, new cassette, new chain and a new compact double crankset on the commute bike. Add that to what should be an 80 degree day and I can't wait to climb the mountain to work in an hour!!!!

regarding temperatures, I wonder what the ideal city/state to bike commute in is.

Bike to work day here today.
Appears to have been a bit of a pathetic turnout.
Anyhow, the ride home will be the final part of my final commute. Office is being closed and I am relocating to a home office. I have mixed feelings about it but I still have a job for the time being.

Door to door: 12 miles
Condition of bike: outdated, but adequate for the time being (Diamond Back with Bontrager bits hung off it... from back in the day when both were still independent companies....)
Condition of commuter: sorry ass.

The Ride: first six miles is north towards the bay - that is to say slightly downhill. Kept it on the big ring and managed to make it to the halfway point (a public park at the bike path trailhead) without needing a break. The second half is a bike path heading east which leads to the parking lot of my office complex. The morning sun is a bit of a glare, but it's a sweet ride. 1:20 . This is taking longer than I expected.

The ride home was a nightmare. Sit bones are a bit tender, and the afternoon winds have picked up. Now I have a steady headwind for the first half of the trip, not much chance to catch a breather by coasting along. Make it to the park, dismount, and wait for Inspiration to find me. The back half of this ride is all uphill. Not big uphill, just slightly, but a long thin grind. And this tubby bast@rd has to push the pedals to make it happen. 1:30 for the trip home.

Reflections: There are a couple of new ped/bike bridges over the highways that make the trip much safer. Much appreciated. I'd like to get to the point where I'm riding 3X / week... maybe M,W,F... The combination of a heavy rider and hardtail mountain bike is not especially conducive to a gentle ride. Much like post from bkwentz (#683) I too put a B17, some M520's and some SPD mountain bikle shoes on the old steed. Made the ride much more enjoyable.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Depends what you like, but probably SoCal. Near-"perfect" (again, some might not agree) weather, and they sit in their damn cars all day.