Fantstic. A week and a half ago I bought a new fixed gear for 700 dollars, I rode the 20 minutes home from the bike shop and by the time I got home I was in a world of pain. Back hurt, knees were screaming in pain, neck was sore, hands were numb from too much weight on my hands. Rode out the next day, same deal, and I'm starting to think I'd bought a bike too hastily and ended up with one that didn't fit me at all. 700 bucks on a bike that was pretty much useless... I'm starting to get a little freaked.

Over the next week I made a few changes, flipped the stem so it wasn't as big a drop to the handlebars from the saddle, adjusted the sadle height, adjusted the saddle rails and changed out the gearing. For the past few days the bike has been incredible. No soreness, fast, responsive and totally comfortable. This morning ended up being one of my quickest most comfortable commutes yet and a total pleasure now that my bike is dialed in how I like it.

So yeah, the commute was fantastic :)

Hello! Did my first bike ride in 10 years and first commute this morning after my 5 mile run. 4.8 miles with my garmin (so I can see later pacing and elevation) in 25 minutes. I had to walk my bike up one hill, and there is a killer one that starts my commute home I'm hoping to make halfway before I walk. My goal is no walking by Christmas.

I'm a little saddle sore, but not bad.

Chris

Streets were wet and messy this morning from overnight storms. Cooler temps this morning. Wore my shell on the way in for the first time in a long time.

I have a bike with fenders on order. Spray coming off the wheels sucks. It's not only wet , it has the bonus effect of being dirty.

Reflected on the fact that winter riding is just around the corner. It always seems to snow at least once in September.

Sigh...

I hear ya. We had a wet start for the week here on the Gulf Coast Riviera. I'm glad I finally sold my Harley. A little over half the money is going into savings; the rest goes to build Fredkenstein; the SKS fenders I have spec'd will come in very handy later this year.

First Time Commute Today
 

I had a great ride in today, it will be even better once I get myself in a little better shape. The weather was perfect too, a little overcast and cool.

Sunny hot. Too hazy for Rainier though, unfortunately.

Got caught in a downpour on the way home yesterday. It started near the rugby fields but I was able to make it to cover just before the really heavy stuff came in. I hunkered down underneath the bridge, near the airport, and stayed nice and dry while the worst of it passed. I don't mind the rain (downpour in this case) it's the lightening that worries me. As it turned out, I stayed nice and dry while the storm whipped overhead. Once it passed to our East, I got back on the trail none the worse for wear. The funny thing is that it was kinda cozy, just wish I'd brought a snack and something to read-could have taken a nap too.

It's been a nice couple of weeks, no rain, starting to get a little nippy in the morning, along with the low sun, Winters coming! Warm to hot going home, ( gonna be a scorcher this evening and weekend ) Wildlife all over the place, Pheasant, Coyote, Hawk, Eagles, ( 3 times ) Deer, ( 3 times! ) Lots of bikes on the paths, quite a few on the roads. Has been intense at work this week, so homeward commute has been slow to almost stopped! :p No worries, no urgent needs to get home, so, it takes longer to get there <shrug> Rear shifter finally quit this AM, now to change it, the brake lever, the cantis for disc, which means changing the fork and wheel, also new fender, so while I'm doing that, I'll put the higher bars on.........

I think I just committed to changing the whole front end?

Awesome, amazing, instead of going the direct 4.7 miles I did 15.6 up in the hills and the back side of Reno and then on to work. And 16.5 mph average.

My biggest day so far since resuming biking in May after almost 40 years of no bike. Yay!

I just started commuting last week and today was the first day I've seen some fellow cyclists going my way. Two waited with me at a crosswalk and one guy on a road bike actually continued on down the same route I take to get home. I stayed behind him a bit and pushed myself to keep up this pace, so I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I was able to conquer a hill I usually have to stop at the side of to catch my breath. I think I get myself worked up on this particular hill because there's barely any shoulder to speak of, and there's no bike lane, and I'm still building up my hill-climbing legs and it intimidates me when cars go whooshing past me when I feel like I'm climbing at a snail's pace and it stresses me out. While following this guy I was huffing and puffing the whole way up, but afterward when my breathing calmed down I felt like I could breathe more deeply. That's a great feeling. :)

Man, did I get caught in some thunderstorms today riding home from work. I have been pretty lucky avoiding the rain all summer long, largely due to the ongoing drought in the Southeast. However, there have been a lot of scattered t-storms that I had somehow managed to miss until today. Lots of lightning and heavy downpours, and I was soaked like a wet rat when I got home. Of course the rain stopped as soon as I got home and the sun was out 15 minutes later.

athens, ga
 

I made it thru about 5 years at UGA commuting by bike. That was my only form of transportation most of the way through college. It's a great place to cycle, or at least it was back in the 70s and early 80s. Take a ride out to the Iron Horse sometime.

Busted spoke last two days. Not happy but I have the wheel now, jsut gotta get the rest of my bike in the morning.

I screwed up and forgot to set my alarm clock last night. Consequently, I woke up too late and had to drive to work :(

Hmm. My wife and kids are out in Granite Bay visiting her aunt. I'm considering riding out there to meet them for dinner. On the other hand, it's 101F.

My new Look Classic clipless pedals arrived today. Today was the maiden flight with the new tube. I had to wait for a break in the traffic line to cross the street to get on the right side ( Friday, Cape Cod, 12:30 in the afternoon, mid-August...it all adds up- cars everywhere! ) I worked until 10 tonight, and as I walked out of the store, I heard rolls of thunder. :O I got home before it rained, though. Sunday, I'm seeing Toby Keith, and I'm off Monday. I'm working at 7 AM on Tuesday...

Mostly OK, except for two cars that decided to be kind and wait for me to cross their path. Two-way, single lane road with parking on either side. I was going west, signaled, took my lane to turn left, and stopped for oncoming traffic heading east. Waited for one car to pass, then the car behind him saw me stopped for my left turn and stopped, likely thinking I would complete my turn. I waved him through. The guy behind him did the same thing. I waved him through, too. Cars were behind me as well, a couple of them also indicating a left turn. Maddening. Don't stop for me. This happens about once a week.

moist.

and even moist-er for the ride home. Its nice. Only saw one other commuter this morning. Who else would be out at 0445 in rain?

I drove in today ( more like crawled...) only because I had travel plans after work. I'll ride in this Tuesday ( I'm off Sunday and Monday).

It was chilly and the ground was wet...but I was appropriately dressed (I guessed right, yay!), so it was a pleasant ride. It was pretty much silent; I only saw two cars. And as an added bonus, I had the Stoplight Mojo. Every red light turned green for me.

The next couple of days should be interesting for me depending on what FAY decides to do.

It was fast, but not fast enough. I wanted to get home. The weather was alright, the sun was in my eyes, there was no wind...it was really unremarkable except for the fact that I was going faster than I wanted. I wanted to see Ms. Fussy Butt and give her a hug.

12bar - good luck with Fay. Hopefully she hasn't heard that Florida is a nice place to visit...

my first commute
 

Okay so after putting around the neighborhood for a month figuring out my old school bike I finally made the plunge and started commuting to work on my bike today... sort of.

I wasn't sure if i could handle the full distance so I drove about half way to test the waters. But it turned out to be a lot easier than I had anticipated and I think I'll be doing the full 6 miles in no time. It only took me like 15 mins, I was very surprised.

I felt amazing afterward and look forward to getting in shape while saving gas.

I live/have grown up in athens and as long as you wear a helmet and watch out for the bozos in their huge suv's it's still a great place to cycle and it's more popular than ever. Any given night there are bikes Everywhere downtown.

Hello everyone, especially the new commuters! Commuting will get you in shape no time, C-note.

At work there is a spate of people jumping onto other people's computers and sending out hilarious(?) messages to the rest of the department when people leave their desks and their PCs unlocked. I was stung the other day when I went to the bathroom; someone sent out an outlook poll from my email account with the question 'Do you think I look sexy in my bike shorts?'. I'm pleased to say that the vast majority of the responses that came back were 'Yes'. Although proportionally more men voted 'yes' than women, which is a concern...

In other news, I had a scare on the way home tonight, as I almost ran over a cat. It as on a dark stretch of road, and I only saw it literally as I was a foot away - it was black, and facing away from me. By the time it reacted, it was just to the left of my front wheel. Luckily it darted away to the left; if it had have gone right I would have hit it - with unpleasant consequences for both of us, I imagine.