cold rainy slushy this am but I didn't ride, one more day working at home then back to the ratrace tomorrow. Nice and sunny out right now (though <40F I am sure). This whole 3 wk winter thing has made me inseparable from my long underwear. Not sure how that will change my dressing for the commute (and work once I get there). I did go for just a fun ride yesterday w/ a friend. Bike lanes and road shoulders total glacial moraine of sand put down for the last weeks of snow follies.

Cold in Denver, my legs are pretty beat after two weeks of Christmas vacation out of state. Gotta start working off all that egg nog

I was riding the same stuff this morning with studded tires and I still feared for my safety. It was easier to bike than walk with the slipperyness, but that doesn't mean I had good traction. I saw someone 'walking' down the hill by my house sliding on their bum.

My main mistake was deciding to take the MUP (Minuteman). Solid ice. At least it's good practice.

On the way home tonight a minivan swooped in front of me just as I was about to turn off to the right and just stopped. He could have gone left, right, or straight, so I assumed he was just confused about which way he was going. I waited.... and waited. He still didn't move. There wasn't a lot of room on the right for me to squeeze by, and I didn't want to cut in front of him by going around him on his left.

Another car pulls up behind me and stops because this minivan is in the way. We wait some more. Still no movement. The new car honks his horn. No response. He goes into the oncoming lane to get around him, and I follow suit (enough with this waiting). As I get to the driver's window, I gives me a look and creeps forward slowly through the intersection. I cut behind him and go right as I was planning all along.

The only thing I can think of is that the guy was upset at me for taking the lane and slowing him down so he tried to do the same to me. I had taken the lane for all of about maybe 300 feet. Why do people have to be such arseholes? That got me in a bad mood for the rest of my ride.

Easy day
 

The temp was about 30 something and it was a pleasure to lose some of the cold weather gear. I wore light gloves, a light hood, and no shoe covers. I had a 4 day break, give or take a couple errands, so I was primed to ride to work, which does not mean I wanted to be at work, it just means I wanted to ride.

So today was the second day of my elongated commute home from work. I usually do 13 miles a day, with the new route home I'll be doing 17.5.

I like the long route better. I see more cyclists, and there's actual bike lanes. Always a bonus. :D

Coldest it has been in a while...32 F...foggy too, it was kinda eerie on the way home...

After climbing out of the parking lot coming home, I realized that my bit of extra cable on the front derailer was rubbing my rear tire while on the large chainring (got smushed by the lock at work, I guess). After a mile or so I almost always catch a light at a fairly main intersection--three lanes; left is left-only, center is left/through traffic (straight onto the U of MD campus), and right is through/right-only.

I'm third in line at the light in the center lane (I take a left here onto a spacious bike lane that runs along a two-lane divided arterial) and have my left foot down whilst noodling the cable out a little when this dolt driving a commuter bus pulls up behind me but angling into the right lane--effectively blocking both right and center lanes behind me.

I give him my best WTF!? look as he starts babbling about how I'm not supposed to be "out here" in the middle of the road. Still taken aback and somewhat irritated, I asked him if he knew anything about state law. Nodding emphatically, he said, "Oh yeah, I know the law." (professional driver and all that, I guess)

I said, "Well, you better read it again."

He replied, "But you ain't got no motor--no way you can keep up!"

"I don't have to!"

After a comical 'yes you do, no I don't sequence,' I finally said, "Well, when you get a badge come talk to me."

After that one, getting buzzed by a bonehead in a BMW was small potatoes. Sheesh! I love commuting, but the behavior and competence of some motorists often leaves me worried about the future of our society...

A little rainy today (and cold for N. Ca). Finally got to test out my new fenders though. It was great having the protection. Hard to believe that with all the lights I own, I forgot to pack the front light.

It rained all the way in and drizzled all the way home. And I don't have any rain gear. But I'm still happy I rode. (Can you tell I'm a newbie?)

That was YOU!!??? :roflmao2:

:roflmao2: @ "Well, when you get a badge come talk to me."

I have a badge and I ride in the road ... because it's LEGAL (here in Georgia and in most other states).

Haha! :lol: But I saw no helmet cam on this dude and I wasn't in Nawlins.

Although I probably saw you when I was there on vacation in October (but didn't know it) because I was near and at the main Cafe du Monde around nightfall; I saw some bicyclists doing some wacky things while I was there, too. I'll wave at every hoon-cyclist with a webcam the next time I'm there and yell, "Hey, JoeyBike, ya crazy hoon-biker!" :D

I had a very similar thing happen to me last month. I thought I was getting a standard right hook, which increases the blood pressure plenty. But I'm pretty sure the guy tried to force me to the curb with a right hook, because when I started sprinting around him to the left, he took off straight. If he had tried to left hook me then there would have been a problem. This is on a one way residential street with parking on both sides, and it's just narrow enough that getting doored is a real possibility if you don't take the lane. It's one block up from the main drag, so I always figure if people are in a hurry they ought to just go up a block and go nuts.

37F/~2C with a light rain.The road spray was a little chilly on my bare shins and ankles, but otherwise a nice, non-stop ride in--which means that I was not called into any dialogues with self-appointed arbiters of social behavior (aside from talking to myself all the way in, of course :D ).

About 35 F and rain. Wore full gore tex and it worked out nice. Broke a rear spoke about halfway into the ride. Wheel is still fairly true; should still be able to ride home.

First commute in 2 or 3 weeks. Wasn't too bad. 20F, light crosswind. The MUP has some sections of postholed ice that required slowing down, but mostly it was clear or covered in light frozen sleet.

Storm coming tomorrow. :rolleyes:

No bike commute this morning. I got myself all ready, got out to the garage, and found that a rather large piece of metal had found a new home in my tire. I was having a rough morning already, so I just swore and wandered off to catch the bus. I'll fix it when I get home.

I think it's time to invest in some Gatorskins.

Had my first ride with the DiNotte tail light. Nice! :thumb:

35 and foggy. Felt colder than 35. I think it's that 100% humidity that just chills you to the bone. Otherwise, a fine morning to ride a bike.

First commute since end of November. Temp was around 20F and no wind. Nothing out of the ordinary happened except that there seemed to be a hundred new potholes to navigate around. Hopefully this quiet weather pattern holds for a while, cause I was sick of driving and the trainer in the basement was getting rather old too.

heavy mist/light drizzle. But it's been full-on rain for a while now, not looking forward to the ride home so much.

nice ride in this morning, but it was rather ominous that some guy was spreading salt on his dry sidewalks. Now there is ice everywhere. Haven't decided if I'm riding home or not.

First post
 

Hi everyone.

It was a nice, cool 20 deg F commute in this morning, and there was a nice sunset coming back.

However...
When I left school the sun was setting, so I put on my reflective vest and turned on my lights when I left. By the time I got home 9 miles later it was dark and my rear blinkie was off. I don't know when or how it turned off, but it really bothers me that it did. At least I was also wearing a safety vest and have reflectors on my panniers, but still...

Has anyone else ever had that happen with a PB Superflash? It's the first time that's ever happened before for me.

I had a good commute this morning, some fog/mist this morning.. but not bad. Traffic has picked back up to normal now that the holidays are past.. that was nice while it lasted. Temps were 56°/79°F.