First ride of my season. temp in the mid 60's, a bit windy. Beautiful.

Hey all! I commuted to work today! It's been like ten or eleven years since I got to do that! I have to say though that I have also been retired for the past eleven years too. I took a part time job as a CDL instructor. This morning I got up and the weather looked perfect...very little wind...I had time....why not! So off to work I commuted! Ten miles in on a very bumpy road. 19 miles back on a more round-a-bought route, but much smoother. I'm BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!! I'll try to commute whenever I can! It's good to be back!

Warm tailwind and a bunch of fellow commuters on the ride home earlier this evening.

Stopped of at my local bike shop on Cap Hill for a new headlamp to replace the garbage I wasted $$ on a few weeks back. What a difference, I am going in xtra early tomorrow just to test this thing out in the dark.

Sarah, welcome...was gonna ask about your lights since it was your first night commute but I see you had some. I really love the feeling of the early morning ride in the dark.

Gus, nice work, my comute is nothing compared to your's and many others' on here.

It was a good ride in, and it looks to be the better day of the week with no rain. Nice temp at 51 F ( 11 C). Yesterday, going home was another day without a hood or jacket, and I love those days, especially when the sun is out.

Perfect ride in, warm, no wind at all, birds chirping, love hearing the sound of the tires on the pavement.. Old habits die hard--need to lose my winter cap. My headlamp was bright as could be.

@dcb23 - Thanks so much for the welcome. Yeah, I got my lights on Saturday at REI (with my 20% off coupon - yay fo discounts). I got a NiteRider MiNewt 250 Cordless Bike Light and a Planet Bike Superflash Rear Bike Light. I don't have anything to compare them to since they're my first lights, but they seem fantastic. I'd like to pick up some more reflective gear to improve my visibility at night as I ride long stretches of road with no streetlights, but aside from that, I'm pretty much good to go.

34f The wind has finally seemed to die down, I'm hoping the spring weather will be nice this year.

No real commutes last week due to Spring break. I still got out and rode a little though.

Yesterday's commutes went well. Had to deal with pretty heavy snow and headwinds about 3/4 into the morning commute, but no accumulation though at least where I was. The afternoon/evening commute was dry as precipititation goes, but the roads were wet.

Excellent commute in this morning at 36F and dark/dawn with winds from the N @ 4mph. I really don't understand why many drivers didn't have their lights on this morning while it was still dark out. Don't they know how difficult they are to see, especially in my mirrors when they're approaching from behind? Anyways, this was the first time this semester where almost all of my commute was in the dark due to the clocks changing last Sunday, and it was enjoyable.

Anyone want proof of stupidity? Read this post...

I knew it was supposed to "return to winter" this week here in Bozeman, but you know what? I a tough SOB, I dont care about that.

So I woke up this morning, got my stuff together for work, threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and walked out of the bedroom. When I looked outside and saw my truck covered in snow I thought "Well, it must have snowed last night. Its cool, I still have the studs on." Then I saw the thermometer: 30.6F. And thought "its cool, thats not too cold and my legs NEVER get cold. I will just throw on some armwarmers and call it good." Then I went outside to start the commute. Still dark, still F*ing snowing... So I think "Oh well, my legs never get cold, its not that cold out, and its only a little snow".

Well, 15 minutes later, my shins on fire and my crotch soaked through making all the man bits recede like a bear in winter (think innie belly button instead of outy...) I arrive at work...

It was fun as HELL... (not the recession part, but the ride as a whole)

Hence why I think I am stupid.

cold, WINDY, raw, & damp, but i managed to squeeze through all the various rain clouds passing through the area this morning. i hope i'll be as lucky in the afternoon; the weather folks are talking about t-storm development this afternoon and evening that might deliver hail up to 1". ouch!

Thanks for the morning chuckle!
I've known myself to do similar things, given the stoic idiot I can be.

Welcome Gus and Sarah!!!!

Way to go Gus!

fsc- maybe more crazy than stupid :)

windy but nice ride in this morning, so happy it's getting warmer so I don't have to wear tons of extra clothes now! It's been really windy the last couple of weeks, but mostly in the right direction for my commute :D had a screaming tailwind on the mostly uphill ride home last night and actually did it faster than I usually ride to work (down hill)!

Nice ride in this morning, 5C/42F It seems to be warming up so maybe it's time to ditch the studs and put the slicks back on...

Hellafast ride in. The same wind will make the ride home hellaslow. Saw two owls this morning, one of them led me down the MUP for 50 yards or so - I suspect it was hoping my headlight would scare something yummy to owls into showing itself.

Nice ride home last night. Warmer than I expected. Should have gone w/o the long sleeves. Cooler ride in this AM -- 50 F -- and windy -- 15 mph headwind the whole way in.

One thing bugging me real bad now is the constant noise emanating from my bottom bracket, which is downright embarrassing at this point. I haven't done anything about it for a number of reasons, not least of which is that I should have already gotten my Surly LHT frame by now, which will be getting a new bottom bracket. Frame and build parts ordered 1.5 months ago, but still don't have it. Getting tired of dealing w/ LBS on it. Oh well. I guess I'll appreciate the new ride that much more when it's built up. Until then, fellow DC commuters. If you hear a clankety bottom bracket that can't be serviced, it's probably mine. And I'm painfully aware it shouldn't be making those noises.

What a great way to start the day! My first commute - ever - and it felt great. I've always been leery of the route I have to take - heavy traffic - and only recently got a suitable bike (the old one was too big for me, long story...). But it turned out to be just fine. Right around 9 miles, about a third of it actually has bike lanes. Weather was great, 65 and overcast. Humid, but this is Texas so I might as well get used to it. I could get used to this.

Today was one of those days where I felt like all the cars were out to get me, and some of them were.....

On the plus side it was clear to the west and I got some great views of the Olympics.

Glad to hear you got a commute under your belt. You will get used to it, then you'll feel a bit off when you can't commute by bike for whatever reason.

Nice! Congrats, and welcome.

If you haven't already discovered it, you can use Google Maps www.maps.google.com to optimize your route for bike compatability.
Once you specify your start and finish points, you can click on the little "by bicycle" box and it will find the most bike friendly route. You can zoom in and tweak it as you see fit. The optimized route might add some distance, but it is amazing to see how much more bikeable some routes may be with a simple adjustment of a few blocks.

I haven't found that to be necessarily true, but it's a good starting place. What I really love is when google maps routes me down a "path" that is really a set of stairs. Start with google's suggestion, but definitely check it out a bit on street view and in person. Yes, you will find a good route, and hopefully more than one.

yesterday it was peds for me.... ugh, peds man, WHY!?

today was awesome in terms of clarity. i had a great ride in

ha ha fsc, so with you there. I rode in yesterday with just gaters on thinking I have waterproof pants if I need them and gear if it starts snowing again. I walked to my office to get my bike the sun was shining and all was good so I just threw on the beanine and helmet and headed out. It was dumping snow, blowing in my face covering my glasses to the point where I could barely see. Made it home soaking wet and laughing like crazy. I just love mother nature.

This morning was a great ride in, loving the bumpy snow and beautiful sunrise. Its not supposed to snow today but after yesterday wore the waterproofs anyway. 25F and clear.

Got on the 20" wheeled, single speed Dahon and decided to use another route to downtown Vancouver today.

Was cycling along Russ Baker Way heading towards the Arthur Laing Bridge when this kid in a car seat looked at me and waved. I smiled and waved back. Made my day.

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At the foot of the Arthur Laing Bridge ready to head into Vancouver. Its Spring break so there are less cars on the road. Normally, this would be bumper to bumper with cars -- mostly single occupant vehicles.

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Cypress is a designated bike route and it turns into Angus heading north in Vancouver.

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The route goes along a wealthy neighborhood with quiet side streets until you hit Burrard. Seeing I was on that side of town, I took the Burrard Bridge into downtown then rode along the Hornby separated bike path to my office. Very few cyclists commuting into work today.

It took me longer than usual to ride into downtown but I appreciated the change of scenery.