I also "reverse commute" Vienna to Ashburn. There was a stop at route 28 that had tables next to the trail - riders were standing on the bike path. I don't think they appreciated my bell warning prior to riding past. :)

80F for the ride home! Mostly sunny. Swapped bikes when I got home, and took off on a very steep hilly route toward the Smith River and a tiny community called Eden. I can't believe I was able to make it as far as I did. Would have gone further, but ran out of water and time.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Rainy all day here. We are traveling down to Salem, OR to visit our grand kids & I had to chauffer our 2 dogs out to doggy daycare for the weekend so I drove today. I felt strange meandering along the usual route without wind in my face. Don

It has been really hot here the last couple of weeks..Really enjoyed today's commute. The inland portion of my commute was only in the low 80's . Felt great. It has been in the mid-90's... Did not commute during those hot/smoggy days.
Took a little longer than my usual two hours... The headwinds were more than 15 miles an hour..Cut down on my time..

Today is the 1st time I have used my road bike for commuting. Before that there was problem with the gear then I change to fixed gear and the problem solved. The road bike is much faster then my mountain bike but I still will be using the MTB cause I like the exercise.

Had to work today -the dirty secret of the computer industry. Nice day for riding too :( partially sunny, with shorts and t-shirts temps and beautiful fluffy clouds. The wind is a bit high and of course the trail is unusable (why aren't these people at Mom's ;) ). Riding with the full touring load all this weekend, only missing my sleeping bag (which is in route) and sundries. Getting easier pushing that weight. I did do a long steep hill yesterday that forced me into my lowest gear. Then came the torrential rain...

20 Degrees C this morning, although strangely it was only 19 when I got to work (yes, I have a thermometer on my new computer). Bit of a recovery ride after yesterday's 100km ride with 1,327 metres of climbing, and an 18km walk with six river crossings (on foot) to go with it. Had a decent tail wind, so it was all pretty easy.

When I was riding home, a small car from opposite lane cut the car in front at 120 km/h and go into my lane. It almost hit me. If it hit me I will be dead.

There is a car having a flat tire half way during my trip. They are having problem changing it.

The ride is much faster and easier with my MTB changing to SS last 2 days ago.

Today marks my 5th consecutive day of commuting to work. I only go about 5 miles one-way, but have generally felt much better upon getting to work than I did when I drove. Its kind of wierd, I get up at 6:30 instead of 8:00, but feel less tired. I also get to work earlier so I can leave earlier. I've found that my average speed is slowing down, but I'm not too worried as I'm still averaging 14-15 mph. So here are my high's and lows of my first full week of biking:

Highs:
Having lots of people look at me like I'm nuts when I'm walking through the office in my bright yellow jacket carrying my helmet.

Not feeling guilty about my afternoon trip to the vending machine

getting in an additional ~50 miles of saddle time per week without having to find time for it during the day.

Saving $6 a week on gas, or about $15 a week in total auto expenses for not driving.

Lows:
Jerks in cars/trucks: Only one bad case, guy in an old rusted out truck slammed on his brakes, squealing his tires while sounding his "dixie" horn. Hope he had fun.

Flat: Stick caught in between spokes and ripped out the stem :(

Locked out: I forgot that I didn't have a house key on my "Bike" keychain, so I had to break into the house. I found out just how easy it is, and now I don't feel so safe in my house anymore :( (same day as the flat...what a day that was)

Headwind both ways. Can't the wind pick a single direction for a day instead of turning around on itself.

Laundry. (I have a limited bike wardrobe, so I'm washing my clothes every 2 days).

Great conditions this morning - around 50F/10C, with a slight tailwind for a change.

Broke another rear drive-side spoke this morning, though. I hear it pop when I took off from the lights at about mile 9 of 12. Fortunately I was able to secure it for safety and cruise in to the office - will have to bum a ride home this evening.... damn!

I'm tempted to buy a new rear wheel, but I don't really want to spend any money on this beast since I'm intending to replace it completely in a month or two. Perhaps I'll wander up to the LBS this evening and pick up some slicks for the hardtail.

Happy Monday morning to everyone!

25F/-4C with light winds this morning. Got the crap scared out of me when I rounded one of the blind curves in my route when a couple of large "ring-necked" phesants were right there! They screeched, I yelled, we all went our seperate directions.

I did it! After lurking here a week or so, I screwed up my courage and rode my bike halfway to work today. I live 10 miles from my office, so I parked my car about halfway and biked the rest. Lovely day for a ride. No wind, 65 degrees. Only hitch: I got a nosebleed about halfway through. I had to cut off part of my sleeve to shove up my nose to block the drippage. Yuck.

I look forward to commuting again. Thanks to everyone here for motivating me.

Today was my first commute on the bike. It's 10 miles one way. I rode the route last weekend so I had an idea of what to expect. I'm glad I rode it on a weekend first, because some things weren't as I expected. The route starts out in a city neighborhood, then I ride into and through downtown, before getting on a commuter trail where there are no cars. It's about five miles of streets and five miles of paved trails.

I packed all of my gear last night as recommended to decrease the chances of chickening out. I woke up early probably becase my mind was nervous/excited about the ride.

I packed a lot really. Extra shoes, jeans, t-shirts in case I forget those things someday. I work at a software company, so the casual look is quite all right. Besides the t-shirts have the company logo on 'em! : )

I packed my work shirt and changed by sweaty "commuting" shirt in the washroom. I had showered before leaving this morning, so I simply washed up using a camping/pack towel (the ones that are like a chamois), put on some deodarant, and put some gel in my hair.

The commute took about 40 minutes and there was only one and a half incidents.

First (half) incident was a car that tried going around me pulled into the next lane without looking and nearly side swiped the car that was in that lane. Not my fault and the honking horn wasn't at me. It was the left lane driver honking at the right lane driver that was in too much of a hurry.

The second (also a half?) incident was I was at stop sign wanting to make a left turn with three cars behind waiting for a car to drive through an intersection. The car coming down the intersecting road did not have any stop sign, yield sign, or anything. She stopped at the intersection! And there were cars behind her! She had a dazed look on her face waiting for me to go. I pointed out she didn't have to stop and waved her on. Crazy.

Thanks for the warm welcome, N7CZinMT.

I showered at home and changed when I got to work, but I'm afraid I under-packed. Forgot the deodorant! Now, I think I stink. Going to have to put together a kit to keep in my desk.

Yep. Good idea! You'll get the minor bugs worked out as you continue to commute.

Bob

Congrats on the commuting. Unscented baby wipes work well for me. Take 10 minutes to cool down, a fan helps with this. Then go to the bathroom and do a birdbath - cold water on the head is really great. I keep a belt, pants and shirts, and shoes at work. My work is casual, so it doesn't bother me to keep clothes here.

Today was a first for the year for me...no arm or leg warmers or anything like it...just a short sleeve jersey and shorts. So while it was nice when i started (upper 60s temp) by the time i got to work (10 miles one way) I was pretty warm, especially my back because of my backpack. Might have to get a rack and pannier with the warmer temps on the way so the back doesn't get so sweaty.

Haven't been commuting in a while due to a leave of absence from work, but I'm back at it. I left just after 6 and rode a big circular route to the east before heading north on Watt Avenue and on to the American River Bike Trail to head west into Downtown.

Nature sighting of the day: a huge Harris hawk pulling a ground squirrel out his hole. Awesome. The ancient Greeks would say that's a propitious omen!

Hey, thanks Bob, that was very thoughtful of you. It worked out to be a great day.

Ahhh, yet another great commute. I stopped at the doctors office for a complete physical this morning. Everything is great, I received allot of positive feedback from the doctor. He said he wished he had more people my age (54) that was in as good of shape as me. It was quite an edifying experience... ahhh, except for the finger part, if you know what I mean :( . Beautiful day, did some extra miles on my lunch break and I'm planning on taking the long way home. The air is so fragrant with all of the spring blooming going on. Life is grand! :)

Oh boy. It is sure a different experience riding in the rain. Glad I packed the rain gear in the panniers last night. Temp was around 40F with a north wind. My chain started "skipping" on the way home. Didn't matter which chainring or cog I was in. It made the steep climb just before my house a real pleasure! I'll be investigating that problem this evening. Expecting to ride in snow tomorrow morning. :(

Fully overcast today, dark and colder. Sprinkles begin after 10 min or so and pickup some density but never really turn into rain. I stop and put my cover on the Brooks (an old rain jacket hood as suggested by ollo_ollo --thanks) and the cover on my rear Arkel. The drizzle fades away shortly after this. For the first time in a while there is no wind and I can't say I missed it. Few walkers were out but I saw more cyclists than I expected, good to see some riders not scared off by cool temps, overcast skies and the threat of rain.

Better to keep it permanently in your backpack/pannier and never take it out (except for use at work). I have a can of deodorant I use like that. It just saves me having to go into the office itself and rummage around for it. Of course, that's only a problem if, like me, your desk isn't as clean as it should be.

20 degrees C this morning. So much for "winter". Reasonably sane ride in, except for one bus driver who made a couple of pathetic attempts to cut me off. I soon dropped him pointlessly in the gridlock near Sorrento shops, so it didn't bother me too much. I saw Halley's comet six times this morning while waiting for the set of lights at the intersection of Ferry Road and Cotlew Street to change.

Weather was great this morning coming in tempature was around 61(F). Everything went well until I got a flat in my rear tire. What a pain that was. At least the sun was starting to rise when it happened so that made it a little easier. Ride home looks to be good one.

That sucks N7CZinMT

Great advice! I commuted again today. Second day much smoother than the first. Nice overcast day, no wind. Most of my ride is on the bike trail or through residential streets, so traffic was not a problem. I even saw a veteran commuter headed the other way. I was wishing for his panniers instead of my backpack making me sweaty.

Only 1 1/2 commutes under my belt and I'm hooked!

Congrats to the new commuters!!! You won't regret starting...

Temps in the high 60s this morning, though the 20-30 mph headwind cancelled that out pretty well and made for a reasonably hard ride in. I wandered up to my LBS last night and picked up a set of Specialized Nimbus Armadillos (26x1.5) yesterday, and moved a lot of bits and pieces across to the MTB. The rear wheel on my hybrid is knackered, as are many other parts of it, so I'm thinking I'll retire it for a month or two until I can get around to turning it into a singlespeed grocery getter.

One other annoying thing - my Arkel panniers arrived yesterday, but my Blackburn rack won't mount on the oversized rear stays on my MTB! Off to the LBS again on the weekend for another rack... :)

Seemed to be more fellow commuters on the streets, at least in Midtown. Maybe folks are figuring out that Sacramento in May is ideal for bike commuting.

32F north winds around 15MPH. Stinging SNOW right in the face. Ripped my rain pants getting off the bike last night and didn't notice until this morning. Had to ride the winter commuter since the Rampar is having chain skipping problems. And the snow continues. Expecting 4-6 inches.

Another overcast day, colder as well with the return of the headwind. Not too bad really but just couldn't get much energy into the ride today. Some days you are cycling and other days you are just commuting I guess. I did see swimming up the river a pair of geese with a mess of goslings swimming in between them. Too cute, made me wish I carried my camera on a daily basis.

What a tailwind! Somewhere around 25-30mph at my best guess, since that's the speed I was travelling at when it felt totally still around me. It made things interesting when I had to turn across it - especially when the gusts hit me broadside. Fun!!