I woke with hay fever, could barely open my right eye, so I worked from home. Had a conference call at 10 AM. When I completed that I took two Benadryl. They worked quickly and I was out the door and to work 3PM. My was fine, that is until I got to work. I stayed at work until 7:30 PM so I rode home with lights on. Half way home my front light went dim so I switched to light #2. That worked for about 1/4 of a mile and it went out on a down hill turn (Eeeck!). As quick as it went out it went back on. I rode the rest of the way home safely.

Had a nearly perfect ride home as the old bike was purring like a kitten and those 630:20 tyres were making a joyful noise on the pavement... and then... thump thump thump.

My bikes don't go thump thump thump.

When I checked I found that the relatively new Avocet on the front was preparing to blow itself off the rim and when I got home I checked and found that the rim tape had slipped sideways under the bead...

I'm thinking I dodged one today as there were stretches where I was easily hitting 55kmh and a blowout would have been painful.

Anyways... the wheel now has new tape and it should all be good for tomorrow.

This is not my usual commuter...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/gransport5.jpg

what bike is that?

1973 Raleigh Gran Sport.

I thought it looked similar to my peugeot. I think my bike is a '72. I have to do a little more research!

Lucky for me nothing bad happened, I was worried because my mom has a deathly allergic reaction if stung!

First commute in about 10 days. I rode the annual MS ride last weekend and it took a few days to recover from the 150 miles over 2 days. Fine ride in, though my legs are still a bit tired. I saw another commuter in the darkness, heading the other way. He had a nice bright headlight. Will be riding Cycle NC next week, so may not be commuting much for a few weeks after that.

Mid 30sF. Sunrise. Clear. Decidely fewer cyclists out this morning. Wimps! :p For some reason I had no energy, but it was a nice ride anyway. I passed one young woman who was bundled up. I said hi but she didn't respond. Probably thought I was lookin' for a date.

There was a piece of squirrel tail on the MUP. :eek:

It was cool enough on my ride (mid 40s probably) in that I was wishing for something light to cover my ears -- and, although I didn't feel it at the time, my feet were decidedly cool when I got to work. I think I'll head over to Chinatown on my lunch hour, swing by the fabric store and get some of that stretchy microfiber to make some beanies out of. Probably a residual effect of childhood ear infections, but I get spike-in-the-ear symptom when temps are relatively high.

Oh yeah, today is talk like a pirate day, yarrr.

Was a bit brisk, but cranked it up the first mile and was nice and toasty after that. Tried riding a little more to the left in the lane when I got to the real narrow part of my commute and found that was buzzed a lot less.
Matter of fact just once by this idiot or nearly clipped me then turned into the coffee drive-thru 20 fee later, freaking aholes.

54 deg, but the windchill decidedly cooler, especially when you're riding into a head wind. Almost bailed out this morning, but decided to give it a go. My long sleeve shirt and fleece jacket helped.

It was clear and 51 out today. I need to get some more cooler clothes I suppose I just bought one of those walmart under armor knock offs and need a couple more in the rotation. I also need to get some more reflective stuff since it is dark when I first start out. I do have lights on my bike that came with the factory, so that is helpful.

I'm expecting some deliveries that are too big to carry on bike, so I took the car. Still, 4 days out of 5 on bike is not bad for my first week. Hopefully next week I can make it 5/5.

45 degrees when i left the house so i wore gloves and threw a sweater on and a windbreaker...i saw one guy speeding down the road on a bike and he was wearing shorts and then i thought i was overdressed but i think i wore just enough...the ride felt a bit slow because of the extra weight

need to look into some neoprene booties soon...not too soon though

I was wearing shorts this AM. Where did you see this guy? :)

I rocked a light poly-pro under a capilene T and was pretty comfortable except on the big downhil at the start of my ride. I definitely need some gloves, though. I've always had cold hands and feet, so maybe some booties eventually as well.

Beautiful morning for a commute. Temp 71°, humidity 80%, clear skies. Felt like I could ride forever (or at least another hour ;)).

Really nice flow to trafffic today. It was smooth sailing all the way in. Woot!

It was a great ride in, cool and completely still. I think i freaked out a pedestrian whom i followed for all of 5 seconds on my way to a mailbox. Can't say that i blame her, it was at like 6am and it was pitch black save for the streetlights and she was walking in the "spotlight" of my bike light. I also dished out my first blinky to a biking ninja later on in the route.

I was pretty tired this morning and having trouble getting my bike folded properly. Caffeine!

Haven't changed road position although I push it a little more on the new bike.
old: entry level hybrid, Kenda Kourier 700x40 @ 65psi, generic rim tape and Forte SV tubes. 13 months no flats.
new bike: 26x1.9 tires @ 65psi=3 flats and now has 26x1.25 tires @ 85psi. Name brand rim tape and Bontrager or Forte PV tubes.
My commute is on two, 5 lane arterials at night. The traffic is fast (45+mph) but less dense than the day time. There is a gutter lane maybe a foot or more wide. I ride this as traffic flies by but move closer to right tire track when its clear. I also move away from storm drains with the 26x1.25 tires. 4 of the 7 major intersection have some sort of club so there is broken glass all the time. The Forte tires are still on probation before I switch to SM+s. The latest culprit:

were riding on brighton ave this morning around 745 or so?

Some lady in a nurse uniform kept honking at me on a street with clearly posted 'bike route' signs every 100 yards or so... I just ignored her and finally she went around (two wide lanes), honking as she passed of course. I wanted to catch her at the light and point out the bike route signs, but it turned green before I could catch up. It must've been tough for her being stuck behind a bike, why, i'll bet it added about 30 seconds to her commute! What was I thinking riding in the road?!

misty and a bit rushed; took both kids to their respective destinations (2nd grade one way, preschool the other).

Great weather, cool temps, but massive headwind. Of course in three hours, I'll really enjoy that 14mph pointed straight at my house.

I also have a Peugeot (a 1962) and although the bikes are the same size and same weight (22 pounds and a few ounces) they are very different machines... (the Pug is also a fixed gear).

Even with 125 psi tyres the Gran Sport rides like a dream, handles like it's on rails, and is just a trifle fast.

I rode her in today and she was back to being her glorous old self... I have also been really pleased at how well those 630:20 Avocet tyres roll and ride, even when they are running 120 / 105 psi.

My Pug will beat me up a little more if I run higher pressures as the frame is a little stiffer and tighter.