I'm so down in the dumps about not being able to commute right now that your well-wishes are much appreciated!

As soon as I find a good fork I'll be much happier. I'm trying to see the positives––now I can find a fork with front eyelets, for instance, and having a non-matching fork will make the bike less attractive to NYC thieves–-but the second day is hard when the road rash is constantly reminding me of my poor bike

Another foggy morning but it wasn't as busy as yesterday. The afternoon ride was great. I left work just half an hour before it started raining.

Had a doc. appt. this AM, so my ride in was later than usual... much later. Ended up riding in around one. The roads and the MUP were all nice and empty, relatively speaking. Warm but dry and windy. Looking forward to the cooler days ahead. Might even be in the 60s for the AM commute.

A week and a half until I start my grad classes. I'll be busy, but as an added bonus, I'll get an extra 10 miles of commuting per week going to class three nights a week!

Mtn bike refresher course was much fun yesterday. A solid 3 hrs on the bike and maybe 30 min off it. Went late but who cares? As I got my Soma out of the garage this morning, noticed a flat. Nice sharp piece of metal had damaged back tube. Got her all fixed up, then couldn't get the tire/tube back on the rim. My hands are fatigued from 3 hours of really, really working the bike last night and I couldn't get a strong enough grip on the tools to put it back on. I had to give up after 20 minutes. After a moment of horror at the thought of getting on the bus I quickly decided it's "back up bike day." Even though the knobbies were still on it was a fun ride in this morning. I'll be going home late this evening, missing rush hour so it'll be a nice ride home too!

Outstanding ride home tonight. My wheels barely touched the ground.

Humidity finally broke. Spectacular day in the 80s, magnificent cumulus, legs going on auto pilot, head in the clouds.

The heatwave broke, temporarily. It was about 65 this morning, with a gorgeous storm front rolling in to the north. Well, gorgeous until the gust front hit as I went over a busy over pass and tried to knock me over. Ahh, Oklahoma winds.

Ride home was much nicer, only 95 out. Still hot as hell, but a great change when you're used to 110!

they closed the road I regularly ride on over a month ago because they are changing one end to accommodate a huge gas station/convenience store. I was riding down it anyway, because they really didn't need to close it. But today they finally got around to the preparations needed for repaving the whole road. Annoying, but hopefully it will all be done soon

Another sunny summer day. I essploded another SRAM master link on the way home today. My fault... I brute-forced an upshift while my brain was making the turbine-engine noise, never a good combo

After fixing the chain, I caught a tailwind boost to my left-turn lane, that was helpful.

Great ride home last night, stopped at the Y and lifted weights with my son. Strange ride in this AM, but still very nice.

A really nice morning at 68 F (20 C). It is the coolest morning in a bit and very good riding temps.

First day back at school (well at least for us teachers) and first day back on the commute. Found out they paved a road over the summer to make you smile... All is all a nice 15 mile one way ride.


I plan to do it a LOT more consistantly this year, maybe three times a week? I would go for more if it were not for some duties and responsibilities that require a vehicle...

We've gotten a slight break from the heat as well in NC, but I'll take anything we can get at this point. After weeks of highs in the upper 90s and low 100s, it's finally "cooled off" to the low to mid-90s. The big thing is the humidity levels are lower, which makes it much more comfortable. Oddly, my speed has been off the past two days despite more favorable weather and a few days of rest -- probably a delayed effect from piling up huge mileage in the heat and humidity the past few weeks.

Woke up late. Glad I packed everything, lubed chain, and checked tire pressure last night. 0% chance of rain, absolutely beautiful morning, 60f at the start, 66f by the end. Using my old wheel while my new one is being built, so the hub spins pretty badly; took 13 minutes longer than my best time using a new wheel. Can't wait until the new one gets here.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/105639633

Good ride in-much better than expected. I'd recently changed my saddle and really dialled in the geometry yesterday. It's a little more forward oriented than my last and I think I'm really capitalizing on quad strength as opposed to hams while still sitting somewhat behind the pedals- (more natural for me). Although I woke up with an upset stomach I hauled @$$. I jumped on the wheel of a roadie who had passed me then, pulled in front and away after he waved me by-at about 20/21 mph. I was able to keep that up, into a slight headwind, until I crossed the bridge and turned south on Maine Ave where I bumped it up to 25 mph, passing another rider. The cooler temps/dry air are a nice change, I'm looking forward to Fall. Also, I put out a small fire on yesterday's ride in. Someone had probably dropped a cigarrette butt in a bunch of hay that was in the gutter and it was smoldering. It smelled great, like a campfire but, I doused it with my water bottle. Today will be my last commute of the week, I'm playing hookie tomorrow, taking the mtb for a spin in the woods.

Beautiful ride with clear skies and cool temperatures. I dug out the fixed gear and rode that to work... in street clothes. I'm like a "fixie kid", only older, fatter, and slower. I also have lights, fenders, brakes, a rear rack and pannier. Okay, I'm nothing like a fixie kid.

It was still a great ride in. I think I'm going back to freewheel though. Fixed does bad things to my knees.

I had the fun project of reeling in another cyclist over the course of several miles this morning. It was pretty routine after that, except for a near-miss right hooking.

Nice ride this morning. Coolish, with a headwind but it wasn't bad. I caught a roadie but it wasn't hard as he was only doing 12-13MPH. I stayed behind him and relaxed for a while but eventually I couldn't take it any more so I passed.

Blonde Trail Hottie was out and actually made eye contact with me today... For about one-tenth of a second. It was kind of funny.

This is in the news today. Paintball justice anyone? These guys are gonna get nailed.
https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/a...g-bike-thieves

Great fun! https://app.strava.com/rides/1194789

Ideal conditions, ~63F and no wind... All my junk was at work so I took the roadie..

Great morning: 64F and no wind, so I took the long way, 38.77 miles on my regular fg commuter.

50F and sunny

Suddenly, we're a one car family. Yesterday this happened to my wife:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

So, my commute yesterday was on foot. A total of something like 5 miles walking to get the baby from day care, walk to the impound yard to get the stroller and carseat, back home, and towards the bus stop to meet the wife on her way home from the ER.

Oddly enough yesterday afternoon's commute in felt cooler than thid morning's but its still way cooler than it had been. Another headwind this AM. Hoping it sticks around to become an evening tailwind.

Finally took the time to diagnose seatpost woes of late. Teeth worn down in one bolt seatpost I've been using. I couldn't get saddle angle adjusted quite right anyway, so I've ordered a nicer, infinitely more adjustable two bolt post with setback by Velo Orange. Very excited about the new post. Next purchase - replacement tires. My Vittoria Randonneurs' tread is worn down from the last 3500 or so miles. Guess once a year tire replacement with only one puncture flat is pretty good. Thinking I might give some Schwalbes a try though...

I love my Schwalbe Marathon plus.

Bolted off for home, but forgot my gloves that were on my rack pack. 5 minutes later I noticed they weren't on my hands and back tracked. Hard to see black gloves on black roadtop, but found them 200 yards apart!