dry. started out windy and dusty and the uphill part. but once i got out off that $hitty area, the wind died down and it was smooth sailing. Probably lower 80's, so it was warm. First day on the new bike! It was great. Didn't beat my best heavy full suspension knobby tired mtb time, but it didn't kick my @ss and that's what matters. Once I get used to this bike, I'm pretty sure I'll catch up and make that time that standard. I was pretty loaded today, too.

no commute today-I am on vacation :)

bad news is that I wouldn't be able to ride if I had to, since my bike went into the shop this morning :(

waiting on the call from the lbs now to pick up :|

Nice ride home. Wife rode into Burlington and we met some friends for beer and free wings. Waited out a downpour, then left for home. Ran into a runner-friend on the MUP. Talked to him for a while. Lots of waves and smiling faces after that. Good juju tonight. :)

Ride home was good. Hot though, in the 80s. One of my water bottles cracked so I ditched it for a bottle of gatoraide. I got another flat too! Dam! Only 2 miles from home at the end of my 44 miles day. The funny thing was it popped and leaked but held at a low pressure so I was able to ride to a safe place to do the change.

Detoured to the lbs on my way home to buy another computer. After alittle debate i ended up getting the exact same kind that went through the washing machine. That way i have a spare harness and it was all set up and ready to go. I entered my circumference and was on my merry way with sweet sweet cycling data.

I was fighting the wind all the way to the lbs so to change direction and head home was really sweet. From the lbs to home is more city riding than i usually do. Although i don't envy you city cyclists traffic can be fun. Especially when it was a seemingly endless guantlet of construction. If i was in a cage i'd probably be on the verge of a coronary, but as a cyclist it was a blast. Splitting lanes of gridlock is positively euphoric.

Rough riding going home today. Hot as hell, tired as hell, knee started giving me problems. Waited for 2 trains and one of them twice.. don't ask. Dusty hot wind in my face the whole time. But it was great.

The best thing I've done for my commute is ditch the computer. Who cares if my average speed is a little low today. For whatever reason, I was always racing myself from the previous day or whatever. And it's not like I need to know the distance to my office anymore.

Yes, I've been very conscientious on the short stretch in the morning that I share with cagers. Now they seem to be educated that I'm traffic and don't hold them up so much. Still the occasional one, but not major problems.

This afternoon I got off at 1pm ( should have the whole day, but that's another story, grrrr :notamused: ) so found a secluded spot by the river to work on smoothing out my biker tan, but by the time I set off home again, the Southerly wind had switched around ( and increased! ) so had to grind away at the last half, still felt strong at the end though.

Lots and lots of bikes on the MUPs.

re: "Splitting lanes of gridlock is positively euphoric."

I can tell some cagers don't like this meaning the are jealous, so sometimes hold back and wait for the light within the midst of the cagers. I sense a new calm in the group and a greater acceptance, feeling more like one of the family. You know like, "we're all in this together, even the bikers".

Other time however, the is NFW I'm waiting!

My left knee is a little sore, maybe I can't 5 days. I hoping to blow everyone aw at work next week. That's a stupid motivation anyway, all I ever get is a passing comment like: "ride to work today"? My boss is an avid cyclist but we never talk. :( One other guy like to ride in the am but doesn't "commute". He got a flat the other morning so we that to share.

Geez what's with the flats? I can do the fix'm up in about 15 minutes. Anybody got a record on that? I suspect I can improve my time some.

Finally stated commuting on my bike. Single speed Gary Fisher Triton. Yesterday (friday) was my first try. It went great. 20 miles round trip. Will shoot for 5 days a week if the weather holds. Thanks for all the great info on this site.

I do this now, it seems to have educated the drivers that I have right to be there. This is in the usual 1-2 light sequence wait. If it does all become a solid parking lot, then I filter or ride the grass, when its like that they don't seem to mind.
It usually takes me about 10 minutes, have done a front in about 7 before. Could probably get it under 5 if everything went perfect. To speed things up I swap out the tube, not patch, and carry CO2 inflator as well as a pump. Start inflating with the pump to make sure its all good, then hit it with the CO2.

Took the longer way to work yesterday (22 miles) along the lake. Left at 5 am and stopped by Dunken donuts, got a muffin, At the state boat launch stopped and ate my muffen, drank some coffee. Looked across the lake to the Islands and Vermont, watched the sun finish rising. the only thing better than that is being in Vermont, looking at the Adirondacks in NY.

Then on the other side of the city on a road they are working on, the flag man made the line of cars (maybe 6) wait for me as I got to him, going up hill. I felt sooo important.

Really was a great morning.

Today, I went to a different job. Away from the lake up in the foothills. Very hilly, 11 miles. All forest, no traffic, again a great way to start the day.

I love the first commute of the week. I spend all weekend pulling my daughter (and sometimes groceries) in the trailer, so when I unhook that thing on Sunday morning, I take off like a rocket! It's a great way to start the week.

Loving the early mornings and all the wildlife. Not so happy riding home when its 100 plus the last couple of days. Been wrapping ice cubes in a bandana and tying it around my neck. It helps ALOT! Don't know how you people in hot and humid areas do it...bleh!

GirlJen: So what panniers did you go for? Curious since my girlfriend is looking for some for her bike and isn't too sure she likes mine...too sack like apparently!

My wife was annoyed that raspberries I brought back from the farmer's market got a little squished in my pannier. Maybe this is the opening for a big dummy!!

I have Detours Uptown Tour panniers now. They're small, have little insulated lunch compartments inside, attach with great big zip ties, have pockets in front and on top...I personally don't like them as much as my old panniers (Detours B-49), which are bigger and more sack-like.

I use my remaining Detours B-49 pannier as a diaper bag on the weekends. It's awesome.

coldfeet CO2 Huh? I guess that gets you up to full pressure? My pump only seems to manage about 50 lbs, which is fine, but i ride on 90 lbs. How many fills can you get from a cartridge? What device do you recommend?

I've not really measured the pressure, but it got MTB slicks up to the point I didn't feel any need to pump. They claim 40 psi for a fat MTB, or 120 for a skinny road. I have used the type that takes non-threaded, cartridges, but the body of that is bulky, co-incidentally, I was just looking at the Planet Bike ones at MEC and decided to pick one up next time I'm in. They use the threaded type, and thus do not have the bulky body to worry about. It would normally take one cartridge to fill a tube, but any left over is kinda hard to preserve for another tube. Now you have made me think on this, I should maybe experiment to see how well they fill Big Apples? I noticed they take more pumps to fill with a floor pump. Fortunately, they seem pretty flat resistant. I carry a pump as well, because if you get it wrong and don't have spare bottles, you're basically SOL. It does mean that if it works as advertised, the flat only delays you enough that you can make it back up, instead of having to apologize for being late. When I get my Xtracycle/Big Dummy, I'll probably carry a road morph, and not worry about CO2. With the weather here being so freakin' changeable, and other factors, I have to carry a ridiculous amount of gear, so space planning is necessary with a regular bike and panniers.

Rode from my sister's house about 2.5 miles away yesterday, made it in 7 minutes! (running late is great motivation.)

I guess it's time to make jam!!! :love: I'll be ok if I never see an apple again in my life. I brought home a trailer full of windfalls and have apple butter, apple sauce and a happy accident, apple honey (cooked the jelly too long :o) coming out my ears!

If it helps you get the big dummy, great but in my case it would take a lot more than squished raspberries

coldfeet - thanks for the CO2 info. Looked at them at a bike shop today getting some bearing grease. I used to use the screw in cartridges for my SCUBA inflatable vest.

Changed my bearings and grease today. WooHoo! Can't wait to get her out on the road again to see just what magic is in store. I was able to feel a difference just walking it around to the front of the house. A little test spin showed everything is back in place and calipers are set good. Definitely need new wheels. These wheels that came with the used bike definitely have some wobble to them ...

While today wasn't a commute. I did take my first baby steps to getting back to commuting via bicycle. I took a short 3 mile ride in low gears. My knee handled it fine, course I didn't push at all and just keep spinning at a steady pace. I feel like I'm at about 70% so I still have a ways to go (ice works wonders by the way). It felt great getting on the bike and feeling the wind hit my face. I only have two more days before I see the doc, it's been hell waiting for this appointment.

I can't begin to explain to you all how hard it's been to stay off the bike. I get my fix by reading about you guys & gal's rides. Don't take any day you get to ride for granted, love it & enjoy it. Screw the cagers who honk at you, only we know what they're missing out on.

Peace!

the Wolf - You have surgery or something? I had knee surgery 11 years ago. I wouldn't want to go through that again. What a nuisance!

Amen!

Great commute this morning. Was following a guy going at a good pace, which kept me going. He jumped the red lights each time, so I had to sprint to catch him up once they went green. Managed it every time!

Beautiful weather though. Sunny, blue sky, cool but not too cold.

I need to take my bike in for a service. I think the headset is working loose. I don't know if it's the way I ride, but I had this problem on my old bike too.

No surgery bud, (at least i hope not) I just took on some type of knee injury about a month ago and have been off the bike since. It's been more of a nagging pain & also discomfort and grows as the day goes on.

It's feeling better but I know it's not ready for me to commute yet. I have an appointment to find out what the problem is on Tuesday. However, I just found out that a dang tropical storm is going hit Galveston/Houston Tuesday morning. I might have to reschedule.

Houston commuters, load up on the beer & nachos!

I got on my bike, warmed up for the two blocks to the bike path...and then opened it up! Huge gears! Intervals! I was trying to distance myself from work as quickly as possible; those people make me #@$%&*! crazy sometimes. So I went really fast, got tired, passed some people and continued to go fast even though I was tired, and got home.