We're having beautiful weather in the Carolinas -- mild temperatures and relatively low humidity for a change. I breezed into work yesterday with a nice tailwind most of the way, but had to fight that wind on the way home. Still made decent time though. My new Magicshine LED headlight arrived yesterday and it is really bright. I moved my old Fenix flashlight to my helmet, so I've got double lighting. If somebody doesn't see me now, they're blind.

Passed an old geecher riding a Segway down a sidewalk on my way to work this morning. That was a first. I guess if you can't walk it's a way to get some fresh air, but he looked like he could have used some exercise.

Well, for the first time in a month I rode in. Boy did that feel good. My headlight wouldn't work even tho I charged the battery last night, so I had to wait until it was light enough to see safely (I won't ninja in). I'll have to check the cable from the battery to the head unit with a multitester for continuity - I suspect a broken conductor.

Nice ride this AM, bit of a headwind but not too bad. Had a friend drive past, offered a wave which made my morning...
This afternoon, I get to do my most death-defying ride... down the shoulder of a major roadway for about 3 miles, then stand in the left turn lane hoping no one hits me before I can turn left en route to pick up my farm share...

Chided a driver to put away his Blackberry, keep two eyes on the road, and wait till he got to the office to check his messages. His reply to me was not something I can post on BF without tripping the censorbot.

Was a little chilly this am and only had my youngest daughter with me as her sister is home sick today... it was a really nice ride / chat.

This afternoon will be nicer as the temperature is climbing fast.

nice temps on the way in-- but a little humid! saw three commuters... good ride.

I am so tempted to do the same numerous times a day. It is illegal to text and/or talk on a hand-held cell phone in Utah, so I know I can stand up to any resistance.
Texters/cellphone jabbers are a huge risk to those of us on bicycles.

Unfortunately, your experience seems pretty typical - the beligerant driver who is to proud to admit fault or accountability.

nice and brisk 51F (11C). I left the house at my preferred time (6:30 AM) rather than what had become my new norm (7:00-7:15) and relished the quiet almost-darkness, devoid of excessive traffic.

My planet bike "beamer" front 3-LED is best kept as a blinkie, but I've gotta do something for the encroaching darkness until I can afford to replace my niterider battery (or purchase a new technology light for the same money), which will be on the 15th............

Joined the "I bike 2 Work" organization last June. I stated biking with my new Trek Navigator 3.0 in the beginning of that month. They first sent me a T shirt than a couple of weeks later I was sent a certificate for a $100 bike tune up at the local quality bike shop.

I bike about 15 miles round trip to work every day it doesn't rain. I have since obtain a new Trek 7.5 FX to do this commute and use the Navigator on weekends on the local bike path.

Woo......woo! We've just had three days in a row of nice weather! Cool in the morning and sunny and warm in the afternoon. Fall is on the way. I don't know if it's just here or everywhere but sunrise seems later than sunset, so to speak. In other words, in the morning it gets light later, but the afternoon sun seems to last. When I'm going home from work at 5:30 PM, the sun is still pretty high above the horizon. Yes, I know that's what daylight savings time is all about, but on the other hand, shouldn't it be about equalizing morning and afternoon daylight. Oh well, the weather we're having is pretty nice!

So, you probably realize the commute was pretty good. I have a nice route into work. A friend found a nice route that gets you away from the main roads and traffic and you're mostly in suburban neighborhoods with a couple of dead end cut-throughs. It's nice to pedal along and pick out the different smells, like a backyard bar-b-que grill, a fresh mowed lawn. Oh yes, there's the smell of hot car exhaust and diesel trucks, too.

You know, you can even say hello to others as you pass them walking, running. At the moment, bike commuting is a great way to unwind from work!

I'm still on my MTB while I wait for my new set of road wheels from bicyclewheelwarehouse. I just can't wait to get back down in the traps. With the kids back at the school where I work, there was a great influx of people, bikes and scooters. When classes change there's quite a traffic jam. I miss the quiet campus of summer, but not the weather.

I took the bus :/ it was hammering down rain and I was exhausted from night class.

A long, long day. And a good one. I left the house when it was dark at 6:30 am to go to a breakfast meeting at a local eatery, 11 miles from home. After breakfast, a mid-morning ride to the office, another 6 miles, mostly along the river trail.* I left work around 5:30 pm and picked up dinner at Whataburger, five miles down the road. Then... I went another couple miles to a men's Bible study class at my church. Finally, three more miles and I was home at about 8:30 pm, a total of 27 miles for the day.

Who needs a car anyway?


*On the river trail, I spied a first: It was being patrolled by a bicycle cop.

Late post.
After work, instead of going South towards the house, I pointed myself North for a long ride. I cut through the neighborhoods, cut through downtown and rode up Katy Trail. It's a roomy bike and running trail here in Dallas. I ride up and down the trail twice in order to complete my 20 miles after work most days.
Today on the way back down the trail, I pass a cop on a bike. He hammers to keep up, I turn to look and he was smiling. I realize he carries heavy equipment and that bullet proof vest 'cause he's always switching gears.
At the foot of the trail, I signal that I was turning but when I turned, he was already flying back up the trail. Now I hammered to keep up. Turns out he had recieved a call to an emergency. A bicyclist was crossing Knox using the crosswalk (the trail continues on the other side of Knox and you have to cross Knox to continue) and a cager hits him. The medics were bandaging him up while he and the driver were argueing about who was at fault.
Not much else to see and my newfound riding buddy was busy so I rode home.
Ernest

Put in a really long day and logged another 40 km... the mounting tab on my 20's fender broke so I spent quite a few of those km listening to an ungodly rattle but managed to repair it tonight and also fitted some new Marathons to the bike.

Now the bike is back to being it's solid and quiet running self and with the new tyres got a little smoother,faster, and safer.

Those scotchlite bands on the tyres have to be one of their best features as they glow both day and night and I can really notice how drivers respond more quickly because of the higher visibility they offer.

It was a nice ride in around 60 F (15 C). It was raining while I was drinking my tea, but by the time I
got ready and hit the road, it had stopped, so no rain coming in. They have been predicting it all week, but so far it has not happened during my rides. Yesterday morning I spooked 4 does in the dark. They
ran parralell with me for a distance, then I noticed one was edging toward me, so I slowed down, since
I was on a down hill. It crossed in front of me, but the 3 others kept going, so I slowed down some more and all three crossed in front. One of the bennies of riding to work on a bicycle.

Yet Another Beautiful Morning. It's almost making up for summer's soggy beginning. Low 50s. No wind.

Two guys on road bikes entered the MUP ahead of me, and were riding together for a while. I was behind them. Then one guy accelerated. Eventually I passed the slower one to reel in the faster guy. Faster guy spooled up, making me do 25MPH briefly to reel him in. He left the MUP shortly after I caught him. He gave me The Look as he was turning off.

We've had north winds all week in NC. That has made for cooler than usual weather and fast morning commutes with a tailwind. Afternoons have been more difficult as I'm fighting a headwind, but at least the temperatures are mild.

I took the scenic way home yesterday and this morning I took the route with the tough climb, good stuff.
It was a bit cooler this morning so I wore a light sweater. I am going to look around for some decent merino sweaters soon.

This morning's ride was really humid. It was in the high 70s F and the humidity must have been around 85%. Still, a nice ride into work.

Fast (relatively despite a rather stiff headwind) and uneventful... got to (carefully) ride through a road repaving project that should improve the quality of my commute immensely as this particular road has been in bad shape for several years... hopefully repaving will be complete by the time I ride home...

Yesterday's ride home was a good workout. I took the 'safer' but harder route to the East side of the valley, involving a gradual grade that builds and steepens over 1/2 mile to an 18% kicker for perhaps 100 vertical feet, followed by a 10%-12% steady grade for another 1/2 mile, along the southern border of the University of Utah.
This particular route allows me to cross a particularly busy 2-way street (1300 East for those who know the Salt Lake Valley) at a light, rather than playing 'frogger' further south. The traffic on this road has become unbearable in the evening rush hour since school started.
I rode the entire West to East cruise and hillclimb with a fellow commuter that I've encountered a number of times. The conversation was very pleasant until the 18% kicker made conversation --ummm-- difficult.

The ride in this morning was uneventful and pleasant, once I pulled myself out of the groggy morning bleary-eyed state.

I enjoyed the fact that the sun was out and there was no rain threatening, as there had been the last two mornings. It was also cooler this morning than other mornings this week, too, which was also nice, but the wind definitely picked up today and it was a little more of a right-in-my-face headwind than a gentle crosswind.

Earlier in the week I felt really good and the legs were feeling strong. I could summon up a sub-30 minute commute at will, either direction. This AM, though, kinda kicked my butt. Between being tired from the work week and the wind blowing right in my face, I definitely had to do some more work and in a lower gear to move along. Guess getting the legs tired is a good thing - means they're getting a good workout, but sometimes I just want to have a smooth, easy ride in to work and push harder if I want to, not because I have to. I guess I already had two of those this week, so this is payback (and prep for the winter when the wind will be blowing more than now).

Today is going to be a very long day so I reminded myself to have the light charged for the trip home. The ride itself this morning wasn't particularly exciting. Which is just as well, I suppose.

Back to school, ride w/ the 8 yr old to before-school then turn around and off to the office. No 4 yr old duty today and it is nice so rode fixed. Only 3 bike days this week so make the most of them.

Great commute... got to break in some new Marathons on my folder and have to say what was already a great ride got much better.