granny gear goat
 

This Is a complaint from an old goat mountain biker who desided to slash his carbon footprint.My new [old tar steed is fixed with 14 speeds, my mtb's have 21and 24 ,thats at least 7 grannys short and on some of these long Maine hills my thoughts of lessoning my c/footprint is looseing its glitter./Ken::(

3.2 mile commute in some really perfect biking weather. Monday's looking like a real witch so far (predicted Thunderstorms). I'm thinking about getting in another mile here before sunset. I guess this can become addictive.

Get well soon (again), DJ.

Lovely ride in this morning - cold, blue sky, sunshine etc. Left a bit later than usual though, so the traffic was a bit heavy. Also apparently the phasing of one of the lights changes compared to my usual time; the opposing light went red so I started out across the junction, got halfway over and thought, 'that's odd, the light hasn't gone green yet'. Then I realised that a different opposing filter had gone green, and traffic was coming at me! Luckily I scooted over the junction before anything had really started moving.

I don't jump red lights as a rule. I guess today I put myself firmly in the 'lunatic cyclist' category, at least as far as the other traffic that that junction is concerned!

Just getting back from 2 weeks vacation. It felt like my first ride of the year this AM-nervous, and forgetful. Thankfully my body and bike still know the routine, and my fitness level, although I perceive it to be lower, is apparently the same since I made the 13 miles in the usual amount of time. It was warm and muggy with a very gloomy, low cloud deck, and the roads were still wet from the overnight T storms. I got rained on in Vermont, New Hampshire, Quebec and Maine on my vacation, so why not get wet at home too :-)

As I loaded my bike into my truck for the drive to the park and ride. I had that feeling that i was "forgetting something". I couldn't figure out what so I left and when i got to the park and ride I reached for something that wasn't there... My dang helmet, I don't ride without a helmet so I had to drive in the rest of the way. It seemed to take forever, it only got me to work 10 minutes faster.

Ah well, I'll go on a ride this afternoon when I get home. Tomorrow I'm leaving directly from my house on the bike so forgetting my helmet shouldn't a problem. Hope you all had a good rides.

Mid 60sF and sunny. The MUP was damp from storms last night. I passed 5 cyclists and saw 3 or 4 others going the other way. That's a lot of riders, for me. It's a holiday week though. Maybe that has something to do with it.

wonderful day, nice ride. Came to the biggest, most dangerous intersection of my commute, with entrance ramps for the interstate and a White Castle and lots of cars. Hit the light green and followed a car accross in my lane just like I was suppose to. Then the tires started squealing. For a split second I was not sure were it was coming from, and there was just too many places to look. The car in front of me slammed on his brakes and I was far enough back it was no problem. Some dummy was trying to go in the Exit at white castle while someone was coming out. Oh bad. anyway squealing tires kinda makes for pucker factor.

did see at least 3 other riders today.

The ride home was unremarkable, except for the fact that my chain fell off. I'll have to get that looked at.

The ride to work this morning nipped a bad day in the bud. I had left late, so I had to push a little harder than I wanted to. Still, though, it was fun! I like going fast. It's a cheap thrill. I also got to see an absolutely beautiful sunrise, and really let my mind wander to places it hasn't been in years. I left late and grumpy, and showed up to work on time and happy.

body protesting too much this morning, but after telling myself there would be days like this, I managed to get on the bike. was sore, since I was supposed to rest this weekend, but rode both days. and then was at work until midnight last night (didn't ride, since don't have headlight yet)

The first 1/2 of my ride, about 5 miles, was slow and I did not seem to have much energy, but around 1/2 way, I started feeling much better, and was able to really power through the final part of my ride, which is a short but steep hill that tapers to a gradual slope-I hit this part better than I have in all my time commuting (all 1.5 months :) )

What started as a slower time ended up being my best morning time, around 36:45 for the 10 miles.

I readjusted my derailleurs and shifters over the weekend, and cleaned them to boot, and it made a huge difference!

oh yeah-warm, about 73*F, and humid. Damp roads from light mist overnight.

Nice way to start the week. Sub-70F temps - first time in months (okay, weeks...) Very refreshing - actually felt a chill for a little while!

Heavy rains this weekend, and the local neighborhoods and cities still felt the need to water, so lots of runoff, but not as bad as last week. As I was leaving the shower room to head upstairs I noticed a female wild turkey hanging around the side doors. Took pics with my blackberry, but they suck...

Wasn't feeling good this weekend so I didn't ride, which made the ride this morning that much better. :) There was a slight breeze which made it feel a little cool outside today and made for a good riding temp.

A lot of "first" today. First ride in this morning on my new Dahon Helios, Lois. I had a blast. I'm the first owner as she has been in a warehouse. My first folder. I love it uh I mean her. She is fast, responsive and SO LIGHT. I have been commuting every day since May 12th but will need my staff car to attend a Pub. Works conference so I rode the folder, Lois, to the office so I could fold her and put her in the car to travel back home. My PR, commuting to work without missing a day is still intact.
Tony

The commute in this morning was a bit uncomfortable... only 70 F, but 90% humidity. The roads were still soaked from last night's rain and I found my Freddy clip-on fenders still allow some road spray to get onto my legs. I'm keeping an eye out on Craigslist for a used cyclocross bike with full fender mounts and good tire clearance.

Very very empty. Tomorrow is Canada's day and it seems everyone is taking today off.

Similarly empty. I can't believe I'm working today.

Big piece of metal, picture a HUGE staple, or a bent nail, double-punctured my tire. I heard the clicking, stopped and found it. I couldn't tell that it was leaking any air though - so of course, I pulled it out and it immediately went flat.

I can't really fault the tire, as this thing would have gone through anything. Had I been on my 23c tires instead of these big 35c's I doubt I'd have hit it even once, much less a double puncture. I didn't even bother looking at the tube as I knew I didn't have the patience to perform a double patch.

Now, the question is if I should try to patch it at work before heading home, or just cross my fingers.

Saturday

3rd time a nail goes all the way through a rim.

I call it a baptism

My wife was the one who pointed out that I am miserable unless I ride just about everyday.
So, rather than quitting I cut my distance in half.


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Nice 14 mile commute to the light rail this morning. 60F and sunny. I am wondering if it will ever warm up to 65F in the morning so I can leave the arm warmers at home. Also, if one has road rash and wears arm warmers without a bandage your road rash tends to peel off. :eek:

I performed my intervals this morning and found it easier without having to face the fact that I just exhausted myself with 20 more miles to ride. I finished up 15 min before I pulled into the light rail station.

First Commute...Ever
 

Hey, hope everyone is doing splendid today.

My commute today was amazing, it was actually my first commute ever...but it was VERY fun.

I just got a bike this weekend (a trek 4300) and I got it for multiple reasons. To commute, save money on gas, get back in shape, and enjoy my day. I haven't really been on a bike since I was 11, which is when I outgrew the first bike I ever had. Back then I rode my bike every where, every day; to the park, through the park; to school, the liquor stor, and to my friends house. I would ride to the top of this huge hill just to go soaring down the other side.

It came to be that biking was just something I NEEDED to do again. I love it! And there are so many other great benefits, I couldn't deny myself any longer. I got my bike on friday and I haven't really been off of it since. I rode some trails near my boyfriends house in the canyons, I rode around my dad's house (my old stomping ground, and yes I SOARED down that hill again! Though I found the trek up a little harder than i remembered :)), through the park I used to ride in, and finally...to work today.

The commute was fantastic, there's a bike trail for the beginning half of my commute (about 1.25 miles) and it's nothing special, it sort of runs alongside a road, and then I go through a small park before coming to a fairly low traffic road that I ride along for just about the rest of my commute. By far the SCARIEST part is the HIGH traffic intersection right before the 5 and 55 freeway on/off ramps. I might find a way to bypass this area in the future. But all in all an awesome commute and I'm looking forward to riding my bike... EVERYWHERE. =]

Have a wonderful day everyone. If you made it through that post with out your ears bleeding... kudos to you! They will be shorter in the future. :D

Your enthusiasm about biking is making me smile.... thank you for the sunshine.

My buddy and I were deep into a discussion about Russia, Britain, the Great Game, petro-politics, and Islam, when we heard the unmistakable sound of a bike going down on the pavement. We turned and there was a woman on the ground. She hopped up pretty quickly. We asked if she was okay and she said that she was, and said (with just a little bile in her tone) that her husband had already gone up around the bend and left her there. We said we'd tell him when we caught up.

That guy is going to be sleeping in the garage for a week.

Patch it. It will seem like wasted effort, because you'll end up not needing it. Choose not to, and there's a great change Murphy will come for a visit :)

Sounds like a very reasonable (wise?) approach... wisdom = applied knowledge, or something like that.

One word: Tegaderm. More words: nasty rash from a softball slide (always say I'm not gonna slide, but when faced with the decision, i seem to always slide... dumb...), healed with new skin in 7 days, all discoloration gone in 17 days... Unbelievable stuff...

Welcome to the club! I'm afraid to even ask what you were doing riding to the liquor store as an 11 year old? Or did I read that wrong somehow?

Anyhoo, keep having fun on the bike!

That does it. I am going to give tagaderm a try.
Thanks :)