Cold but reasonably clear here. Able to switch my lights off half way. Spring is round the corner!

Hey y'all, y'all. Long time, no post.

I am still the faithful bike-commuter though I backed off a little more this year than past years through the incredibly busy holiday season and year-end craziness at work. I went about 2 weeks at the end of the year without a b-c.

Anyway, I don't have too much to add as I'm still cranking the north-south route through San Jose. It's been danged cold this winter and last December was rainy as all hell. It's recently warmed up just a bit and, lo and behold, I see all my fair weather friends emerge from their gyms. Happens every spring.

My faithful Trek 520 armored vehicle is muddy as can be from the storms. I've got 4700+ miles on it now. I expect that to increase substantially once I get back into the longer, 20-mile-each-way route during the summertime.

My commuting has kept me in shape though I've crept back up to between 215-220. Man, did I ever overindulge through the holidays. Time to subscribe to the Weight Loss thread.

Happy commutin' !!

Almost the same as yesterday, which considering how nice it was is no complaint Even though the air temp has been in the upper 30s (f) I've really been getting warm in this direct sunlight. I may forgo the jacket tomorrow morning if the weather persists. I've been seeing a few more riders each day, even at night. The "seasonal" commuters must be getting cabin fever.

I brought my handy dandy new digital camera and snapped a couple of shots of the cold and murky Sacramento River on the way in. I was trying to get a shot of the crane on the opposite bank but I think it was too far.

Cold and clear this morning. Perfect weather for me.

I'll be danged!

The commute was better than ever today because the city ran a streetsweeper along Martin Way overnight & cleaned up the rest of the rock, sand & grit left from our January snows. Its supposed to cloud up & rain overnight & we may not see weather like this again for quite some time. Don

Great riding again today, though I got stuck for a while behind some rural traffic. That is the disadvantage of the alternative route acros the country lanes.

It is a little worrying that some funny noises are making themselves heard from somewhere on the bike. It seems to be coming from the bottom bracket, but there is another sound too that needs to be traced.

Have a good weekend,

Ed

a rare 5 day commuting week for me - feeling very proud of myself!

Wow, sunshine two days in a row!!! This must be a record! Anyway, I had a nice ride in this morning, 7F/-13C, it's suppose to get up above freezing today (I'll believe that when I see it, it's been over 20 days since it happened last). I'm really enjoying the longer daylight hours, I saw a beautiful sunrise this morning with the blues, pinks, etc. I'm getting a little surly, I think I'm ready for spring.

The nice weather continues, thought the weather people claim rain for today. But I'm sure that rain will be here for the 3 day weekend. Anyway, as promised I chose to forego the rain coat and enjoyed the ride in just the sweater (and tights and shorts of course) A lot more people on the trail, including the first roller blader I've seen on a weekday since the fall.

Commute was good and fast but some madman in a buick tried to hit me and ran me off the road. I wish the people with cars would learn how to share the road better.

Not a bad ride in today, after a sluggish start. Much better than yesterday's "pleasure" ride which involved two punctures and being bitten on the bum by a dog.

Cheers,

Ed

Bumbiting dogs and madmen driving Buicks!!! What is this world coming to????

First commute to work all the way (11 miles each way) in six weeks. Streets on the west side of Chicago were decent albeit a bit salty, temp was around 20, and the number of guys hanging on the corners was minimal. This is by far the earliest in the year that I've gotten back into bike commuting and I'm psyched for it. Come April and May I may be able to kick some butt on weekend rides with my riding group.

Ah, it's winter, wait until spring ...

I had a nice ride in this morning, it was 9F/-12C but the skys are clear and the sun is peeking out earlier and earlier every day. The roads are clear and we might see 30F/-1C this afternoon!!! A heat wave! We haven't been above freezing in over 30 days!

Really warm (59F) and breezy this morning. I think a front is passing over the valley. Anyway, it was a good hard ride into work with the headwind (that's my lemonade from lemons attitude!).

A blanket of fog covered the landscape his morning. The grey miasma seemed to drain colour leaving behind only a mere trace of vitality as the world struggled to waken in a bizarre monochrome half-light.

Good ride, about 7°C with no wind, though feeling colder due to the damp air.

Cheers,

Ed

Cloudy and dreary this morning, really felt like the first day back to work after a 3 day weekend. The escort through the bridge construction zone has reappeared. Saw still more cyclists today including one obvious commuter. Kind of a slow ride in, I'm blaming under inflated tires.

Closest to buying the farm yet. Light changed from green to yellow just as I moved into the an intersection with 4 lanes. If I stopped, I would stop in the middle of the intersection so I stepped up the cadence. Just as I was into the 4th lane the light went red, and the car approaching the intersection didn't slow until it was on top of me. No collision, no harm, no foul. Not sure what I could have done differently. I suspect the car approaching the interesection didn't notice me because I was hidden by the left turning lane cars and they had been timing their arrival to the intersection to match the green. Otherwise, a great commute.

How ironic, I had the exact same thing happen to me on the way home from work yesterday! It was green as I entered, changed to yellow and then red very quickly. All of the traffic lanes were full and completely stopped so there was no incident although the last guy didn't see me until I was in front of him. Anyway, great commute, I took the long way home. I had a nice one this morning also, we are getting warmer temps.

Whew, what a headwind this morning! To be fair I had a smokin' tailwind on the ride home last night so I guess this was payback. Bike was riding nicer today though, with tires back to ideal pressure and some seat adjustments. For the second day in a row I saw this big bird of prey sitting in the same tree. One of these day I'll need to bring my binoculars and try to identify it.

Showers today with many sun breaks but I managed to ride to & from work in a downpour & my fresh cleaned bike is all dirty again Don

Managed to break my pannier rack today. I'm not quite sure how it broke today -- given that it survived all the crap I put it through in Tasmania. I suppose I should have expected it to go eventually. After all, it wasn't really a high-quality one, I just got it as part of a deal when I bought this bike. I just need to get my hands on another Blackburn MTN rack like I had on the bike that got stolen. It had already outlasted two bikes!

In anycase, I'm going to have a mad search for some duct tape tonight. After hearing tomorrow's weather forecast (40C and about 98% humidity), I'll walk if it means not carrying a backpack!

Tally-ho!!!! My friends.

On my trip home yesterday, I diverted to the scenic route to log in a few extra miles.

Just after Stamfordham I came across the Tynedale Hunt, Couple of doz Horse and riders spread out along the Road in their Hunting regaliar, I gradully picked my way through them only to be confronted with the Pack of Hounds, The front Riders were teasing me to ride through them. "I don`t think so" was my reply, I was`nt to keen on the the thought of cycling with some hungry looking and baying Fox Hounds scenting the chance of a kill. So I just followed along behind with the Horses for a couple of miles until they turned off on a Farm track....