tchazzard

Cool ride in this morning, but the dew point is climbing fast. May be my last ride before I head to Italy on holiday.

Andy Dreisch

Yesterday's commute home was actually to a friend's house. A very fast 10 miles in just a shade under 30 mins with more than a few red lights.

Today's commute in was first to the same friend's house, but 15 miles from my home. There I met another workmate and we went the 10 miles from there to work at a pretty good pace. I got a flat at Peet's coffee while I was loading up on a double espresso.

My legs were very tired earlier on but the espresso helped!!! I've been doing a lot of riding before my vacation for the next 2 weeks.

This s/b my last ride before heading to Waikiki for 2 weeks, so see ya'.

Kodama

Mercifully morning clouds has dropped the temp 10 degrees today. Yesterday was low 90s and my apartment didn't cool down until dawn. Then I was woken up early by them painting the building So I was tired today, but the cooler temps were quite welcome. Variable wind was not as welcome, but I still left early enough to ride a little longer.

Interestingly on my ride home last night (which was hot and windy) there was some sort of outing of women cyclists. The trail was packed with riders. I'm usually pretty up on the cycling events in the area, but I didn't see this one coming.

Sailguy

Hey all!

I finally got back on the bike on Tuesday and did the first commute in awhile.. It felt great. However I still have the curse of the flats.

I was cruising home, keeping a good pace I thought for how out of shape i felt. Before I stopped commuting prior, I had put 35's on my rear wheel, and tire liners to stop the flats. Believe it or not, I got a flat again. A large wire staple went straight through everything. It was very dissapointing, but I am hoping that is the last of the fun that the flat gods are having with me.

I should be on my bike again tomorrow. I'll get back into 5 days a week soon!

~sg

Jean Beetham Smith 

This has been a great week of cycling weather, I've actually ridden my road bike all week. (No fenders, so I don't ride it if it looks like rain.) Actually, if feels a bit sluggish, like it has been sitting too long. No, the brakes aren't rubbing and the tires are fully aired, chain is clean & lubed, but it still feels off. It is about due for it's first new chain, hopefully that will fix it.

caloso

Yesterday and today it's been threatening to rain so I've been hauling my bke up the back stairs to my office. It fits nicely against a bookcase behind my desk. One of the computer guys is in my office and notices the bike and my computer wallpaper (Lance winning the stage at Luz-Ardiden). "Wow, you must be a serious biker," he says.

Oh, I guess. I ride pretty much everyday. I meet up with a buddy before work and we ride for an hour and a half or so.

"Wow. How far do you go? 10 miles?"

Yeah. Something like that.

Recumbent_Guy

Hi all,

I finally got back on my bikes recently too due to a prolonged period of illness. So far this year ive only managed about 2600kilometers which is far smaller than the distances I was doing the previous year. Im actually back to commuting 4 times a week now, with the distances ranging from 12kilometers return trip to about 35 depending on which way I go. Ive been slowly building my fitness and speed back up to a nice level again and im starting to see the rewards of that(lost a bit of weight, gained a bit of speed, etc).

Its getting kind of chilly here in the mornings, about 5-10degrees(celsius) so warming up first thing when going out on a bike ride is top priority. Speed isnt important I find and just makes me colder. Heh :} Hit a high cadence in a granny gear and watch the body temp rise a bit. Still, its lovely and still in the morning, cold enough to condense your breath on uphills and clear enough smell the wet dew and trees before the car traffic hits peak and everything smells like exhaust. :{

The journey to work is only short, 6kilometers or so, just enough to warm up and starting to feel prime before I have to stop because im at work already(and I dont want to show up too sweaty). The way home is a different story, I take the long route, I climb the hills, I speed down the other side, I share the lane with other workers trying to get home at the same time, I say a friendly hello or a nod of the head to other cyclists I see along this route, like that lovely little blonde lady, or the redhead thats got cheetah patterned bikepants, or the tall guy that uses a facemask.

I share a path alongside a river, suspended out over the river actually, completely free of road blocks, cars, and other obstacles. Of course I have to watch out for joggers and roller bladers, but they seem to be used to cyclists around here. I pass by cars banked up on a bridge, I cruise along the bikeway alongside and race the cars across the bridge, I always win. The other side of the bridge awaits a lovely long straight downhill, recently recoated, smooth as butter. I take the lane, and usually have to feather the brakes because the cars are going too slow!

I can go different ways from here, but a favourite of late is the hill climb, its not much of a hill really, but its the biggest around here. Its got a duel road, one up, one down and its very rarely used by cars it seems. Its quiet steep in sections but there are flat rest sections. I take my time, kick the cadence up a notch and the gears down a notch and enjoy the scenery. Its great! One side of the hill is forested walking trails and designated 'green area', the other side is classy but muted attitude residential, nice houses, lovely gardens. Its quiet, no loud music, no cars zooming past, my lights leading the way into the sunset.

I cant think of a better, more relaxing way to travel.

ZackJones

It's been a good week of commuting. Last night I finished rebuilding my Lemond Nevada City and rode it into work this morning. I need to put a longer stem on it though as I ended up cutting my left knee on the end of the handle bar while climbing a hill out of the saddle.

Zack

ridealot

Foggy morning here. Seems like it is starting to get muggy. The ride home may be a hot and humid one. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow so that may be a factor.

Other then that it has been a great week commuting.

darrencope

A super-fantastic ride in this morning. I started off forcing my self to go slow, so began spinning a higher than normal cadence. By about half way through my ride I was feeling great, so started to go a bit faster. Ended up a bit faster than usual overall, and felt great doing it! Now I have tonite's ride home, then three full days off the bike. Hopefully the rest does me good...

Sailguy

Now I remember why I was doing this before. What a great ride this morning! I was suprisingly close to my pace from before I quit riding a month or two ago. I was not as good at hills, but in the flats I was keeping some good speed. It definately felt good.

I hope this evening's ride is just as fun!

Paul L.

73 degrees when I woke up. The weather dictated a long ride in. I tried a new detour and found a nice bike path, think I still like the streets better for speed but the path was very nice for scenery. ended up with 27 miles. Gorgeous morning. lots of puddles.

Kodama

Even colder today, I'm liking this trend Was kinda sluggish today though, end of the biking week I guess. A bit of wind didn't help but wasn't overly strong. Left early once again to get away from the building painters (them waking me up early may also account for the tiredness) so I took a bit longer route today. Decent ride all around.

caloso

Really looking forward to the ride home tonight. I left my bike here last night and it's been whispering to me all day from the bookcase. Plus, my MIL has arrived for the weekend so any delay in returning to the house is a bonus.

Be safe, everyone. It's Friday afternoon and the motorists are distracted.

Jean Beetham Smith 

I got caught in a sudden downpour, and got completely soaked in 10 seconds. Well, all right it doesn't take much to soak you in a tee-shirt & shorts. So far this week a perfect record for sighting a hen turkey and her brood of 5. Good week, even if it did end up wet.

Chris L

Climbed back on the bike today for the first time since the crash - my body seems to be healing reasonably but my confidence is shot. Couldn't get any rhythm at all in the first 5km or so, and had a big scare on a roundabout after about 2km (not really a dangerous situation, just didn't have the confidence to take it at the same speed as I was previously).

Fortunately I encountered a cement truck in my lane in Surfers Paradise, I changed lanes and accelerated past it. That felt good, and things started to improve from there. I'm still not cornering at all confidently (which is strange because that wasn't what I was doing when I crashed).

cyclezealot

Chris. I have 3 more weeks to go in the sling. Rode about 1,000 miles between my crash and the surgery two months later.Starting to think about the trainer.
Crash ocurred on my older road bike. Have not been on that one since. It is like I blame my loyal old Scott bike for the accident and that is not fair.
Those I rode with after my crash said I cornered wider and slower. Guess, I will be slower and more observant forever more.
Plus I now think I like the wider tires on my touring bike. Fair assessments? It did take 60,000 miles to have such a crash.
But Dr. said, I ever re-injure that shoulder- that is it.

Chris L

I didn't get any dire warnings of the doctor about re-injuring my shoulder, but then, I didn't ask and he did say I only suffered bruising. I guess we're all a little more careful on corners after a crash, that's only sensible. I think the problem starts if we start taking it too far and letting fear take over from caution.

cyclezealot

I get out of this sling Aug. 21 and am in store for at least 3 weeks therapy.All depends upon my own determination and pain tolerance. That is one week before expected. So, I hope thaat is enough time to become functional- maybe enogh time to prepare for my cross Nevada bike tour.
The sponsors say they will hold a spot open for me in case I can do it. That is 'getting back on the horse,' right.? Woke up today- spent 35 minutes on the stationary trainer.

caloso

Something happened today that would have made me really mad except that it was so ridiculous.

It was 6:20am and I was riding through Midtown on 21st Street. It's three lane, one-way street. There was no traffic. I was late to my workout, I had a tailwind and a slight downhill, so I was moving pretty good (maybe 25mph). A guy in a big black Mercedes Benz slid by on my left, giving me an acceptable amount of room.

He slid back into the right lane and a hand shot out the sun roof and gave me the finger.

I had to laugh. Dude, it's 6:20 and there's no traffic and you already have an attitude like that? What an ass.

Kodama

Cool today, almost has me pining for fall. But I know that a few more hot weeks are coming. Apart from the chillier temps, there was no wind, and light traffic. I was rather beat though from a long ride on sunday. But I had to ride in as my bikes gonna be in the shop for the next day or so being tuned up.

Jean Beetham Smith 

It rained most of the day, except for my ride to and from work, so I'm happy. That is as good as it is likely to get until the 12th. Something happened over the week-end, the hen turkey only had 1 chick with her tonight.

mikemets5

WET...got soaked and it looks like I'm in for this for awhile. Any hints on getting my shoes to dry? I don't think they have ever been this wet. I have them in a small room with a dehumidifier...hope they're dry by 5:30 AM.

Recumbent_Guy

mm I just stick 'em in front of a fan...the shoes that is. With some paper scrunched up inside to help keep their shape.And then wear your spare shoes while they're drying :}

Chris L

Met another commuter on my route today, pity she's married. I kind of made her suffer a little bit, I was describing my recent fall, and I could see that she was desperately trying to avoid laughing about it - I probably should have told her she didn't need to hold the laughter in (since my LBS didn't when I replaced my helmet), but I thought: bugger it, nothing wrong with a bit of harmless fun on my part, is there?