I rode the bus home last night and was disappointed when I saw we were heading for a larger storm. Anyway, it starts raining (first rain in several weeks) and I start wishing I was out riding when low and behold the Bus runs out of GAS! Since I only had 3 miles to home I hopped out and took my bike off the rack and rode through the rain, business clothes and all. I felt like I was 12 years old blasting through all the puddles (and one lake, arizona doesn't seem to design roads with drainage in mind). I got the usual giant brown stripe up my back (amazingly it was just sand though so I don't think I ruined anything). By the time I got home I was feeling good and thoroughly soaked. Later that night I found out that what someone else said about flats in the rain was true. So I hung the bike up and gave it a good working over which included a wipedown and pumping the tires up with the floor pump. Incidentally this is the first time I had used the floor pump to inflate these tires on this bike and got a lot more pressure in them. To make a long story short I hopped on the bike this morning and the thing took off like a rocket with the new pressure in the tires. My usual average speed for the ride jumped from 17 mph to 21. I dropped 10 minutes from my ride time. This mornings commute was gorgeous with the sun just peaking over a thunderhead over in the mountains to the east.

So I guess the rainstorm giving me a flat actually did me a favor. Although now I have to run out and get 2 new tubes for the 100 mile tour I am going to take this Saturday.

The ride home was wet, I rode in hard rain all the way, it took me an extra 5 minutes. This morning I left the house in the rain, the rain turned to drizzle after about 10 miles, I just rode along taking my time and enjoying the sound of the rain hitting my helmet, I don't dislike riding in the rain but I would rather have it clear. Fenders work and are worth the money if you commute, rain suits on the other hand I don't know about, I sweat and get just as wet as if I just wore a jersey.
Anyone have any experiance with gor-tex clothing in the rain? Does it keep you dry? Is it worth the money?

Wet commute this morning. Took my time; some of the roads were kind of slippery. Not too many cars on the road; maybe some people are extending the long weekend (Labor Day on Monday in the US). It took me almost 10 minutes longer than usual.

I have a pair of Gore-Tex boots, which I wore this morning, and I love them. Of course, you can't wear them if you have clipless pedals. Water does seep through slowly (for example, this morning, they are soaked on the outside, but just barely damp inside), but they dry out very quickly. A change of socks, and they are comfortable. This is my second pair, bought from L.L.Bean.

I don't have any experience with any other Gore-Tex clothes, though.

Tim

Same here: Gore-Tex hiking boots have turned out to be quite useful in rainy / winter conditions. Regarding other Gore-Tex gear, from what I've heard the fabric does not breathe enough. You either get wet because of the rain, or wear Gore and get soaked because you sweat, or wear Gore and ride really slowly to avoid sweating.

If you had a Gore-Tex jacket with extremely well thought ventilation holes, then maybe... but I haven't seen such a miracle yet.

--J

Commuted this a.m. on my rocket ship LeMond Victoire Ti. Man, that thing really does fly. I couldn't stay below 20 MPH.

I left early to drop my daughter off for a 6:15am field hockey practice :rolleyes:

Traffic was very light.

Looking forward to flying home tonight. Fun to have the road bike every so often.

Flew tonight, but not home. A sudden change of plans and I met my wife and other daughter for dinner. 13 or so miles. I beat them to the restaurant!! They brought a change of clothes ... and I was all set.

Bike-commuting really can fit into your normal life. It takes a little work and planning but after a while it's second nature. Tonight's change of plans attests to this.

I didn't think I was going to finish the commute home yesterday; many times I was tempted to walk the bike. The problem was the strong winds, which by the way always seem to blow the opposite direction I am headed. The heavy backpack I was carrying and the mostly uphill route didn't help either. Also, it was a hectic day at work so I didn't eat well and felt really tired on the way home.

I made it home slowly without walking the bike. I think it's mostly psychological and positive thinking really helps ;)

Felt great on my ride home last night! Made good time with a small tailwind (the same headwind that slowed me down in the morning!). It helped knowing it was Friday before a long weekend, and that I had an appointment with my LBS the next day to look at a new bike.

So now I'm back from my LBS (Landry's in Framingham, MA) with a shiny new Cannondale R700 USA Edition . Took it out for a 15 mile ride today and had a blast! It is a much nicer ride than my Raleigh C-40 hybrid, but I'm sure that goes without saying. :D :D :D Can't wait to take a longer ride tomorrow.

I'm almost sorry that I'm not working on Monday; I can't use my commute as an excuse to ride!

Tim

Frightening to say the least. A semi pulled a right turn in front of me, as I was hammering for a light. Then a semi did the wide turn squeeze the biker into the curb, as the trailer rides the sidewalk.
What gives? It's broad daylight, traffic isn't heavy and these big rigs can't see me? Or do they give a damn.

Some of them probably don't care (until they kill someone). But then again he may not have seen you, depending on the scenario.

I have to wonder how you managed to get on the right side of a semi.

Did this trucker pass you, then right hook you? In this case he would (of course) be at fault and you'd have to do what you have to do defensively to get out of the dangerous mess imposed upon you by a lousy truck driver.

Or did you sneak up on his right side? In which case you may have been the problem in this scenario.

Naisme - I think they do give a damn, but they know it's a lot easier for you to stop than it is for them. They don't want to kill you, they just don't want to wait until you get out of their way.

I had a great trial commute this morning - I'll be extending my commute to 27km each way (from the present 12km) next week (I'm on call this week - have to drive company truck), so I tried it on the Bianchi road bike. I figured it would take an hour and it took exactly an hour. One minor problem - at destination, right foot disengaged from toe clips fine, left foot didn't. Resulted in low speed crash to pavement, no damage, no injuries.
All in all, a very nice ride even though I've had a week's vacation with very little riding. I'm looking forward to the longer commute starting a week from Monday!!!

One thing's for sure ... tractor-trailers are far and away the most potentially dangerous form of traffic. Count on them doing a right hook. I don't necessarily blame them ... it's easy for them to misjudge the distance of their trailer. Also, consider what it takes to do a right turn on one of those things. Quite a challenge.

Not saying that this was the way things happened or that all t-t drivers are saints, but I avoid them like the plague ... especially near right turns. I'll stop and let them pass.

Nice ride in to work today. It is bright and sunny, but the air has a slight chill, a reminder that the season is changing.

The ride was a bit slow on average, compared to last week. This may be the lower temperature, and also that I changed the position of my pedal cleats slightly. The new position feels more comfortable and "better connected", but I'm not quite used to it yet. A few more miles will help the rider settle in.

A good week's riding to all,

Ed

Seeing as I live in the UK the same as ED my comments are much the same, it was gloriously sunny going to work, but because I have to work the Afternoon shift this week coming home at 11pm meant that it was much colder coming home and not surprisingly darker:D .

Still it felt good riding and that's all that counts.

Not so bright and sunny today, but it is still good to be out there.

Ouch!, your late night riding reminds me that the nights are drawing in, slowly but surely. I usually try to keep lights charged and in my backpack, just in case of being caught late. I'm rarely out (cycling) as late as 11pm though.

Cheers,

Ed

I left the house in a pretty hard rain that stayed with me for 15 miles, my last 3 miles were dry. The air was warm, the traffic on the heavy side, it's suppose to clear up today but who cares, riding is riding, wet or dry, it's all riding and that's what matters. I had my rain suit in the panniers, but that's where it stayed, I figured it wouldn't get wet in there and I would have one less thing hanging in my office drying through day.

It was 68 degrees, no wind, partly sunny, and the traffic was reasonable.

Perfect.

RichC

Nice slow drizzle, yet warm. Did get my second flat in as many weeks. Lots of broken glass from garbage pick up and several accidents. Enjoyable just the same.

Back to the heat and loving it. Broke another record today...getting stonger...getting faster...getting thinner...getting smart.

It was nice one the way to school. The sky was clear and it was cool and misty out. Traffic was pretty slow too, so it was a low hazard commute. But this afternoon on the way home.....It was stinkin humid, hot, and super buggy! I ate a few bugs and my helmet was covered with them by the time I got home. But traffic was slow again, so that made it ok.

Shouldn't that be getting smarter :D
liked your tunes on mp3.com

Pretty standard 20-mile commute home along hilly route. Left about 20 mins later than normal and really could tell. The shadows were very long and it was practically dark when I got home.

I was chased by a big, fat, old dog who could only keep up for a few feet or so. Still, I didn't see the dog approaching and was startled by it. Lucky I was able to "outrun" it.

When flat tires start to happen they come in fits.. Today's ride. Stopped at the post office in mid commute.. The front tire did a fast noiseless poof. Riding on rims.. Changed the tube.. It had 5 small pin holes in it.. I was not off the road but all caused by thistles.. Can not recall being off the road with my road bike..
Had kevlar lined Vittoria Rubinos.. As approaching home, the back tire went flat. one thistle caused hole.. earlier had not felt any thistles in back tire before I left. I hate flats.
Got home and changed tires-probably had 2000- 3000 miles on them. changed them out to Specialized Armadillos..
Riding without any hassles sure makes for a great day..

No records broken today! Traffic through the town section of my ride was very busy. There are two reasons for this 1, I was later than usual after having overslept :sleep: 2, All the schools re-started today, so cue chauffeur driven cars for every child that lives more than 100 yards from school - at least thats how it seems sometimes. The increase in traffic is.... amazing...:irritated
At least I could still have a blast in the out of town section.

Cheers all,

Ed

Thunder strom this morning, I drove to work, I feel really bad about it, the day just won't be the same. I must be a whimp, I guess we'll pick it up in the morning.

Me too :( I had all my gear ready to go, and then it started raining. I chickened out and put on my work clothes and took the car. I felt even worse when I saw two bikers riding through the rain. *sigh*

Well the rest of the week is supposed to be sunny! I'll be on vacation (we have a friend visiting), so I'll get some good riding in, I hope!

Tim

Beautiful!

I woke up early and therefore had no traffic to contend with at all.

My boyfriend is looking into commuting for the first time tomorrow morning. I hope he does it! Soon he'll be in better shape than me because his ride is 16 miles versus my piddly 2.5. I may have to move farther away from the office!

Teresa

Teresa, I have just one word for you....detour! Little detours have turned my 7 mile commute into a pleasant 27 mile ride!! And todays ride was magnificent. Not nearly as fast as I would have liked, but the weather was perfect, no wind, I felt good, and my vintage old Paramount turned in it's usual flawless performance. And they wonder why I always have a smile on my face at work!!

I ditto the flats comment. I have gone 500 miles without a hitch and then I get two within 50 miles of each other. Today's commute felt warmer for some reason and sure enough, it was 5 degrees warmer. I will have to leave earlier tomorrow. I had a day laborer (people who wait on the sidewalk waiting for construction people to hire them for the day) pretend he was going to jump on. It was kind of funny, I was going so fast though I figured if he really tried it he would get hurt worse than I would. It was a very nice ride (especially the shady frontage road I have started using to avoid getting crunched up against a row of pomegranite trees while passing stopped traffic).

Perfect weather this morning for a leisurely ride to work. Temperatures are expected to be 20 degrees cooler than last weekend.

Our dress code goes to business casual for the fall months so I just rode in wearing khakis and a shortsleeve buttondown shirt. I saw a guy riding to work on an old (but apparently well-maintained) Schwinn road bike. He was wearing wingtips, a tie, and a tweed jacket (!). Even in January, I'd be soaked in sweat after 2 miles in that outfit.

Looking forward to the ride home already....:)