I was able to dodge the thunderstorm that passed through the area. took the long way home again-think that might be a permanent change. it was very warm and humid, but I am getting used to that now. Overall, it was a nice ride, and happily, 'get killed' free.

6 miles easy pace on the MUP to work

7 miles easy pace on the MUP home

10 miles w 1200 feet elevation leisurely ride up (1 hour)

same deal but downhill (20 mins)

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hard ride to work, 20mph head wind in 80 degree weather, but the ride home was easy. Wind at my back made it easy and enjoyable even though the temperature was 95 degrees.

Another day in paradise. 80 degrees and I only hit one red light going and returning from work. Then I took the boys out in the trailer to pick mulberries in the park.

today was...great.

I rode into work in great time in great cool early morning weather (it was 515am when I left my homestead)...I rode into a workout we like to call "The 12 Days of Christmas"...props to anyone who knows what it is.

we then ran 6 miles at lunch time, and then I rode home with some ICY ICY IIIIIIIICY cold water in my camelbakpack...great day.

Almost got right hooked by a Metro bus on the way home... while I was in the bike lane too...He started to turn into the bus parking lot with no warning. Lucky for me the driver noticed me and hit the brakes before crushing me.

It was chilly enough that I wore arm warmers this AM-Who would've thunk it? arm warmers in July in North Carolina. Was very nice though, felt like a mid-Sept morning. I rode hard and fast and did the 13.0 miles in 44 minutes.

Oh so very nice. I am getting spoiled. temp was perfect, not too cool but not too warm. Perfect.

60F, light headwind. Sunny, blue sky. Saw a squirrel.

Bloated, tired, sore, a little dehydrated and hung over with a heavy, uncomfortable backpack-it wasn't my best ride, but, at least, I didn't chicken out and drive. The weather was perfect though, hopefully I'll be in better shape this afternoon; couldn't be worse.

it seemed a little drier this morning but there was a bit of a haze...i had good energy since i had some green tea and a granola bar before my ride

it's really nice to bike through the school zones and not have all kinds of traffic to deal with since school is out

Well, I did it. I finally rode to work. 7 miles in a tad over 35 minutes. I didn't see a single bike until I got close to downtown. All the cars were courteous (no honks, yells, etc.) and drove around me when they could. Great weather for the ride, just under 70°F. Only supposed to get up to about 78 this afternoon.

I feel more awake than I ever have coming in to work!

Beautiful morning. Very light traffic on the MUP today, probably because of the holiday week. My knee was really sore -- it acts up sometimes but usually doesn't hurt while I'm riding, which it did today. Hopefully some Advil will take the edge off. Otherwise, just a fantastic day. It is rare to have such low humidity in July.

haven't posted this week at all!...so busy...

Monday and Tues were good commutes. On Monday I did an extra 10 miles taking a midday trip to the DOT facility next to the fairgrounds - nice riding in the 9am hour when most all traffic has arrived at their destination - Hillsborough St. was quiet!

Yesterday on the way home, I came across a couple of guys with their bikes inspecting one of them on the side of Raleigh Blvd. I stopped and asked if they needed anything. One guys had lost the nut holding on one of his cranks (very cheap and old bike). Needless to say he could not use his bike. Not only that, but they were going to Sanford which was about 50 miles away! So I told them to ride with me on the side walk (I always ride on the road with traffic, but these guys couldn't) and I would try and fix their bike at my house. Took a long time because we mostly had to walk the bikes. I didn’t have a nut that would fit so we used some duct tape to attach the crank. I gave them the rest of the roll of tape, fixed the other guys seat (he had a really beat up old Schwinn that would have been nice to fix up!), pumped up their tires, printed them out specific directions to Sanford and gave them $5 so they could go to Harbor Freight tools and get a nut - I also gave them my socket wrench and appropriate socket to tighten. Hopefully they made it there! I would have given them a ride, but we only have one car and my wife needed it.

Funny thing was, they were going north on Raleigh Blvd. and Sanford is SW of Raleigh - they would have never made it anyway had I not run into them!

Of course while I was walking my bike with them on the way to my house, we had 3 bike commuters, one of them on a recumbent pass us - I ALMOST NEVER see that many bike commuters on my way home - really uncanny. Must have been a funny sight with me all 'Freded out' (safety vest, blinkies, ankle bands, etc.) walking my perfectly functional bike with a couple of guys with no helmets, barely working brakes and bike with parts falling off as we went!:roflmao2:

Perfect temperature. Nice morning. Rode a bit slow with my wife. Enjoyed the ride.

O and we have this huge hill on our way that we used to walk our bikes on because it was too steep. Both of us kept getting stronger as we are commuting more. I am faster then my wife, and I reach uphill and wait for her. Today I went up the hill, turned around, went down and climbed that hill twice and then both of us continued. Felt great. The hill that I was barely able to walk my bike on, I climbed twice just for heck of it :)

another successful commute, though today I was dog tired. Had to stop a couple times for cars jumping out of spots, and a signal-less right turner, and the rotary was jammed up so much that I needed to take the lane just to be safe. Not a real issue, since I only go around 90 degrees.

Forgot to cinch the netting on my bag around my milk-filled thermos, and threw it when I hopped a curb! it survived, thankfully.

This morning, one of the only things that got me on the bike was the fact that I didn't want to miss the daily post(s) in the 'how was your commute' thread.

67 degrees and FOGGY - visibility was 200-300 feet. Car's taillights just disappeared. I did notice some cars turning on their lights after passing me and seeing my 2 blinkies.

Gorgeous ride in. Very possibly the perfect ride except for a slight headwind at 11kph. Saw lots of birds for some reason this morning. Startled two ptarmigans (i think) in the ditch, saw some kind've hawk (pretty usual occurance) and a really really yellow bird.

Beautiful morning here in Boston. Except a little too much road construction on my route. Had to walk my bike out of my block b/c they've closed everything up for paving (including the sidewalk). ugh. But I saw the family of Canadian geese again on my ride. All in all a good morning commute!

First day on the bike this week. My lovely daughter brought home a stomach virus from day care--how nice of her!--Friday and I got it Saturday. Although the ride today was fine, I think I came back too early. I feel like garbage, my arms tingle just from holding them above the keyboard to type, and I think I'm still dehydrated.

Replaced the rear tire on my commuter Saturday night--before I got sick--and the ride today felt/sounded weird. Although this tire is a slick like the tire being replaced, it's got a little more tread than my old one so more noise/vibration.

And finally, I arrived at my bldg today to learn there's been no hot water all week. I know, many of you don't have showers at all so I shouldn't complain. But I will anyway--when you're as skinny as I am and you've been sick for 4 days, you really don't need to be drenched in nice cold water.

Nice ride in, fairly cool, low traffic.

However for some reason i'm not looking forward to the journy home...
i have a feeling...

Hah, I got yelled at by a passing motorist for the first time this morning. On the one busy street of my commute where I have to take the lane (there simply isn't enough room for a car and bike at the same time), some moron in the passenger's seat of a bright red truck clapped his hands and yelled, "C'mon, get a move on, boy!" as it passed me on the left. I actually heard him making a ruckus when they were behind me in the line of cars I was probably creating, since people like to go fast on this road in the morning (even though there's a 25 mph speed limit). He may have just been playing rather than truly angry, but somehow I don't think so. I didn't even acknowledge him and simply kept riding. Never ceases to amaze me how many A$%holes there are on the road...

i've been riding the fixie exclusively since about november. today was the first day on the geared road bike since then. three observations:

1. hand brakes aren't just for emergencies. if you have a freewheel you need to hit the hand brakes every time you want to slow down. re-learning this is a scary experience.

2. gears are designed to make you go faster. crank that cadence up to 120, then drop a couple of teeth off the rear cog and spin up again. repeat until exhausted or at work. i normally pass cars on the commute, but today i was blowing past them.

3. all that "souplesse" stuff you thought was just roadie hokum? it's real. on one straightaway i put myself into the pedal-like-it's-the-fixie mindset -- put the weight on the seat and round out the stroke -- and the performance gain was really noticable! maybe roadies do know something about bikes after all. :)

so, fun commute and fast... but i know in my gut that it'll only be a week or two before i start yearning for that "natural" fixed gear feeling.

Frymaster: That perfectly sums up the training effect I get from spending the winter on the FG. I noticed your #3 on an early season training race. When the pace ramped up, everybody stood but I was able to stay in the saddle, spin it up, drop a cog, and boom--smooth acceleration! And your #1: you slow your legs and Crap! I'm still going! Oh yeah, I need to squeeze these lever thingies...

As for my ride, it was just lovely. The air is clear for now at least and the temperatures have been perfect (65F) in the mornings. Just perfect.

Hello:
I have resumed commuting this year by Bicycle after several years of very sporadic commuting. This morning was beautiful in Chicago and the "bad" cars seem to have taken the day off.

That's good because on Monday a van went out of its way to run me off the road and onto the sidewalk shouting at me that I didn't belong on the road. (I got to an intersection with a four way stop a little before him. I stopped (which I do when a car is also at or near the intersection and then started because I was there first. He not only started right after I did, he stepped on the accelerator pedal, aimed at me and then, when I veered he turned to follow angling me into the curb...) Sigh. Chicago's a pretty nasty place to bicycle...