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.

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?

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.

https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/587383-doh-bike-rode-me-today.html

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.

Today my girlfriend showed up at my back gate at 6:30 and rode in with me, just for the fun of it. She had a superlight titanium tri-bike while I was chugging along on my cro-moly touring bike, with fully loaded panniers (laptop, cell phone, business clothes, towel, soap). When we crossed Tampa Bay on the Gandy bridge, we had a headwind, so I asked her to pull. She kept it over 21 MPH all the way across. It was all I could do to stay on her wheel. When we arrived at my office, she gave me a kiss and headed back. She's a keeper!

Your girlfriend sounds like a badass! (I mean that in the best way).

Did anyone notice an increase in riders this morning (9/22) for World Car-Free Day. I think I saw about twice as many as usual, but not as many as on May's Bike-to-work Day.

yeah, hot here today. The good thing about being in the desert is the lack of humidity. This AM ride was nice and cool (not a fan of the dark but oh well). No wind, wore shorts and shirt with yellow vest that made me a little too hot. Unzipped it and let my "cape" fly.

Ride home will be different for sure due to heat. I can't wait for the rear rack to arrive and I'll be done with this messenger bag.

darn delightful. about 90 degrees, low humidity, nice leisurely ride in. 4-5 other riders out and about.