The one day I leave my backpack with all my rain-gear behind, I don't even recall why I left the house without it, and it starts pouring when it's time for me to leave work. Oh well, the rain felt very cool and allowed me to get a good 24-28 mph speed going on the road without feeling like I'm going to overheat.

Another warm wonderful morning, 70 F ( 21 C). I have managed to miss the thunder and rainstorms
all week. We'll see if that luck holds out. My rides home have been in temps in the low 90s F ( low 30s C),
and and it is great. In the middle of winter, I try so hard to remember the feeling, but it's not the same.

Dark as usual and already hot. I rode the Dawes SST and flew in to work. Nothing to report.
Ernest

60F, but still humid, though not as oppressive as in recent days. My bar-end mirror was a bit loose so I stopped to tighten it up. As I was finishing, the same roadie guy I reeled in on Monday went by and we exchanged hellos. I re-mounted and reeled him in again, but not too close. 20MPH most of the way in. We passed a few other cyclists. Then he went a different way and showed up at the office building next to mine about 5 minutes after me. I think he does a certain nasty hill climb for fun.

Fun ride this morning, lots of construction happening.
It was much cooler this morning which was refreshing and I definitely wanted to just keep on riding right past the office.

Commute home last night was a mixed bag. Huge storms between 5 and 6:30 p.m. emptied out the bike path area fronting Chicago's lake front-- so it was nice to ride with very few people around (for a change)-- despite the still falling rain and wet conditions I was able to keep up a pretty good pace because there was no one out.

However, I got a flat tire about halfway home-- not fun (paritcularly messy) to replace a tube in the rain, as it got darker, etc. Got it done. Still got home in about an hour.

Beat the rainstorm twice yesterday (going and coming). Today, I was cold on the way in... the sun is no longer up before I leave the house.

Interesting ride in today.

1) My buddy and I encountered a woman who was just strolling down the middle of the ARBT. Yes, I know it's technically a MUP, but at 7:40 am it's effectively a bike highway with hundreds of bike commuters. As well as many runners and walkers who use the crushed granite path on the edge of the paved section. Anyway, my buddy asked her if she knew how discourteous and dangerous she was by walking right on the centerline; she answered that she was wearing sandals and didn't like getting pebbles under her foot.

We had no answer for that other than WTF, so we just had to mount up and leave.

2) Arrived at the parking structure to find that the signage company hired by the city blocked the bike racks by parking their scissor lifts there. I noticed that they left the invoices for the lift lease sitting on the lift platform, so I pulled out my cell and called the company directly:

[business voice] Hi, I'm calling from the city parking structure at 10th and L. Your crew has blocked the bike racks with two scissor lifts. The morning commute is coming in now so I'd like you to have someone move them immediately. [/business voice]

"Oh, okay. Sure. I'll have someone get on that right now."

I'm going to walk back down now and see if they did.

Left the house about an hour later than normal this morning, and the sun was over the mountains and shining at my house. It was nice, especially with the dark mornings approaching rapidly.

As could be expected, more folks were out and about as I rode in.

Nice ride, sunny and warm (60F). One my son's campmates passed us on the road and was apparently excited to see him biking.

I have to say today was not a fun day.

It started with the usual dumb people in the sidewalk, no one looking while turning, no one stopping until the last second, texting, cell phones... every intersection I swear. This was a little over a 16 mile day, so lots and lots of idiots. I just kept telling myself, this can't be that bad, there can't be that many bad things, it will get better... it did not. It all sucked, two cars cut me off right after another within a few feet of me, a guy almost hit me with a rake, another idiot was driving on the sidewalk and I had to take a hill and ditch so I wouldn't get run over... and the list goes on. WTF!?

I can't wait to move!

This is why I avoid the sidewalk unless it's my onlyconnection - and I am fully prepared for turning vehicles, lawn maintenance workers, pedestrians and the like. Do you ride mainly the sidewalk the whole way?

no, my commute starts out with a long stretch of highway and then when I hit the heavy traffic area with no shoulder. When in the middle of town traffic can get scary and I take the sidewalk.

I would be more scared riding the sidewalk.

I rode my classic bike today because the rain probability was lower than it's been in a while, and I wanted to check out some new tires on it. Now that it's almost time to head home, there are thunderstorms popping up all over the place. The bike has no fenders and it's nice and clean. ... I knew I should have taken the touring bike with fenders.

Could ya send some of those t-storms out West? Thanks!

But SLC storms have awesome light shows to go with them! I'm originally from the valley, and have never lived anywhere with storms as good as there. Here it just rains a lot when they come.

Some guy with a cervelo whipped past me on my commute home last night. Of course it was strapped to the back of his van at the time.

Incredible tailwind this morning. My cruising speed never dropped much below 40km/hr.

Ugh. It's back! The humidity. 80 degrees & 80 percent this morning. Saw a couple of riders going the other way. Didn't see anyone going my way. Maybe someone far behind me but I never saw it long enough to know for sure. I was moving right along into a 15MPH headwind.

I had a traffic conflict with an oncoming cyclist and a patch of mud on my side. I could slow way down, let the cyclist pass, then go around the mud (this is on a MUP), or I could keep up speed and blast through the mud. I ride a mountain bike. Guess which way I went? I smirked as I went through the mud, and the woman on the bicycle smiled at me. Guess it looked like I was having fun.

an absolutely beautiful day.

Ride from hell today. Rolling down the best hill of the commute at about 30mph and take a bee in the right eye. I'm trying to get stopped through the pain... and make it. Get him out from behind my glasses and recover a bit... when I go to take off I realize my rear tire is flat. Grrrr

Shoulda been a Monday

Bee careful, always wear glasses.

Commute #15. Woke up late, did not want to get out of bed. Beautiful day, rode against an 11 mph wind for 12 miles. Tired. School buses are out.

It was grey and misty. Started out riding on grooved pavement, construction season isn't over yet apparently.
My legs feel great today.
I can't wait until my new cog and chain arrive.

I managed to dodge the thunderstorms again yesterday despite widespread showers. It rained very heavily at my office about 3 pm but had cleared by the time I left work. I've been lucky like that all summer, and hopefully my luck will hold again today. I bike commuted every day this week except once, the day I had a doctor's appointment. If I had driven every day the forecasters called for thunderstorms, I wouldn't have ridden once.