Today I rode to Escondido to get some things for my work partner who is beginning to get into cycling..Been helping her work on her recumbent...She is looking forward to our Thursday beach rides...Rides he bent about the plant to get ready for it.
But going up the big hill to Escondido on the way to the LBS, three cyclists in Heinekein garb passed me by...Asked the one who slowed down, does he speak German..
Said he is a Yugoslav... In a non complaining manner talked of the less freindly locals in regards to cyclists.Said local police told him, that cyclists should be banned from the streets...He was somewhat amazed at that.......
.What brought the topic up, he complimented my jersey..I was wearing my Velo "Bike to work" jersey with the stamp out car logo...Said from what he saw so far, I am brave....
Liked the terrain but did infer cycling is less appreciated in our part of the world..
. Meant to ask, why the three all wearing the Green Heinken gear...Possibly. Is there a Heineken team? But the one who slowed up, had enough of poking along and tore off up the hill like a bat out of hell.
Enjoyed the sunny ride, but today, our winter seemed to be waning, and spring temp's almost felt more like summer.

[QUOTE]But going up the big hill to Escondido
Did you see the advertisement for grand ave. bikes in/on the bike lane? What store do you go to? Today was a Summer day.

Hotwheels...I always seem to head to Escondido on Tuesday's for some reason when Grand Ave. Bikes are closed.. Been in the store once. I was impressed...Owner has an interesting history.He is a major tandem dealer. Yes, going up the big hill, hard not to see the ad on the road...
I normally go to Performance in Escondido..Their mechanic has a very good reputation..Cyclists floc to him..
You from North County? Great cycling heah?

beautiful day in the northwest, record highs for the year. Must have been a tailwind for me tonight as I smoked on the way home. Of course I roasted wearing my IP Amfib tights. Chance of rain the next couple of days.

Friday's ride home really sucked. I broke a couple of spokes on the way home. I was about 5-1/2 miles from home too. I called home to get a ride but no answer. I find out that my wife and little son went to the mall to get him some new shoes. The walk home sucked.

Anyway the commuter is out of service until the shop can get the wheel fixed. I am on my old road bike until then.

Bad luck Ridealot - hope you get things fixed up soon.

I over-estimated the temperature this morning and was a bit chilly earlier on in the ride. There were also thick patches of fog in paces, which gave things a eerie feel. Good riding though.
Cheers,

Ed

Indeed!
The owner of Grand Ave. is a nice guy, I've talked with him a couiple of times. Nice to know about Performance's mechanic.

I understand he used to own a top end bike shop over in Solana Beach..Maybe the Nytro store now?

Ok, Sun Diego? hotwheels, enter a "Location/Where you live" in your profile, I like to see where people are.

This morning? 63 degrees, calm and clear...

I can see this summer's 6:30am commutes are going to be 80 degrees...

I have been riding at 5:15 in the morning just because it's empty cool and the view is just great as I look to the foothills and mountains to the east of San Diego County. It's really ideal riding conditions.

It was back to normal Spring weather in Puget Sound Country this morning: 48F & light rain but by late afternoon it was sunny & 55F. The rain scared off all the fairweather cyclists & I only saw two other commuters today. Don

Hotwheels..What are your favorite rides..Guess our favorite is from Welk, up Lilac Rd. to the east. Then down Cuser Canyon, down into Rainbowvia Rice Canyon, and back up Schearer's grade to Welk..That is a pretty standard ride.. Going South on Cuser Canyon is a pretty challenging ride... Of course everyone knows about Palomar Mtn... Ever done Cole Grade road from Pauma area..
Used to like riding out to Lake Wolford...The whole area is being destroyed by traffic and drunks from the Casinos...

About today's commute..Was mostly recreational, but since I did an errand, I will classify it as a commute.
But, Yesterday I did 52, today 31...After in the shower, I noticed the outline of my gloves taking root about my wrist.The tan line is becoming noticeable..I like that.
But, due to family business, I need go to Michigan for the next week...So, I will be incommunicado for a week and no likely riding. The disappointment to a cyclists vanity..No cycling outlines on my body by next week...Had been able to stick around sunny So Cal, they would have been pretty well developed.

Had some fun the last couple of days:

On a trip to the shops on saturday I noticed a wobble in my back wheel. On closer inspection I discovered two broken spokes. I got it fixed on Monday, and put the wheel back together Tuesday morning before leaving. On my first attempt to shift into the seventh gear I realised I'd put the spacer on the wrong side of the cog, and it wouldn't stay in gear. So I rode all the way there and back either spinning too fast or too slow for most of it (seventh seems to be my favourite gear - didn't even realise until I didn;t have it). On the way home I rode through a pile of broken glass and got myself a slow leak. I had to be home early, so I didn't have time to repair it, so I just pumped it up a couple of times and limped home. When I pulled the tube out this morning I found the hole right on the ribbed part of the tube (I have no idea why there's a ribbed part on the tube - seems like a bad idea to me). I tried to repair it with a patch, but as I suspected it didn't stay stuck. My only spare was a 1.9" tube, which I prefer not to put in my 1.25" tyre, but it seemed to work ok as a temporary fix.

I wonder what'll be next.

(obligatory weather report) At least the weather's nice this week. Sunny, low 20's C, and not much wind. Perfect.

I've done that hill a couple of times, it's tough, for me. I think my favorite ride is Nate Harrison Grade road. You need a mountain bike. 10 miles up 3500-4000ft elevation gain. I won't do it in the heat though. I tried that last summer and was miserable from the gnats the entire time. When I have the time I like to ride out to Palomar Airport road and go as far south as possible on Coast Highway (summer stock). Going up lake wohlford hill from east valley parkway is a great hill, from there I'll do the Escondido-Pauma Valley loop, I'm tired after that. Trip 24 from Cycling San Diego, an awesome book!!!

Had some jerk in a heap of crap car doing his best to stop me from ploughing through the traffic today. He was failing dismally of course, but that failure seems to be about the height of his life-time achievements, so I thought it best to let him have his fun.

Nice ride in this morning, 44 degrees with light drizzle in the DC area. I saw an increase in the number of joggers but only two other riders. I hauled an extra: t-shirt, underwear, pair of socks (2), and toiletries this morning so my backpack was bursting at the seems. I'm building a backup supply just in case I leave something at home. I'll probably bring in extra tubes and stuff next week too. I guess we're looking at some rain through the rest of the week-should keep the tourist traffic down on the Mall at least.

not commuting today - giving a guest lecture at a local university - great ride home last night - was flying, and got into a kind of race with some other guy - one of those rides where you get off and your legs are wobbly

Fantastic ride in today - so good that I almost soared past work and carried on riding for the day because the weather is so nice.

I also gave a colleague some help tuning up their bike after their first bike commute of the year - they mentioned a few problems with the gears. I'm glad I did, when I went through the checks, I noticed that the front brake calipers were about to fall off... :eek:

Cheers,

Ed

Bit of a drizzle, but light enough that my rain gear stayed on the rack. Dark enough, though, that I decided to use my lights. Only saw one other bike commuter, as opposed to the three or four I have been routinely seeing this spring. Just the right temperature, so I zipped happily along enjoying spring.

Paul

Drizzling with temps in the upper 30s, windchill at about 32F.

I had passed up commuting for several days due to threat of thunderstorms, but I decided a little drizzle wouldn't hurt. My main concern is with limited vision since I wear glasses.

It actually wasn't bad riding in a light rain, so I did an extra lap around the park (about 6 miles) before heading into the office. Maybe I'll do another lap before going home tonight.

Dang, I knew I shouldn't have said that.

Whilst riding over the Story Bridge tonight on the way home my seat bolt snapped. There's no way to stop on this bridge, and anything that falls off the bike is gone for good (I've already lost a radio to this bridge). Fortunately, I not only had the presence of mind to lift my butt to avoid any overly intimate contact with the seat post, but I somehow held onto the seat between my thighs and kept it there until I could coast to a spot where I could stop. After removing the post and putting all the bits in my pannier I went on my way sans-seat. It was kind of fun lanesplitting down Shafston Ave. sitting on my rack.

Fortunately there's a bikeshop on my way home. Unfortunately it was shut when I got there. Fortunately the owner was still there and let me in. After realising that I'd lost the bottom part of the clamp, he found me a new seatpost in the right size for only $30, and I was on my way again.

Sheesh

Man that sucks. I hope your luck starts to change. I broke a couple of spokes Friday on the way home. Still waiting for the bike shop to get the wheel done.

Guess I need to learn how to fix my own wheels.

Rode in to work today for the third straight day after taking a month off (out of town on business). I am starting to get back up to speed, but still a little slower than I was a month ago. It has warmed up a bit in the last month, no more arm warmers in the morning! So the heat begins... Soon I'll have to stop at the YMCA in the morning for a shower again like last fall. Oh well, atleast I won't have to think about what to wear for a while now - just shorts and short sleeves until late October!

Wasn't able to get through to the Forums on Monday to report on the nicest day of the year. Got to 80F during the day and it was 70F when I left for work. It was super windy though and worked up quite a sweat in just t-shirt and shorts on that day. Ride home featured a nice tailwind.

Yesterday I was feeling under the weather and didn't ride :(

Today was much colder mid 40sF when I left from home. A bit of wind and partially sunny skies. Still wasn't feeling great so kind of a slow ride in. Kinda been one of those weeks I guess.

The ride to work was just about as good as it gets temp was 52 no wind and not a cloud in the sky.The ride home was even better 78 clear blue sky god i love the spring time

It was a cool 37F at 6:00 AM & overcast all day. Saw 5 other commuters today. That record breaking high Monday is just a memory. Don

That's cool. I honestly don't know what I would have done in that situation. I once broke a seatpost in Numinbah Valley and my first thought was "WTF is going on here?" and I started looking around immediately. Of course, there was no traffic for me to keep an eye on that morning, but there was a 30km ride home.

Yay! As it is dry enough to ride without studs, I took my summer bike for a ride in my first commute this "summer". A cool -5C with some wind chill (not too bad), and sunny. There were still some icy patches here and there, but I took those very carefully and had no problems. It was such a good start for the day!

--J

A wet one in DC this morning, even with temps in the 40's it felt kinda balmy. Only saw one other rider-in full rain gear. Even with the steady rain, I managed to stay fairly dry and had a great ride. My cap, winter riding jacket, and gloves were plenty warm and rain resisitant. My new fenders kept spray off my back and backpack and my change of clothes stayed nice and dry in their plastic bags. I did put the hammer down a little bit and ended up beating my normal time. I guess I have more of this to look forward to this afternoon and tomorrow but I'm comitted to riding every day this week (it'll be my first time since last fall). People at work think I'm crazy for riding in this weather, but it actually felt really good.