Alarm went off at 4:30am and I starred at the clock for a half an hour. Beautiful morning for a ride - adjusted my saddle a bit last night and I think it helped a bit. Usually the ride takes me 57 minutes, but today I did it in 40, so that was an achievement. Today was the first day I wore glasses (same type of safety glasses I use when I am working on cars) and it made a huge difference with the wind. Also helps to protect from rock kick up and bugs.

Those metal tops are hell when it rains, it feels like you are on ice when crossing them. It is funny - the more and more I ride in the city the more I realize - it really is a horrible city to ride in. Even though we have the bike lanes and such setup - you have man holes in the bike path, huge divots and large unequal pavement they have yet to fix. Amazing. The East River Esplanade is...a...great...place...to...ride?

Taking the Triboro bridge to the East River Esplanade is far better than riding through Long Island City and taking the 59th st bridge, IMO. When construction on the Esplanade reaches 38th street and the Wards Island bridge re-opens I will only have to ride in traffic for little over a mile. The other 7 miles of my ride would be all MUP and bridge. :D

For now the above is a fantasy, but expect me to rant about it more and more when next summer arrives.

This mornings ride was nice for the most part.

Somebody who is obviously far superior to me in their 4 door porsche rushed up to make a right off of 5th avenue completely cutting me off only to be held by pedestrians crossing. I went around to his front bumper and cut him off, coming to a complete stop for a moment in a nonchalant manner in hopes that I proved to this jerk the futility of his maneuver.

The high will be 68 today.... crazy.

Another lovely springtime ride_ wait, what? It's November? Eek! :p

42F/6C, sunny, calm wind. Forecast for tomorrow is warmer than 60F/15C! Bizarre. I hope the pendulum doesn't swing back the other way next week.

Edit: Hey this was my 2,500th post!

I'm still wearing sleeveless jerseys :D, although it's cool enough to get away with work pants in the mornings. We're looking forward to sunny 70 degrees this afternoon. I thought I would mention since we usually only hear about aggressive or dangerous drivers, that I've had no motorist conflicts or serious incidents this entire year, at least none that merited my attention.

Good commute this morning at 37-43F and dawn to sunny with no winds. Slower than usual ride. I believe it was because of still trying to adjust to waking up early again after being able to sleep in all last week. Still had to dodge the branches in the shoulder, but it didn't seem as bad today. That might be due to the fact that there was less traffic than yesterday morning, so going around them was no big deal.

-12C with an 18km/h headwind. Because of the headwind I decided to add another layer and wear my respirator / ski goggles. I'm glad I did because I didn't feel overdressed and was getting a little cool near the end of the ride. Most of the roads had been plowed overnight, and even the parking lane was ridable in many places. It felt like I was making better progress today, but the ride ended up being an hour. The wind is supposed to flip around, so I'll have a headwind for the ride home as well. But the temperature will be much warmer.

I decided to haul my school clothes home yesterday to do laundry. It was a tight fit in an Arkel T-28 pannier, so I used my T-42 today to bring the clean clothes back. Unfortunately the T-42 doesn't fit in either of my lockers, so I needed to use a coin locker to store it for the day. Once it gets colder, I'll ride with both my T-42s and have to use the coin lockers every day. With luck, one of the wider rental lockers will open up during the Christmas break.

The mirror I use on my winter helmet doesn't have a very good field of view. I'll have to find something with a bigger mirror, or find a way to mount my take a look mirror to the helmet. That will have to wait until I get my new helmet though.

Getting ready to leave the house in the morning can be a bit tricky. I want to get the multiple layers of clothing on, but not start sweating while doing it. I'll try to get my leg layers and boots on first, then haul my panniers out to the garage to give me a chance to cool down before tacking the upper body. Sometimes I'll just put my upper body clothing on, out in the garage. Last night I tried applying some spray anti-perspirant to the soles of my feet before going to sleep. It seemed to help keep my feet drier during the start of the ride, which should help keep them warmer longer.

Yesterday I got a set of lithium AAAs for my rear blinker. They seem noticably lighter so I weighed them, and Cat 6 racers take note, they came in at 7g each compared to 12g for alkalines.

Today I'm finally going to get myself a cell phone. I had a few mechanical issues this year, where a phone would have been very helpful. With winter settling in, it will be nice to have one for safety.

Still adjusting to my new workplace. Yesterday they power-washed the spot where the bike rack is located for some reason. Fortunately they covered all of the bike saddles and handlebars with plastic bags, but my frame was all covered with spots and crud. Then when I left work, a bunch of fire trucks were blocking the one-way street in front of our building -- the only way to exit by bike -- so I had to ride on the sidewalk to leave work.

My ride home was uneventful except for the daylight saving change. It got dark much sooner than I anticipated and the temperature fell really fast. By the time I got home, it was totally dark and about 10 degrees cooler than when I left the office. On the plus side, my ride into work in the morning was only dark for a few minutes and I was able to dim my headlight to lowest setting.

cold 28F, clear, my first commute in 3 weeks (business travel and vacation), and my 100th bike commute of the year.

They are starting to clear the branches from out last storm out of the bike lanes.

Chilly 27f, nice morning though.

I hate that. I bring mine inside at work. But it seems I'm doomed to arrive at McD's when the guy is washing the sidewalk by the bicycle rack. You slip-slide into the store and come out, your bike is covered in splatters!

My commute yesterday on the other hand had a bad incident ocurance rate 4.3 miles in and 4.3 back. Crossed paths with 2 cars and a school bus that ALL blew my right-of-way off by 2 not stopping at stop signs and the third not looking right or left, as she was engaged in a much more important phone call. I should have just T-boned her, but it is too new a bike.

Other than that all was beautiful.

35F, foggy, clammy

Was unable to do the commute yesterday as I was attempting to put winter tires on and broke a stem. The ride in today was nice though, was around 32F but the new tires are great!

So nice to be riding in the light since the time change! I know it won't last and it's no help to those riding home after 5, but it's sure nice to leave my place NOT in the pitch black. On another note I did pick up a dollar-store LED headlamp for when the darkness returns (to add to my current setup of headlight + taillight).

Had a great ride this morning, felt pretty good overall. Temp was about 5-6 C with a light wind from the South so my feet didn't freeze (big day, I know!)!!

Also saw a very healthy-looking fox today hauling home his/her breakfast of fresh grey squirrel. He jumped onto the guard-rail across the road from me and watched me watching him as I rode past.

Cheers,
Scott

A pleasant ride in at low to mid 40s when I started out. Managed to get the clothing just about right, but watched several fellow riders stopping to shed layers. I should get to ride home this evening in shorts and just a light wind jacket over t-shirt, as it should still be in the low 60s or high 50s when I leave the office.

Traffic was awful this morning for the car portion of my commute, so after I dropped my daughter off (several minutes late), I parked in a different spot to maximize cycling and cut some of the delay. I estimate that I saved about 15 additional minutes of traffic delay, and I actually made it to work several minutes ahead of 'schedule'. Hopefully the folks in the neighborhood (and particularly the person whose home I parked in front of) won't get too P.O.ed at my van being there all day. I wouldn't want to park there regularly even if it is legal.

That East River Esplanade needs to be repaved entirly not just in spots making it bumpy. They need to make it more like the hudson river greenway.

My commute wasn't bad this morning except this one idiot that tried to squeeze beween me and the curb and almost took me out.

Too many people w/ inadequate lights/reflective materials on the MUP last night...
mostly peds, but some cyclists, too. Guess they weren't expecting it to be quite so
dark. Had to be extra careful when passing for fear that a bike or pedstrian ninja
was coming the other way. Hope the situation improves as people adjust to the
darkness brought about by the change in clocks.

Got buzzed by a ******bag in an Escalade on my way to class last night. His
passenger side mirror must have come within 1 foot of my head. I was doing 15
or so and he was probably doing 25-30, so it could have been worse, but I was
still quite peaved. I kind of caught up to him near a traffic light, but not enough to
say anything (not sure what I would have said anyways other than some
profanity-laden rant). Funny how having a 3 ton behemoth pass within a inches of
your head tends to get the adrenaline rushing. While I didn't get a chance to
verbally express my frustration to the driver, I gave him the finger a couple times
when I was close enough that he'd see me.

If the guy saw me when he passed, he either decided to pass me that closely on
purpose or didn't realize his land yacht was as big as it is. The other possibility is
that he didn't see me, which shouldn't be the case since I had multiple blinking
lights running on the rear of my bike and helmet. Whichever of the three scenarios
it is from above, the guy's obviously a bad driver.

Stopped by the polling place near my apartment before coming to work this
morning. Cast my votes and then rode in to work. Pleasantly surprised at how
many people were voting this AM in an off-year state and local election. Clerk of
Courts incumbent is in his 70s, but apparently still an avid cyclist and kayaker
based on some stuff my wife saw online. I thought that was pretty cool.

Great morning for a bike ride after voting. Temp's supposed to tickle 70 this
afternoon... wish it were a little cooler, but it's still real nice.

Not just repaved....it needs to be dug up and re-leveled. I refuse to ride the ERE if I don't have to. Even on my MTB, it was an incredibly bumping and unenjoyable ride. For it (ERE) being one of the main routes for bikes on the East Side, they need to move this to the top of their list.

I usually use 1/2nd and Allen then along the east river till Battery Park. Not as bumpty all the way downtown when you are under the FDR. I prefer taking the west side though if possible.

More people to avoid south of 104th St on the West Side Greenway than normal; chalk it up to the gorgeous weather. Great ride, though, little to no jackassery, with a pleasant 5mph tailwind. Evening calls for a late-night ride up 8th Avenue to CPW to St. Nicholas to Broadway again. It's been awesome since they repaved Broadway north of Nagle Avenue. They set up a "Your Speed" sign just before Broadway hits Dyckman...it's fun to drop the hammer and watch it blink red with no cars around.

Almost T-boned a car on the way home. Hammering up a slight incline, into the wind, while it was drizzling. Had my O2 yellow hoodie on, safety orange ball cap peaking out from under my helmet, and front light set to blink mode. Either they didn't see me coming or misjudged my speed. Had to lock up the brakes or would've taco'd my front wheel on their rear bumper.

Before sunrise, riding at 40 degrees into a steady 18 mph headwind - The ride took a leeeetle longer, but was just as fun. It didn't feel very cold, though - I checked and the wind chill under those circumstances is about 30 degrees. The ride home in the afternoon cool, calm, collected . . .

Stopped at a red on a busy two-way residential street w bike lane...and a guy just blows the light and almost gets t-boned by a car. I mean mere inches. Doesn't stop, just rides around back and keeps going. I was dumbfounded.

On the plus side I had a nice chat with a fellow rider whose headlamp was just amazing. I see a new headlamp in my future.

Rain. Had brain farted and left raincoat at home.

But God is merciful....the hissing I heard in the garage was the leaking rear tire. I didn't have to change a tire in the rain, in the dark, in the cold. No call of shame....

Short commute today. Stunned by how warm it was- I was way over dressed as I left the apartment. Sweet how convenient the bike is for getting around here. Getting my routes down and starting to find my rhythm.