Drove today, for about the only reason I ever do, to bring the car in for maintenance/repair. Clouded over last night, which kept it warmish for this morning, but supposed to stay around this temp (50s/60s) until it cools off some more tonight.

Feels like fall. 52F when I left the house at 6:35. Needed the light and blinky for the first portion of the ride, wore long sleeves and knee warmers.

Almost bought it, today. Going 31.7mph downhill on a two lane, someone decided they weren't going to wait for the line, crossed the median while I was coming down the turn, almost head-to-headed me and I got squeezed close to the guardrail...real close. Stay frosty, out there, morning drivers are careless.

Feels like summer again. It was 54F when I left this morning. :p
Much better than the 40s. Before I know it the morning temps will be dipping below the freezing mark.
Guess I need to order my new winter clothes soon. ugh!

Nice ride that unfortunately ended at work. :(

Obscenely fast... cause sometimes you just have to pack /ride light and put the hammer down.

D:

Well on my return trip home yesterday I was doing great.. then a bee stung me in the HEAD OUCH!! WTF?

On the North Fork Century, I saw a hornet crawl into my helmet near my eyebrows. About six nanoseconds later, the helmet was off and my Rudy Project sunglasses were skittering along the street ten feet behind me.

Didn't get stung, though.

Heal fast!

First time commuting twice in the same week, also fourth day of commuting for me. It was fine up until I decided to take a slightly different route than my last three commutes. I ended up walking my bike on the sidewalk along one of the busiest roads in town. I was a little bit apprehensive of trying to cycle on it, so I ended up walking a good mile and a half. It was not fun, and tonight's return trip will be on the old trusty route that I have been taking. I guess you learn the hard way sometimes.

My new bike had its 4th flat in 6 weeks. This time a short fat screw punctured the Forte ST/K tires (the previous flats were a different tire). The screw head was pretty big so I assumed it punctured the tube and was the only thing holding the air in. It was flat by the time I left work. Maybe if I pulled it right away instead of riding on it, it might not have hit the tube? Would be late for work if wrong.
The good news is I bought the Crank Bros Speed Tire Lever last week and it works GREAT. I used to fight the tires for maybe 20 minutes trying to mount them by hand but this thing had it on in less than a minute. Pretty light too.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

First time on the new IRO Mark V in single-speed mode. Not difficult at all, I quite liked it. I do miss having a mirror though, and will probably get a helmet-mounted one. Going to flip the hub to the 42/16 fixed this weekend and build up my skills, and once I'm comfortable with that, I'll try commuting fixed! Fun times.

I STILL wish i had money for a bike to start commuting..... found this on craigslist, not sure if its a scam or not.

http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/bik/844492305.html

youll find something eventually, when i first started commuting i rode a free bike basically a bike that someone had discarded and i brought it back to life...i commuted last year on an 80 dollar singlespeed conversion i found on craigslist...it doesn't have to be something expensive

Besides, no matter what you get, if you are a real commuter you....must....upgrade. It starts as soon as you get your commuter bike, no matter what it is. Then you think, dang I wish it had... So yea, just find something safe and solid. Get a helmet and ride.

I'm not necessarily looking for something expensive. But i'd definatly like a quality bike. I'm starting to look at Garage Sales!

Today's Commute
 

The bike lanes were full..............
................................................... of dead armadillos and car parts - not encouraging.
I only have a 7-mile commute but even this late in the year, the heat and humidity here can be wicked and as a result i arrive at work stewing in my own juices. I ride in shorts and a T-shirt and change upon arrival and I have some body powder stashed in my desk but does anyone else have any other tips for reducing one's aura after a ride in?

Hello everyone. I just found this forum and decided to post some. I have been commuting on my bicycle all summer in Amarillo, TX. I have been recording the days on my work outlook calendar and today was day 51. I think I missed a couple days, but those are what I know I have done.

My commute is 5.5 miles each way and it normally takes me between 20-30 minutes to make the trip. I am getting motivated to do the winter commuting this winter, but only on the non snow/rain days. I am trying to figure out what I need to wear etc.

You could try reducing the aura instead.
Something like wearing breathable fabrics if the shorts and t-shirt are cotton. Gym shorts and a synthetic exercise shirt would do the trick provided that they have an anti microbial treatment. Most do I believe.

True. Sad but true. Starting with a free bike at least means you have plenty of upgrade room before it starts getting pricey...

Jared, that bike doesn't look like a scam to me, but if you can afford a $900 bike, you need to quit whining and start commuting!

Tonight was faster than my fastest 5 am commute ever. I dunno why. I really have not felt very good all day, but about a mile in I noticed I felt pretty good. Just a nice, fast ride. Beautiful day too, warm, but not too warm. Close to perfect.

too many flats?
 

Where (on the road) are you riding? If you are in the breakdown lane, where all the debris is, you will get LOTS of flats. I made that mistake my first year of commuting. Took 7 flats the first year. After that I started to move closer to the traffic lane and didn't get as many (maybe 1 or 2). Sure it takes a bit more nerve, but you will stay out of the crap on the side of the road and get fewer flats.

I starting bike commuting in May and I am on my third bike. All three where free! I also converted all three to Single speeds! I sold them for $100 and $80 on craigslist. I would love to have a nice road bike someday but I am not going to let a little thing like money slow me down! Even though my commute is only 9 miles round trip I probably save over a hundred dollars a month by riding. It is addicting and now I hate driving to work. The Winter is really going to test my bravery and dedication!

Awesome ride home, i was just into it, i wish i could ride like that all the time.

I learned after my first flat. When I first started I would ride on the right side of the fog line (white line on the right). All of the tiny shards of glass get pushed to the shoulder of the road. Before when driving I always wondered why some cyclists didn't move over more but now I understand.

Now I ride right to the left of the fog line. If the road gets real narrow for me on the country road I ride I will move right when cars are passing me (I can see there headlights reflecting in front of me a half mile before they even get to me). 90% of the traffic goes around me but some people insist on staying in their lane even though no traffic is coming toward us and there is no double yellow line in the middle.

I was almost hit the other day by a van that I am sure didn't even see me.

Another tip that I have found useful is to use the vehicles headlights to see the tiny pieces of glass reflecting off the road. I am then able to avoid them. It's like a little game!

Over all had a good commute today. The moon was to high to watch so I just glanced every once in a while. The kiosk said 41 degrees but I don't think it was that cold. I've been wearing a windbreaker lately over a t-shirt but don't like the slimy feeling after I start sweating. I will try the wind breaker the first rain. I might spray some rain x on it and see how it works for keeping me dry. This morning I wore a long sleeved polypropylene shirt that was issued in the military. It worked great. The ride home was good but to short. I might have to start finding a longer route or just gear my SS higher.
I will definitely have to invest in something to put over my head and a good pair of gloves. And maybe a set of fenders.

I was all set for a nice 15 mile rode to Woodbridge after work, and went to go and change and realized... I forgot to pack bike clothes! The ride became a train ride with a few miles or riding at the end. Grumble grumble.