Pretty fast ride. Dropped both kids off, haven't done that since May. 7 yr old is currently on same route as 3.5 yr old so no backtracking right now. However, sufficiently disorganized trying to get everone out the door that I managed to lose not one but two cups of coffee somewhere or other around the house.

Took 4 lane main drag downtown w/ trailer, no traffic, was nice. Backtracked from there to take MUP rather than mega-strip-mall road out to work. Ran into friends out walking for am exercise, slowed to chat. Good stuff.

The wind is back. Normally I'd complain but it's wonderful to have the air cleared of smoke.

My ride this morning was a joy, not too hot or humid. I did almost loose it though, I saw a metal strip in the road in front of me and I popped the front tire over it. Usually ok, but with a 15lb back pack, on a strida, I almost went onto my back. I managed to stay on and the rear wheel went over the strip but it was ok. I was a bit wobbly but then carried on to the office like I had meant to do that all along!

:)

Ride home last night was tough. Headwind, Hot, Humid. Just bad!!!

Ride to work this AM was nicer! Cool, almost no wind, pleasant!

Daily ride updates
 

So far, I've managed to ride in at least 3 days out of the week to/from work. The weather in Austin, Texas has generally been in the upper 70's in the mornings and 95-100 in the afternoons. I've actually had no problems riding the 10 miles each way in the heat! I have a CamelBak hydration pack and you can bet I'm sucking down that water the whole way! I will hit over 300 miles on my new Mongoose tomorrow so I'm pretty pumped about that! Rear dérailleur is starting to act up and doesn't shift from 2nd to 3rd very good so it's time to do a little maintenance on it! I notice more and more bikes on the road virtually everyday due to gas prices!

Keep the rubber side down!

i didn't work, but i commuted to my bank to put my check in. i had no idea how big the hills were until i did it by bike! at least there wasn't a head wind!

Actually not such a pleasant ride home. 2 car loads of kids started harrassing me. One leaned out the window to throw something at me. I am almost sure I recognized him. Caught his plate number too, gonna stop by his house in a little bit and see if it was him. Anyway, they were so busy messing with me they almost rearened the car in front of him. The one behind me kept reving his engine and getting real close, high curbs and other cars i could not get off the road for a while. before that some dip shot in a pickup made a big deal out of yelling and flippin me off. he did not even have to slow down or change lanes. what the hell is wrong with people? I think this was the first day I have had problmes this year, but I will have forgotten it by tommorw morning. This is the second kinda hot day in this area this year, least the weather guy said it would be the second 90 degree day this year. think it is the heat that makes people stupid?

The ride in the morning was good I actually took my time and just cruised in. It is amazing how quite the road is in the morning. The ride home was a little warm.

making, did you try to take bluff today?

The ride in was nice... There wasn't much traffic at all ( granted, it was 6 am when I was on the road...)
Riding home, I made good time. I passed two rollerbladers and one fenderbender. I found out my hydration pack isn't good for carrying a pair of work shoes. The zipper shat the bed... Rolling up to my mailbox, I found a 20% off coupon from Performance bike... The Arcangel Sheldon Brown smiled down at me:)

Tonights ride was a bit of a gut check. Really had no energy to speak of, and it was hot/humid. My riding buddy was same way. We have been battling headwinds all week, and it makes for a hard ride if you are a bit drained. Was almost 5 minutes slower than normal for a 10 mile commute. But I made it. I think I need to eat a good meal tonight.

I got lazy on my return trip, and cut about two miles off my commute by taking the train to the Candler Park/Edgewood station (in Atlanta). It also gave me a chance to veg out and read for awhile. The ride itself was nice. My office (basically a glorified cubicle, but it has a really nice view to the east) was moved about a half mile northward recently, so I've been going through the fun of trying out new routes. On the return trip I took an alternate route past Grady Hospital. The only problem with that particular route is that I either have to ride illegally on a bus corridor, or get off my bike and push for a block. I try to set a good example, so I pushed. I'm going to time that route (which is more direct) against the alternate parallel streets.

All in all it was a good, though very hot, ride home.

Went to convenient store to get two 12 packs of soda. Learned that one bungee cord is not enough. Next time I'll bring two.

Hot today, almost 90 on ride home with head wind. Heavy traffic long backups at lights, the driver of a pick up saw me in his mirror and swung in front of me as I started to pass him on the shoulder. Very intentional.

A co-worker and I went to play tennis and then badminton, than he drove me to the train station and I pulled my bike out of the trunk. I haven't played tennis in years, and it was quite the workout. People on the train were sidling away from me. Those silly, touchy commuters.

Hot on the way home. I had to dump water on my head to keep cool.

I think I have been overdoing it the last few days. I still made pretty good time on the way in but felt so much worse than when I left, my legs hurt, my lungs hurt, my head hurt, and I was super cranky. Either I'm getting sick (not feeling quite like that though) or I'm just tired from the heat, my new day shift, and the fact that I haven't taken a day off my bike in two weeks.

Got a ride home, stopped for dinner. I'll take tomorrow off.

16.5 miles this morning at 91 degrees. Took 1hr20min. The ride home at 107 degrees took 1hr30min, for a total distance today of 33.1 miles. I made an "oops" on my route and had to backtrack a little. It was pretty damn hot, but I'm used to it. Still went through ~70oz of water on the way home and sweat like crazy! Met a newbie on his first commute this morning and gave him some pointers. Hopefully I'll see him tomorrow just to make sure he survived!

Sup Arizona buddy. What route are you taking and when do you bike it? I live near Baseline/Stapley and bike to Priest/Washington - majority of route is on Main then up Mill. My shift is highly irregular, so some times I work days, or evenings, of 3rd shift any day of the week. Joy.

Back home, tried not to exert myself too much.

16 mile ride post commute.

total = 7+7+16 = 40 miles!

Yeah, get some rest. You should be able to do the math better tomorrow. :)

AM conditions still pretty good around here--though humidity and air quality predictions are fairly dire for the afternoon (as they are for much of the northeastern quarter of the country).

Been dragging all week, and this morning was no exception. Pushed pretty hard last week, and that with still continuing fiddling with the bike setup (i.e., "ugh, feels a little weird this morning") haven't let me get recovered. Could also be one of those low points on the curve of gradually rising strength and endurance (sounds good anyway :D ).

Short version: Nice ride this morning.

Was having a steller ride in this AM, nice and cool, light traffic, first ride in several days, averaging 18.2mph, when all of a sudden "POP". Spoke busted. I stopped and got off the bike to check it out and was surprised to find the busted spoke was on the front rim. I've busted many, many rear spokes, but don't believe I've ever broken one on the front. I'll take it a little easier on the way home, and swing by the LBS. Hopefully they will perform an emergency spoke repair and truing for me.

This morning went better than I thought. I did 36 miles last night as part of a group ride. This morning was 68 degrees and a little more humid than earlier in the week, but not too bad yet. I pushed a bit and rode faster than I would have expected. The ride home is going to suck - it'll be hot and sticky - 90 degrees and humid.

Nice ride home yesterday. I caught some guy with an electric motor on a MTB-type bike. Either he wasn't running the motor, or the motor wasn't set at 400W. :) I bet the motor weighed more than his bike.

This morning I dr*ve to work. Might need to leave on a moment's notice and get home fast. I haven't dr*v*n to work since March, and it really makes me appreciate bicycle commuting. Lots of scooters out now, and some of them are going 5MPH or more under the speed limit and nobody wants to pass them.

One dolt was "taking the lane" doing 30 on a 50MPH road with super-wide shoulders. Not so bright. Then some roadie ran a red light in front of me and tried to sprint to match traffic speed (25-30MPH). I shook my head in dismay as I passed him. If I was one of those bicycles-don't-belong-on-the-road types, he would have been quite a target for some road rage.

I didn't cycle today. I wanted to. But for some reason my girlfriend didn't want me to cycle. She worked a half hour later than me today and said she'd drive me. I told her I could drive myself, I don't cycle cause I can't drive. I cycle because I like to. But she was so adamant about driving me. Last night she asked if I wanted a ride. I was sore from Kung Fu tuesday night, and was really tired. I told her I'd let her know in the morning, but I'd likely shower.

When I woke up, the first thing she asked was if I wanted to be driven, I said I'll just ride. But she kept asking and then just got up and got in the shower at the same time I would normally. This made it infeasible to get to work on time via cycle.

I didn't understand why she wanted to carpool so much. So I asked her. She said that she really wanted to cycle, and she doesn't like driving. But she doesn't because her bike isn't finished being built yet, and she feels bad for borrowing her brothers bike so much, and it's super highly geared, so it's hard on the knees, and simply hard to get up hills. She didn't say it, but I assume she just didn't want me to cycle because she couldn't and it made her feel like she was missing out. She said she liked car pooling. It might have been because she doesn't like driving alone everyday.

Anyway. I really wanted to cycle, and I was a bit perturbed that she sabotaged my ride this morning. But it's only one day, and I got to spend some time in the morning with her, so it's not all bad.

I just feel ****ty taking a car to work. I mean, My commute is only 8 miles one way. It seems silly, and stupid, to get in a two ton vehicle drive at 70 mph, and pump toxic gases into the air, just to save 10 minutes of commute time. When I could get on a bike, leave 10 minutes earlier, get fresh air, get exercise, get endorphins(sp?) , and have and have an enjoyable start to my morning. When I drive, it' just waiting for the bad part of the day to start (work), when I cycle, it's starting the day with sometime fun, and it cheers me up for the rest of the day.

This is why I love cycle commuting. I just wish my girlfriend would have let me cycle. It's not all bad. I was able to get a coffee and a muffin, and such. But it would have been nice to cycle. Plus, whenever I am feeling down at work, I just go downstairs, stare longingly at my bike and feel better.:love: