doohickie-I'd report her, too. I had my first really nasty experience with a yelling motorist last week. As he buzzed me, engine gunned, he yelled out, "Get the f___ off the road!" So I made note of the car's make, model and license plate number and submitted an aggressive driving complaint on the website of my city's police department. (I hope they actually take note of what's submitted there... I haven't even gotten a bot response, so next time I think I'll call.)

As for my commute today, pleasantly cool very enjoyable. About ten minutes from work near the end of the stretch of MUP I ride on, I spotted some money lying around on the path. No one around, so I guess it had just been dropped by somebody. Only a couple dollars, but hey, can't complain about free money laying around. They say money doesn't grow on trees, but the $ was under a tree... makes you wonder! LOL

Supposed to hit the mid/high 80s today, but starting in the 40s. Definitely equinoxy weather so far. Really need new brake pads to pull the 4 yr old in the trailer in the weather to come. Uneventful ride as far as I can remember, otherwise.

Rode the new bike in. Bit slower than usual as I'm still getting used to clipless pedals. Rides like a dream though :). Getting colder in the morning, so I wore waterproof pants with sweats underneath. Big mistake, need some decent cycling tights. Felt like I was being steamed alive.

Had a 0 mph fall today. I hate those.

Friday I rode the new CX bike and on the way home I decided to pull off the paved trail along the river. Within 20 seconds, I had three goat head thorns in the front tire. Sheesh.

This morning I rode the road racer, hoping to do some intervals on the way home. Hopefully no flats today.

one of those Monday kinda days. Really cold (3C), didn't sleep well. Caught a nail downtown that tore my tire so badly I had to hop the train. Got stuck next to smelly, drunk homeless guy muttering about Jesus. Day can only get better from there...

has been ideal commuting weather last couple weeks, this morning included.

Tempted fate and embarked in the pouring rain this morning. Ten minutes later I got a flat, my first in months! Ride home is looking a lot better.

[QUOTE=canyoneagle;9713611]doohickie - I'd report the driver for aggressive driving.

I thought about it, but I think the more likely way to change her behavior would be to leave a note on her car, claiming that I've reported her. :D

The ride home was interesting. Strong thunderstorms are blowing into the area. I decided to take a direct route which included climbing a steep hill. The storm was coming up behind me, sucking all the air into it's low pressure trough, creating a stiff headwind. Being (just barely) a Clyde, pedaling hard uphill, and even a little harder with the wind in my face... POP! I busted a spoke on the rear wheel. I had to ride the rest of the way home like that, about 5 miles, with the tire rubbing the fender.

I've been home a little while now, and the storm still hasn't gotten here, so I guess I didn't need to be in such a hurry, but even at that, I was surprised at how quickly the clouds overtook me.

It was one of those bike commuting weeks that started not with a bang but more of a thud. I was so excited I was finally going to get to ride my road bike into work. It had been sidelined due to a wheel malfunction and I've been riding in my MTB, knobbies and all, to work.

In the ensuing weeks I'd made plans to switch from MTB pedals to real roadie pedals and upgrade my shoes to SPD-SL. So with a new wheel set and pedals 'n shoes I started off on one epic morning commute. The problem was this was my first experience with road shoes. (I'd tried a few test clip-ins and outs the day before and I thought I was ready).

Well I had to get the bike just outside the gate where I park before riding, a distance of about 50 feet, so I decided to put one foot on the pedal and coast along till I got past the gate (I usually do this in the MTB shoes with MTB clips). I coasted about 5 feet when my foot slipped off the road pedal and the next thing I notice the bike is taking me down to the pavement and I thought I'd just go with it and not fight it.

I landed on the wallet in my left rear pants pocket and oh how it hurt my butt. So much for the epic ride in. Luckily, this was about 6:45 in the morning and still pretty dark so no one witnessed my moment of clumsiness.

I decided I'd better take it real slow today; I'm not setting any land speed records today. After riding in on the MTB for 3 weeks, switching to the road bike was an eye-opener. Add in the over-stuffed single pannier on one side and we're talking one unstable set of wheels.

I'm going to switch back to a backpack now it's a little cooler in the mornings and look at adding another pannier to even things out. At least I've "broken in" the shoes and pedals!

The ride home was better; for now I just got to take it slow and easy.

rainy morning. seat post bolt failure about 1km into the ride. could have been a lot worse but still a drag. decided to tough it out and do the commute standing. ouch...screaming quads and sore knees but a very fast time! for me at least.

As you all know, I only commute 1.4 miles or so. Let's see. Left 10 minutes later than I wanted to. Front brakes are rubbing and make an annoying hissing/rubbing/sireny sound. Bike computer not working. Rotated it but nada (it's prob. a simple adjustment). Went over a bump only to find my pannier wasn't locked on and down it went. Only the water bottle rolled out and only one student who was walking to where I teach saw :) I think it must have been locked on but I road down Western just south of Hollywood and that street is a freaking danger zone of bumps and holes, perhaps it swiveled loose. I swear I'm shocked tires withstand city streets at all.

Tuesday is the fall equinox, which I find slightly depressing because it means there are still three more months of shortening daylight. It signals that the days of enjoying my commute are numbered, until spring.

I start studying the sunset times closely about now, trying to see how far into October I can make it before complete darkness descends on my entire ride. Looks like I'll make it at least into the third week. I work until about 6.

I've got lights and plenty of reflectors but I just don't enjoy riding at night on a regular basis, particularly since my route has changed recently and the last mile or so is a bit of a nail biter. Cold doesn't bother me much but pitch darkness combined with speeding traffic does.

It's been a great season. Rained a lot in Colorado this year but I managed to dodge most of it (until today, see earlier post). It was never very hot. I managed to get another 1,700 miles out of my 25-year-old Nishiki International, which I plan to retire as soon as I find a replacement. The thing is indestructible, though I had to replace the front wheel and rear axle this summer.

Looking forward to a few more weeks in the saddle.

Nice weather this morning, about +13C and clear. My commute takes me by the Nokia Corp global headquarters, and every now and then there's a horde of tourists taking pictures of the building. The best shot can be obtained by standing in the middle of the MUP passing the building.

It must be the season, as I've now seen two big Japanese groups there within a week. The first one barely missed me, their bus had just arrived and they had not yet crowded the MUP. The group today was better prepared, there were 2 busloads of them and the path was totally blocked. All the bell ringing and shouting ("OY!" from a distance, "EXCUSE ME!" closer up) did me no good, I came to a screeching halt right before crashing into a forest of Nikon optics pointed upwards.

Once they got a hang of what's going on, I had an impressive pathway instantly, with nearly military precision. Were they my fellow countrymen, they would have loitered every which way, adding to the chaos, but not this lot. Nods, sorries and thankyous were exchanged as I rode through the crowd, all in good spirit.

Still, the idea behind this particular tourist attraction is beyond me. It seems to be mostly the Japanese who include it in their itinerary. Weird.

--J

Back to warmer temps today, 58 F, ( 14 C), although, I am missing the 70 F ( 21 C) mornings. I believe in total, there were 7 mornings this year with that temp at 5am. It is a wonderful morning temp
for riding, even if the day is hot. Alas, now it is a just a memory, but I am thankful for the 58 F.

Very light rain all the way in. Not enough to soak through. I didn't bother with rain gear because it's near 60F and I would have been too hot.

I saw a thin tire stripe on the dry areas of the MUP, so I knew I was behind a road bike. Took me about 4 miles to catch sight of him, and another mile or so to catch up. Passed two other cyclists in the process. I was moving at a pretty good clip considering I had a headwind.

humidity went up today, still a nice 60 degree short sleeve commute though.

my company is moving, too far for me to commute on bicycle, I'm bummed. I am probably going to move to that city because I'm really liking the single speed commute thing.

Nice ride in. Turned up the wattage some on the ride home yesterday, but mornings I prefer to take more gently. Rabbits out in force, so got a few heart palpitations on the ride :) Dumb bunnies!

here's to staying hydrated on the 105 degree return trip today.

Nice, cool 42 degrees (5-6C) at the house this morning. Not quite cool enough to don the polar fleece headband and full-finger windstopper gloves, but I wore long running pants (need to replace my old, worn out tights soon), which were welcome - until I warmed up and hit the valley floor.

Had to jam on the brakes to avoid a possible collision with an idiot driver who was crossing the road I was on. He/She had a stop sign (road intersecter on my left as I rode straght), I did not. He/She stopped at the sign as I was within 30 feet of the intersection, cruising at about 21-22 MPH. As I entered the intersection, the car accelerated as if to cross the road, then jammed on the brakes (as did I). As I crossed in front of the car, I held out my hand in a "STOP!" motion at the glaring headlights 10 feet to my left.
Even with the super bright headlight and the blinkie up front, we cyclists can still be overlooked by bleary-eyed drivers in the dark morning hours.

Other than that, it was a great ride in.

I occasionally encounter one of my co-workers as I pass by the downtown transit hub, as he is crossing the street from the "Front Runner" commuter train to his "commuter" car - which he uses to travel the last 1.7 miles to the office. He parks right next to where I park my bicycle, and we typically arrive at about the same time when our paths converge at the transit hub.
This morning was no exception, but he made a comment about it, which I found odd. He said "see? I get here as fast as you do" as if to imply the bicycle has no advantage over a car. I laughed it off, but found it humorous and a bit strange that someone would percieve things that way.
He's not a very fit individual, so I suspect there might be some latent jealosy? Who knows. :rolleyes:

Anyway, my endorphins are on a nice cruise, and my freshly ground coffee is sitting in the french press, ready to be enjoyed. Have a good day!

Dude..... it's SEPTEMBER! 105 degrees? :twitchy:

My oldest daughter became a real commuter today... we were about to leave and found her bike had a flat tyre so had to bus it.

Her new Marathons go on today.

Quiet and uneventful ride in this morning, except for a squeaky chain. Woke up to a flat, though. It was a little thing, not the scrap metal that ripped through the tire yesterday morning. If bad luck comes in threes I've still got another one coming. Somewhere in the 40s and dry this morning. Snow on the foothills.

I thought we were having a hot September... it is supposed to hit the high eighties today which is well above our seasonal average.

Didn't. On holidays this week. Riding all week for pleasure and 'training.' Not commutes.

We may be looking at snow in Denver area tomorrow. Ay carramba!

Yep. Our summer was three months late too. Going to be nearly 100F here today.

Did a little school commute recon this morning. My daughter keeps asking when we can take the trail-a-bike to school. Although her school is less than 2 miles away, it requires going over a two-lane overpass (2 lanes, 35mph limit, no bikelane). I was looking at Google maps trying to see if I could take a shortcut involving a dirt path, but there turned out to be a fence blocking access.

My chain went KABOOM on me as I was on the power stroke climbing a steep bridge.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=587383

:backpedal: :cry:

Beautiful warm morning about 68F.
Might be mid 90s this afternoon though.
The light is changing fast though. Happy autumn all!

brisk am, expected to be in the 80s pm. Caught wife/daughter after dropping son at his school. Will bring daughter home.