It is still freeezing cold here in the UK. Last night we were predicted a -7 °C frost. It was definately well below zero when I set out, but the bright sunshine helps to bring out a good mood. The canal was frozen across its width, and as far as one could see in each direction from the bridge. This is pretty rare.

Cheers,

Ed

Beautiful ride in this morning with temps around 40 degrees. My fleece vest and windbreaker were adequate and will probably spend the ride home in my backpack as temps are supposed to be in the low 60's this afternoon (may get to lose the skull cap too). I've been fighting an ear infection/sore throat so I'm hoping the warmth of the afternoon will be a little easier for me as I huff and puff on my afternoon ride. I would have made it to work only to discover that I had one shoe if not for the rider behind me who caught up to tell me that I had dropped one. I usually bungy them to my rack but for some reason they weren't very secure today (good thing he told me, they're a new pair of Timberland dress shoes). I doubled back and found it about 200 yards behind me with only a slight scuff mark where it must have rubbed the tire--thanks again. Anyway, looks like it's going to be a nice week and my goal is to ride every day.

My coat remained on the rack once again as I rode through a beautiful spring morning with huge "V" formations of Canada Geese overhead, calling loudly to one another. I'll have the Nokians removed next weekend -- looks like winter has ended.

Paul

Ah, another great ride in this morning and really mild temps (39F/4C). I'm tempted to change out my winter tires, but it is Minnesota and I know it's not over. I'll enjoy it while we have it. They are actually calling for rain today! I haven't seen rain since last fall! I'm ready for it.

Pretty nice ride in today, tailwind for 2/3s of the ride, not too cold with some light visible through big clouds. I cleaned my bike over the weekend and changed out both tires for lighter thinner ones and I could feel the change. Alas though I received another rear flat tire right before the end of the commute. A pinch flat seems the most likely as I had just put in a new tube. But it is odd that it occurred in the same place as last week and not during my shakedown ride after I put them in yesterday.

Commute today was stressful. Two miscreant @ssholes in an Olds Cutlass threw empty cigarette packs at me and shouted at me as i was cruzing along. I caught up to them at the next light, and thankfully their music was loud because they didn't hear the paint being removed from their car by way of a handlebar(big ole scratch down the side of their car)!! Other than that, i absolutely loved the ride, due to my new steed! I finished the Concord SS last night, so today was my first day of derailluer free riding. If anyone still uses them, i recommend stopping! It is an amazing ride, so smooth and quiet, and it will make you stronger, and able to spin higher cadences than you ever thought possible. So, the new steed outweighed the negative treatment. All in all, a fun ride.

First commute on my road bike this year. It is so light compared to my mountain bike! The town was out marking the new centerline of the street in front of work, they are putting in bike lanes. I don't care if people do park in them, at least the street will be wider. Perfect day to ride, not too hot, not too cold, dry, no ice, and best of all, sunshine.

Seems Broadbeach is going for the record of having the longest continually dug-up stretch of road in the world -- and with Northcliffe Terrace closed for the next two weeks starting on Monday, I'm going to have to find other options.

Cold, so cold this morning but also so beautiful.

Cheers,

Ed

Wet ride in this morning. Rained most of the day yesterday so roads were pretty damp this morning, the new fenders worked great! The tempature was great, about 47F. Heavier than usual traffic for the morning ride in I wonder if there was a wreck on the highway.

Thanks everyone for all your commute posts, I really enjoy reading each & every one. It's great to read about all the other parts of the country & world...

Southern California had a bit of rain again last night making the morning cool (43) and fresh, roads were wet, but not a lot of puddles so all was good.

It's all good ;)

I was a little bit worried that it'd be raining this morning, but it wasn't. Tried a slightly different route which takes me along the beach, in an effort to avoid the streets with all the stop signs. The beach part was beautiful, the sky all pink and everything. But then heading up State it seemed the traffic lights were conspiring against me. Maybe if I head over a block it won't be so bad. I'll try that tomorrow.
This week's goal: 3 days (which means 2 consecutive).

Tim

I finally decided to start up again this year. Was going to do it yesterday but it was raining. I kind of cheat though because I don't ride all the way in but rather take the bus. I will ride home though. One way is 13 miles. Need to get back in shape.

Wow two posts right before me were in my neck of the woods. I ride in to Santa Barbara from Goleta.

Adam

Hey Tim, were (almost) neighbors. Gotta love winter out here don't ya?
Here's a Pic I took last year of the beach out there:

Wow, great picture ET! I could handle views like that.

Nice ride in this morning, partially sunny again with big thick clouds. Colder though, but some extra effort warmed me up. I've been riding in lower gears for the last few weeks to get my spin rate up. Seems to be working pretty well, and helps warm one up on these chilly mornings. Lots of birds out today, I got my first clear robin sighting of the year. Also buds out on many trees, and the cherry trees seem to be blooming already. 3 weeks until it's officially spring but in the PNW I'd say it has sprung.

ET, nice pic. I assume you don't commute from Simi Valley to SB, right? :-)
So is there anybody else here who commutes from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara? I wouldn't mind some company once in a while.

Tim

It was 33F & foggy at 6AM today, sun burned the fog off early & it really warmed up. I rode a rain bike in the AM but came back from lunch on my MOTO Grand Jubile: 60F on the way home this afternoon 2 sunny days in a row, WOW!

Coolest morning of 2004 so far -- just 19C this morning. Summer might finally be about to leave us alone - only six months of it this time! Ra!

Wonderfull ride home last night. Finally a ride home without a headwind! Tempature was around 60F. Nice and sunny.

Ride in was good today, even though my clothes were still a little bit damp from rinsing them yesterday. I did notice that I was getting a little bit tired towards the end, but aside from that the 2-days-in-a-row is going fine. Next week: 4 days (which is all of my working days).

Tim

Had a good ride today, until the last mile when I colleted a flat tire. Lukily it was only a slow puncture and it was possible to limp the rest of the way without causing any damage. The culprit was a really sharp piece of flint that defeated the Conti-gatorskins. So far my luck with these seems to be poorer than with the exploding Hutinson Kevlar Excels they replaced, though I don't have numbers to back this up.

At least the weather is warmer today.

Wishing you all better luck

Cheers,

Ed

Annoying headwind for the entire length of yesterday's ride home, however it was a beautiful, sunny day and I stopped at the airport to watch a few planes come in. Good ride in this morning. I had to push it a little to compensate for oversleeping, but the legs felt good and I made reasonable time. Looks like I'll have to work a little late tonight. I'll probably wait on the path for a friend of mine who just started up again today. I usually cross the 14th street bridge and head downstream towards home, but today I'll ride up to the Memorial Bridge and wait for her. It's always fun when we can ride home together. I hope to get there early and take a nap on a bench while I wait for her if the weather's nice.

Ah, I got to double my pleasure today. I road to our NW office this morning and then to our North Minneapolis office for the afternoon, and then there is my ride home. The weather is mild, a little cloudy and gloomy which is becoming the norm, but very nice. Tomorrow I ride to our South Minneapolis office, I think this office hopping might just work out for me, we'll see.

What a morning, it was raining pretty hard and a 10-15mph headwind. It was a real slog, the wind really slowing me down. My new REI rain jacket served me well, and I'm glad I finally replaced my old reliable Nashbar (or Performance) shell. I was surprised to actually see a couple of other bikers out today. Two of them clearly unprepared for this kind of weather.