Gorgeous day here... 72F and sunny.

Rode home late and was attacked by a pack of dogs which has been pretty typical... I usually meet a group of really nice folks every evening who are out with their dogs and they like the guy on the bike so I usually stop to say hi and so I can get mauled.

There is this little poodle x named Jupiter that I have been seeing since he was too small to walk through tall grass and he is a gem of a dog... will have to get some pictures.

Beautiful ride in this morning. 48F/9C, mostly cloudy, and a bit windy. Sky was clearer when I got to work than it was when I left home. Gorgeous sunrise on display as I pulled into the parking lot.

Our first taste of fall weather in NC today with morning temps in the upper 50s F and a stiff N wind. It felt great, particularly since I had a tailwind much of the way. Wore my knickers, arm warmers, vest and long gloves for the first time in months. We had about 3" of rain last night when the cold front came through and all of the roads were washed clean.

Short! 1.8 miles from new house we moved into yesterday. I wore my work clothes and tried not to go fast. Took about 8 minutes and I got hot. Temp around 48F/9C. So much for summer.

Fall has arrived in VA as well, at least for a day. Temps were in the mid-40's on the way in this morning. Broke out some lightweight tights, full-fingered gloves, and a windbreaker for the occasion. Between bike commuting and workouts at the gym this week, I was pretty tired this morning, so didn't make great time getting to the office. Ride home this afternoon promises to be in perfect conditions, sunny and 65. Looking forward to the commute home and the weekend.

As a commuting rookie, I'm still getting used to cold mornings. I don't want to drop a lot of money into clothing for my 25 min (7.25 miles) commute. This morning it was about 45°F with light NW wind. I really need full-finger gloves that aren't super padded for mountain/cross riding and aren't super insulated for winter. I do fine with a good baselayer and an Under Armour or Nike performance long-sleeve shirt or pullover with shorts.

Consider getting some rag wool gloves to go over your regular gloves. My pair are hi-viz orange, have little rubber dots that aid in gription and go well up my wrist. The only drawback with this particular pair is that they were designed for hunting and have exposed trigger fingers and thumbs. If I rode all winter long I would get a different pair.

P.S. I bought these at a gas station for less than 10 bucks.

Hello Autumn! 47 when I rolled out, all was good except for my fingertips. Shoulda had full gloves on.

Whoo that was a chilly one! There was a thin layer of ice on my car this morning, happily not on the bike or any that I noticed on the road.

Several close passes today which is highly unusual for my route. Nothing dangerously close though.

Cheers!
Scott

45F, ominous clouds

Got buzzed at the end of a mile-long straightaway and then the guy had to slam on the brakes to not crush his front end on a new median island.

Cool. Really cool, bordering on cold-probably high 40's in Alexandria. While I thought to wear a long sleeve jersery, I should have put on full finger gloves and a skull cap. I managed to warm up to a comfortable level by the halfway point so, it wasn't too bad. The ride home looks to be terrific, it's about 60F out there right now. I also had a close call this morning. While turning left from Maine avenue to 6th street (in the turn lane, with a green), I mis-judged the speed of an oncoming car. I think the guy was really accelerating as he closed on me much faster than I thought he should have, even given some degree of error in the dark conditions. I guess I was already in the midst of this cross-traffic turn and felt comitted so, I stepped on it. Luckily, I had just geared down a little, allowing a little more acceleration, and got out of the way. He didn't slow, swerve, honk, flash his lights....anything. I was kinda pissed and might have confronted him if given the opportunity. I rode the rest of the way in a little shaken, it was too close (and, too fast) for comfort. I should have just stopped and yielded to him. Luckily nothing happened. Lesson learned.

Man it was windy today, a 40 gusting to 50km/h headwind. I rode in the drops almost the entire way and could barely get to 20km/h.

There was a strong wind for yesterday's ride home, but it kept swirling around so I couldn't take full advantage of it.

Frost on my neighbour's car this morning here in Sudbury, ON when I left at 6:15 but no car or road ice issues (at least none seen or felt). Checked the weather site this morning and apparently it was -2C (29F) when I left but I was properly dressed, same outer clothes as yesterday but felt less overheated because the temp was less this morning. Got tingly toes by the end of the ride like yesterday but I haven't got any shoe or toe covers yet: thinking of fabricating some for much less than the cost of buying and shipping.

Took a longer route today (home->work shortest route is 4.5km, I take roundabout routes for the exercise that bring it from 14 to 17km although today may be closer to 19km, haven't yet checked my cyclocomputer).

Seems that this cold front that rolled thru the NE and Midatlantic brought out the cool-weather gear. I worked real late last night so I putzed around the house this AM until it hit about 55F at 9:30 when I left. Roads were clear, made good time and enjoyed the brisk clean air and dazzling sunlight. Autumn is on it's way!

I got passed by two log trucks (empty) this morning on my gravel stretch; second day this week that I've seen them. Bleah, dust. I guess after the rains start up again I won't have to worry about dust.

It was 50 F. when I left the house, so I still am not using my long sleeve athletic shirts yet, just short sleeve, shorts, and fingerless gloves. It's been in the low 50s almost all so-called summer.

Another autumn fan here in DC. Had to scramble around to find the knickers this morning. I also had the cool-finger syndrome. Just a matter of getting used to it, though. Once we get to 40's and low 50's on a regular basis it'll be OK.

Today was also the second day riding my "new" build. I have been riding a LeMond Poprad for the past few years. Noticed a little rust spot on one of the seat stays (near the chain), and when the right brake/shift lever finally gave up the ghost, I decided to just build up the frame I've had sitting for a good while now. So now I'm riding a '07 Ridley Supercross. MAN, is it a sweet ride! Components are Dura Ace 9 speed shifting, gearing (11-23) and hubs, and first-generation XTR cantis and crankset (with Spec TA compact double rings). Yee hah!

Oh yeah, it's been a while since I've posted here, so "Howdy" to those few that might remember me. Hope all are doing well...

I rode to work all five days this week. Monday and Tuesday afternoons were both over 100 degrees. Tuesday afternoon was 107 degrees. That's the hottest that's ever been recorded here this late in the year. Tuesday was the 70th day of 100+ degree temperatures here, also a record.

Cloud cover on Wednesday kept the temperature under 100, and a front on Thursday cooled it into the 80's. Hopefully, we've seen the last of 100 degrees here this year.

2011 days ridden to work: 157
2011 commuting mileage: 3835.2

[First time posting on this thread]


Folding Bike by sudoshift, on Flickr

Still relatively new to commuting. But today on the route through Fashion Valley it was packed with cars. I guess I should have waited in line with the cars instead of filtering on the shoulder. Where at one point I got stuck since someone was too close to the right for me to pass. Tsk tsk! Live and learn, best without injury. Once I passed all the madness. A roadie came up besides me on a light and we chatted about the crazy traffic.

Good ride.

[First time posting on this thread]


Folding Bike by sudoshift, on Flickr

Still relatively new to commuting. But today on the route through Fashion Valley it was packed with cars. I guess I should have waited in line with the cars instead of filtering on the shoulder. Where at one point I got stuck since someone was too close to the right for me to pass. Tsk tsk! Live and learn, best without injury. Once I passed all the madness. A roadie came up besides me on a light and we chatted about the crazy traffic.

Good ride.

Much warmer this morning than last week. 66F/19C, coudy, not much wind to speak of. Looks like it'll probably be raining on the ride home.

The ride in went relatively smoothly except for one of the stoplights, which is suppose to detect cyclists and normally does, didn't detect my presence this morning, so eventually I ran it.

Welcome sudoshift.

Had to drive today. First time since early August. I did not like it.

Welcome sudoshift! Sorry to say that traffic is a way of life for many of us.

I ride quite early in the morning to avoid as much of it as I can (and ride twice to three times the actual length of my commute in the AM because of it). But even then it can be an adventure. This morning, a semi-comtose, tunnel-visioned cage pilot was approaching an intersection from my right. I had the green, and was proceeding through. The driver should have stopped and waited for ANY traffic to pass through (as they had a red signal), but this one just kept coming and proceeded with his/her turn.

The driver would have blasted right into me, but finally realized I was there when I was directly in his/her headlight (and about two feet from the bumper!). I had been watching, and was easing gradually over to the left (towards the middle of the lane and away), so I was not about to get hit. Seeing me suddenly in his/her headlight brought an abrupt stop to the vehicle. I couldn't help but throw a, "WHAT THE F*** IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!," over my shoulder. Bear in mind that I am lit up like a Christmas tree, and wearing hi viz gear.

The driver was pretty shaken, I guess (with good reason), as I could see in my mirror that the car didn't follow for a good minute or so (and then very slowly when it did). Not enough coffee, or still fuzzy from a football party yesterday or something, I imagine.

I guess I am stubborn when it comes to my right of way (though not generally to the point of being suicidal), but I'm damned if I am going to stop just because a car is coming. Shoot, if I did that I would never ride!

Other than that, a delightful ride this morning. Temp around 58F/14.5C with minimal breeze. Very comfortable in shorts and a sleeveless, blazing yellow Alert Shirt.

The unseasonably cool weather continues in NC, and I had a nice morning commute with temps about 60 F. The forecasters are calling for iffy weather all week with a 30-50% chance of rain every day, so I'll be carrying my lightweight rain jacket in my seatbag. Bought it last May and have only had to use it twice so far, so maybe it will finally get some use.

The guys I ride with in the weekend are already starting to wimp out due to cooler temps, and only 1-2 other people have showed up for group rides the past two weekends. For me, the weather is just starting to get nice because I hate extreme heat. One thing about commuting, it will toughen you up for riding in just about any conditions. I am amazed at how many cyclists won't ride unless weather conditions are perfect, which rarely ever happens, so they don't ride very much.

My ride in this morning was fine, nothing out of the ordinary. What I'm more excited about is the fact that my wife is getting back on the bike after a long absence. She's ridden to work for nearly 15 years but hasn't ridden since the early Spring. This was due to two factors: 1) the incredibly hot summer we had and, 2) the fact that I screwed up her bike trying to remove a seized bottom bracket. Well, problem solved; I picked up an old Fuji mtb on Craigslist and spent the weekend getting it ready for her. I cleaned and tuned it, swapped the knobbies for road tires, the saddle with her old one, new handlebars, and new clipless pedals. I also installed new brake levers, brake cables/housings as well as new Oury grips. I removed surface rust from all of the chromed surfaces as well as the stem/wedge, adjusted the headset and re-greased everything. I moved her bottle cages to the new bike and did a minor rust-proofing of the frame. I had her do a couple of shakedown rides last night and finished up by adding a rear blinkie-I will put my NitRider 10W. halogen headlight on for her tonight. Next will be updated shifters/cables/housings (6 spd) and, possibly, a paint job (lots of nicks and scratches). I'm a little anxious and am waiting for her to call let me know that she got in ok. Anytime I do major service to her bike I'm eager to make sure everything's ok-I really don't want her to have a breakdown on her 11 mile commute. I'm really excited that she'll be a able to salvage the last month and a half to two months of her riding season and, to get her on a vintage, steel-framed mtb. Her old bike was a size too small with mediocre components, this will make a great commuter, loaded tourer, etc, that will last a long time.

A pleasant 43F/6C. A city front loader (tractor thing) pulled out behind me and apparently my cruise speed was more or less its maximum speed. I didn't care for this loud thing following me so I slowed up to let it pass, then drafted it. Eventually I slowed down and let it go though.

One drawback of my new commute is it's too short to wake me up.