Raining cats and dogs this morning! I had to break out the gore-tex and everything. I ran flashers front and rear, since the clouds did an excellent job of blotting out the sun. It's supposed to clear up a bit, then maybe some thundershowers, so the ride home should be fine.

Riders with ipods are the reverse bike ninjas.

"I don't want you to know where I am" vs "I don't want to know where you are".

My favorite are the all-black bike ninjas WITH Ipods. "I am alone in my own world ... its very nice"

B

warmer than yesterday but not warm but kinda too warm for my jacket after all.

I make it a habit to never talk about flats that aren't happening (just inviting trouble, ya know?) but I will say that I've been happy with the Bontrager Race Lite hard case (maybe not the exact name?) I've been running - 700x28, pretty bumpy at 110 psi, but not as bad as the Armadillos i used to run on my rigid MTB when I first started commuting...

The ride to work was a bit humid but the temp could not be better a 68, degrees. My twelve mile ride home will be different though, it is expected to go up to 90 deg. with 58% humidity. It will still be great in my mind it is great to get back to commuting and watching the gas prices with nothing to fill up. This sounds a bit dismal at first but I really do mean it is great and feels awesome too.

Beautiful morning - a perfect 70 degrees and clearing to sun as I left the house. Saw two snowy egrets by the creek.

Overtaking a guy on the MUP, I noticed something funny about his cadence. When I got close enough I saw he was riding his MTB wearing a prosthetic foot - a blue metal & carbon deal, very high tech looking. I was kind of curious about it, but the guy didn't seem to want to chat, so I said good morning and left it at that.

Greetings salutations to all you new commuters (commutants? ;)). Despite what your friends and relatives may say, it's not a cult...but please, help yourself to some kool-aid while you're here.

The ride today was good. I rode home yesterday with a coworker. His usual average speed is 19 mph; my average speed is 16.2 mph. Add the fact that we're two competitive males riding bikes and I probably don't need to tell you how sore my legs were this morning.

Terrible air quality again today from the fires in Solano and Napa Counties. The prevailing wind is from the ocean and it just traps all the smoke in the valley.

Nothing particularly interesting except for the woman on the cruiser who seemed intent on riding in the gutter rather than the asphalt part of the bike lane. I thought about saying something but wasn't sure how to approach her. I thought about saying "Hi, I hope you don't mind some unsolicited advice, but you don't want to ride in the gutter because that's where all the glass and nails collect." But then maybe she would have been freaked out by my riding up alongside her (she was a bit wobbly).

I decided not to say anything other than "Good morning!" as I went around her.

ride home yesterday was going pretty good after leaving commuter bike at work since last ride in 6/16/8.
i remembered helmet, gloves, etc but forgot tire patch kit/tire irons, tubes. i left work confident (hoping)to be flat-free, had the wind on my back, stopped and picked up new rx bicycle glasses. Until one mile short of home (i have a 10 to 11 mile commute each way), the rear tire blew out, culpret was a hooked aluminum 8-penny nail, kevlar bead did not stand a chance. i walked the bike with rear panniers on my back, frustrated and called off work today to recoup (and take care of other business). after this note, am going out to repain tubes and attach new 700 x 28 kv rear tire. thanks for asking :-) !

So i'm riding in late after a bank appointment. I see a cyclist walking thier bike in the opposite direction.
"Hey, need any Help?" I call out
"Help, WTF?!" came the reply
"Why aren't you riding, is there something i can help you with?"
"I'm not riding on a f#'ing freeway!"
"Okay... have a nice day"
I couldn't help chuckling to myself, he was the typical crochety old man (late 40's i'd guess). Oh and I have no idea what freeway he was talking about, the road was a city road 60kph (35mph). At least he had a bike.

It's past the longest day of the year and summer is making its tentative appearance in Vancouver, BC. Here's some pics of my pretty 20km commute.

http://picasaweb.google.com/phillip.ngan/BikeCommute

Nice bike & commute dude.

Tomorrow is Bike to Work Day in Denver. Wish me luck.

Terrible... OK. I enjoyed my ride. But still...

It was nice until I did something dumb.
I was riding along (thankfully slowly) and thought the quick release on my front tire looked a bit open. So I stupidly tried bumping it in with my shoes. On the fourth tap I missed and hit the spokes. I bent the wheel a bit and need to true it now... Not sure if I'll ride down or take the wheel down via subway...

Would have been a brilliant ride home if I wasn't sick.

But, then again, I just proved I can do 8.5 miles while sick as a dog.

:(

Tried to get ahead of a major weather system and got assaulted with huge hailstones. I pulled over under a tree, but they were powering through the foliage as some were large marble size, so I had to sprint to a school down the road and get under the awning of the entrance. Just in time! Lighting on all points of the compass within a mile or 2 each way! After it passed, I sprinted again to the town center, and appraised my situation. weather was moving away fast, so I continued to my destination, which was the dealer for my wife's toyota, as they damaged it on last service, and needed to repair it. made it there safe, if not soaking, and then drove the route my buddy bikes home to see if he was stuck somewhere and needed a lift since I had the minivan, but he was able to skirt all the bad stuff and make it home.

All in all, an exciting trip, but i cheated myself out of 3.5 miles of biking. I will need to make it up tomorrow on the way in.

Good luck! I'd ride to work tomorrow too...but it's my day off. Maybe I'll just throw on my khakis and a polo, cruise around town, and eat free donuts. :D

Looking forward to a nice ride home in a while; it was beautiful when I rode in the morning. Road kill to the max; squirrels must be the most prolific of animals otherwise they'd be extinct by now. Their nemesis is the same as ours.

Gah! I'll be on the rode as usual at 430am...no donuts or coffee for me! Have fun Denverites and beware the casual weavers out for the one day a year!!

Off today but cruising on Logan by Washington Park and some A-hole in a van passed me twice so close all I had to do was take my hands off the bars to drag my freakin' finger nails along the side of the van...or slap the side. Whatever...

I wish one of these road apples would stop some day so we could 'discuss' the relative merits of giving me 3 feet or at least more than the width of my shoulders!
And yes, I was out of door range but not taking the lane. Usually not needed there...

My A.M. commute was interrupted 5 miles in by a flat tire.But the PM. ride home was good today.Had a tail wind blowing the entire way. I cant believe i got a flat on a tire that has less than 10 miles on it. This wasnt a pinch flat it was a piece of glass that went thru.

"Typical Crotchety OLD MAN (late 40's i guess)"

i know people who would have specific issue even thinking of physically commuting or riding. they are 1/2 (50%) of my age. i am age 48 and will run circles around them!

check your generalizations, keep spinning!

I had a very good commute today and a reminder of my age (58).
Yesterday I got a professional bike fitting. Turned out I was behind my pedals and needed more toe-out and float on my cleats. As well my saddle needed lifting and I need a 110cm stem instead of the 100cm. My ride home from the fitting was GREAT. This morning, I was having a great ride. I was maintaining just short of 30KPH with much less effort than previously and feeling very much the king of the road when out of the blue came a little slip of a thing who passed me like I was parked! An she wasn't on some $5000 road bike but a Giant hybrid much like my own Stevens Strada 600, although I didn't have time for a good look.
So much for my dreams of glory.
The fitting was still worth the $250.

I think I need to be nicer on forums, help old ladies across the street, and save a few puppies from a burning warehouse. My karma is just.... the suck.

So... I tipped over this morning to avoid t boning another cyclist. Wet rubber on the walkway of a bridge does not help one stop. It was a slow speed tip over to avoid worse damage of a collision. No damage to my bike or me. However, my ego was a bit trashed. :p

Then there is the ride home:
-I get 4 miles from work and hear a bang from my rear tire.
-Swap a spare tube into the tire. Then the valve falls apart!
-I walk 4 miles in sidis to a light rail station
-I take 2 lines to downtown and walk to rei
-After inspecting my tire I purchased three tubes
-Swapped it and inflated my tire to have the tube explode.
-Discover that part of the bead on my relatively new gatorskin has shredded.
-Purchase their one non continental road tire and swap it out.
-3 hrs into my commute I am rolling again
-Had a 30mph tailwind and one annoyed attitude. Made 14 miles in no time flat.

Oh and I had some drunk guy outside REI yelling at me because I scared him. Here I am dressed in form fitted clothes screaming right back at him. DJ was a bit annoyed at that point.

Oh well. This day was a lemon. yuck

At least this happened on a commute rather than on my climb up and down Mt. Evans.

I should take to carrying a jack knife (or at least a key) and scratching up any cars that get too close...

Wow. That IS dumb. :D

At least you didn't get into a major wreck.