great commute yesterday, great this morning - about to leave for home. Nothing exciting happens to me on my commutes. Oh, I did wash my bike yesterday after a build up of two years of road grime. that was exciting...

Well I had a tougher than usual ride today and had to ask my ride buddy to go ahead without having me slow him down. He was streching at our office when I finally wheezed in. Turns out I had a simulated hill climb most of the way in (about 7 of my 11miles) thanks to pinching of the brake pad against my front wheel. Man I felt like a dork!! A fitter dork than I felt riding in, but one nevertheless.

Nice morning, though I didn't leave the house till late & it got HOT on the home stretch. Rode the trail through the canyon again. I am really starting to appreciate the skills that go into mountain biking and trail riding - you've got to be really fit & really alert to do that well. Very interesting how different the strategies are.

Wound up late to work, but oh well, they'll get their 8 hours - I'm staying late tonight and then the husband is picking me up for a night on the town!

Nice morning ride.

Afternoon I was sluggish, I got burned by a roadie, fell off my bike at a stop light, and got a cigarette thrown at me.

Going to see Pineapple Express tonight, it had better be funny.

flatted on the way in this morning. Had to use my limp-home pump. Come to think of it, I should add some more air now, before I head out.

Somebody is a yellow corvette went by me, slowed down to a crawl, and revved the engine, as if to say "Oh, yeah, biker? I've got a V8!" (that takes 94 octane, you boring showboat...) I made it to work with a half hour to kill, so I went to Wal-Mart to cool off and look at DVDs. (I didn't bring my bike inside- I had already parked it in the storage room at work next door). On the ride home tonight, I pulled over to make sure my Superflash was superflashing- it was, but someone in a passing car yelled out, "Ha! I thought you were a cop!"

The Falmouth Road Race takes place this Sunday, so I'm sure cars are going to be everywhere tomorrow. I'll be scooting by cars trying to make left turns, flattening hills, and making my wayyy the only way I know how...

I haven't posted in a bit but tonight was weird.

First of all, I saw two foxes, one really close. I thought it was a dog and tensed up, got ready to outrun it, but it flinched and ducked down in the grass eyeing me nervously until I left. Not a dog.

I was almost home, at the Cherry Creek trail. I noticed some puddles, and some sand on the path. Ok, maybe it rained harder in Denver than in Arvada. But... the creek was so high! I was all amazed by that for a while, and the puddles I was having to ride through were getting a bit bigger. Bigger to the point I had to slow way down and stand on my pedals, and I had to decide my line ahead of time because of course I couldn't see the path. Farther south, I had to start pedaling through the puddles. It was really weird and disorienting because it was so dark, and the water was moving pretty quick. I was actually sort of lost, not that I thought I had made a wrong turn or anything but everything just looked wrong. I had a choice at Arapahoe to exit or keep going. I kept going. I didn't want to take the extra time, or use the sidewalks on Speer, because I was just so close. I saw the trail underwater again ahead of me but it didn't look any bigger than the other spots. (I don't know what gave me that idea.) I started riding through, and the water was running fast. The water on the path was no longer overflow, it was part of the current. It was up to my ankles when I was pedalling. Someone yelled at me from above. I slowed down and answered, wondering if it was a cop, but it was just some drunk guy being drunk so I didn't stop since I didn't want to lose my momentum or concentration. But the path turns at some point in there, and I ended up with my front wheel falling off the path and getting stuck on a rock. I hopped off without falling but I had lost the path so I had to wade through until it dried up. The water was up to my knees, and still moving really quick. Nothing like unexpectedly strong water to get the adrenaline pumping (which is why I'm still awake.)

I exited at the next available spot and rode home, kind of shaky. like I said, weird commute.

It is not helpful to have my mind play back Real TV videos of people getting carried away in a foot of rushing floodwater when riding through running water.

Yeah, riding in Denver was a treat today! Capital Hill flooded and I saw a tree caught on one of the bridges on Cherry Creek on my way home tonight and the creek is still really high! Water over the bottom bracket most everywhere Downtown.
Best part of tonight? Being passed by a kayak on a city street....

in case no one else does, I caught the reference

COOL!

I missed most the fun sitting in Arvada all night (no rain, only sprinkled), sounds like it was a mess... in the fun way!

robinthehippie - Objectively, from the outside looking in, you were foolish. A 7 yr old girl was killed 2 days ago in NH when her Dad tried to cross a bridge over a swollen creek. The creek had turned to a river and washed the suv and 4 passengers 100 feet away. Rescuers were able to resuscitate the boy but not the girl. The parents survived. When they say don't walk or drive through running water they mean it and they mean it for a reason. That father who will bury his daughter soon, will never do it again. That could have been your last ride. I know when you are there you can't think objectively, so don't. Just follow the rule without making a judgment call on your own. It's a lesson for us all really, me included. And I hope I can do the right thing when I am faced with the same situation.

Glad you are OK to tell us the story.

Short answer: I know, it was a mistake... thanks.

Longer answer: By the time I realized the water was running and not a standing pool like the others I'd crossed, I was in the middle of it and too scared to try to turn myself around and go back. Now I have a scary but in this case mostly harmless experience to look back on next time I see big pools on the path and have to decide whether to exit and take the streets, which will be a good reminder.

Today wasn't a commute but seeing as I was feeling a bit more confident after my long delayed visit to the orthopeic. I went out for a 7 mile ride today. Compared to the short ride I did last weekend I can tell my knee is healing but I know I'm not 100% just yet.

Still it was a great ride and I even hit 25 mph for about a mile without a lot of pushing or experiencing any pain. The time off has given my quads some time to heal as well which has added some horsepower. They want to go go go but I know better now, I'll be fighting that temptation to push it.

Afterwards my knee felt a little sore but I did my usual combo of stretching, ice, & then icy hot and the soreness went away. I'm going to do at least one commute to work by bicycle next week and build from there. In a month or so I think my knee will be completely healed.

Well, today I was on my way home and - SSSSST!- my rear tire went flat. Luckily, I was within a comfortable walking distance to my humble abode, nothing in the fridge, basic cable, and dial-up internet... I'm now in the market for kevlar tires. Biketiresdirect.com's warehouse caught fire on 8/03, and they're not accepting orders until further notice.

Wolf - Good - don't rush it. Walking is good for everything.

Matt - Thanks for the warehouse tip.

It's staying dark so much later!

Other than that, I don't have much to report. I spent my whole commute off in my own little headspace, with my eyes and my legs doing their thing while my mind was daydreaming. Before I knew it, I was at work and hadn't broken a sweat.

Not looking forward to tomorrow. Rain forecast throughout the day ...

I spent the whole ride home off in my own little world again...what can I say? I've been in a reflective, nostalgic, navel-gazing kind of mood. It took me until I was turning on my street to realize that my legs and my lungs were both screaming at me. Then I looked at the clock and realized that I had made one of my best times yet, without even trying.

I'm not saying you are me (lucky you ) but be careful. The daydream type commutes are where I have a greater tendency to determine that I am unable to fly and end up checking the density of the pavement.

I'm finally riding my bike to work tomorrow bishes! I have loved you and hated you all for being able to ride while I could not

My knee has been feeling really good over the past couple of days. I'll be multi-modal commuting by bike & bus & taking it easy. Starting off with two to three days a week and seeing where that goes. I'm fruggin' happy.

Good point. I see enough of my coworkers at work. I haven't taste-tested the pavement in Arvada to see if it's the same variety as the pavement in Aurora, though....

I drove to work today on account of the rear flat ( bike's upside down in my living room, with one wheel on- 2nd finance payment is due the 17th, replalcement pedals are coming in soon I was driving along and saw a helmetless rider going against traffic, wearing what looked like MP3 earbuds. A little further up the road, a helmeted rider was going with the flow, but on the same side of the road. I thought to myself, "Trainwreck!..."

Monday

Mainly cloudy skies with periods of rain. Cool with highs only in the upper 60s to 70.

THIS IS THE WORST DA OF THE WEEK. I got up really earl hoping to find a window of opportunity ...

60F/15C with a 5-10mph westerly (headwind for me). This is the coolest it's been in quite a few weeks, I think. Very refreshing!

I wonder if this has anything to do with those SmartWool glove liners I ordered the other day. Naaaaa......

Had a great ride today. Rode my road bike for the first time in about a month. I have been riding my fixed gear exclusively and I noticed a definate improvement in leg strength. On another note, I counted 8 riders with no lights at all. I left home at 6:05 am, so it was completely dark. Most of my ride is on a bike path so you pass within a foot or two of oncoming riders. At least they could see me.