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.

Ah, sunny day! It was a little chipper this morning on my ride in though (25F/-6C) but it's suppose to warm up to 50F/10C. So I think I'll do a river run on my lunch break and take the long way home after work. Man, what a difference the sun can make.

Today it is rather overcast, but overall it is still warmer that we have enjoyed for some time, so the riding weather is good.

I'm still enjoying the new crankset I fitted to bike #2 at the weekend. It has a much more solid feel than the old system, which had 2 steel rings permanantly fixed at their centres to an alloy arm (residue from the old 80's 10 speed frame). The new addition is an all Al alloy product by Ofmega, with proper bolt-fixed chainrings. The result is very much stiffer, there is not a hint of chain-rub on the front derailleur! I never imagined this could have so much influence on the feel of the bike. Even better, I was fortunate to get the parts at a very good price.

Cheers,

Ed

Amazing commute today! I finally took off the studded tires and put on the slicks Made it to work nearly 10 minutes faster!

Almost the same weather-wise today as it was yesterday: partially cloudy, mid 40sF, and some wind. For once the wind was at my back and I made great time in. Wasn't a strong tailwind really, I just was juiced for the ride in. Still very tired through, I'm ready for a three day weekend. Bring on Easter!

It was clear & a cool 36F at 6:00 AM but reached 60F in the afternoon. Looks like we will finish out the week with great weather. I left work early so I could mow the lawn at our church then discovered the riding mower has a bad starter so I was only able to do about 1/2 acre of mowing with a walk behind. Certainly got my exercise today. Don

Spring rain for the last 48 hours, with strong wind gusts. Ah, that's the stuff that brings out the salamanders and spring peepers, along with the Sealskinz socks.

today was one of my best rides to work so far this year.temp was 60 no wind and clear blue sky ride home temp was 77 se wind at 5 mph and clear blue sky. man it does not get no better then this

All day the weather was overcast, then, on the way home tonight it started raining hard and I'm 100% unprepared! My Burleys, and Shimano sandals wept for me and my tennis shoes, duh!! Anyway the ride was great and I was soaked -lots of fun tonight!!!!

37 F and drizzle. I enjoyed the snow, but this rain is getting old. Plus, the river is rising to within a few feet of the bike bath. If this rain continues, the path will be flooded. On the positive side, I hit 1000 miles for the year on my way to work.

The ride home last night was miserable. Cold with a steady, soaking rain. Had a headwind all the way home which gave me a low-grade headache. I opted for the shortcut which cuts about 1.5 miles off of my ride. The long, hot shower was a nice reward. I just couldn't get it together this morning so I drove in. I overslept and my legs were fried. I guess 4 out of 5 days isn't bad-I'll shoot for all five next week.