Heavy overcast today but it burned off by lunchtime & we hit 79F this afternoon. Saw 7 or 8 other bike commuters today. Don

riding north on the lakepath around 20 blks south in chicago north towards the field museum some ******* in a recombinent (or however you spell that) almost hit me screaming "hellllloooo!!!" as he went by. I'd been having major trouble on my bike, as something was vibrating beneath my seat and getting worse. I'd pulled over, checked things out, couldn't find out what was wrong, and was just getting back on the path when that old jerk passed me with such a nasty attitude, it gave me a wave of road-rage that lasted for hours. (fortunately, i was at the museum in a few minutes....)

Please.... there are polite ways to announce chasing traffic.... 'on your left' is classic and always well received.

"on your left... that means get to your right" is far nastier.... and this fellow's hollering even a simple 'hello' at me was really disheartening, 'cause it sounded a lot more like "get out of my way a$$h*le"... when in fact, i wasn't in his way.

11 degrees C this morning, no wind, the sun was shining. We soooo need some rain here right now.

I had to transfer the kids to my wife at work, today. They balked at the heat after riding several blocks, so we went back home and got the car, after I extracted a promise to go for a long bike adventure tomorrow. To make up for my loss of cycling, I stopped for a Delirium Tremens, on tap, at Bryant Lake Bowl, on my way home.

My first ride in about 2 1/2 weeks. Finally got my new Cross Check up and running last night after a nightmare-ish effort to install V brakes with road levers (they finally work after much frustration). The bike felt really good and fast, although I still have some tweaking to do. I guess it was a beautiful morning, I don't know, I was too preocupied with my new bar end shifters-switching back and forth between indexed and friction shifting to find the best option. Like I said the bike is fast: I was passed by another rider who I quickly overtook as he muttered something like: "I knew it wouldn't last long" referring to his lead. Even though I haven't setup my computer yet, I'm pretty sure I'll be setting new personal best times soon. Anyway, it's great to be back on the bike again, getting my exercise, saving money, and being completely independant of Metro.



"die trying"

another nice day, can ya believe it, 2 in a row. i took the long way in stayed on all the back roads, no wind, no traffic, saw two other cyclist going in the other direction.

Ride home last night was pretty good. traffic was ok. A lot of impatient drivers. Weather was getting warmer and more humid.

Ride in this morning was nice. I started about 15 minutes late. Still cool in the morning. The ride home should be pretty warm.

Lesson learned today: proper air pressure is very important. I was 5 minutes faster in my commute this morning because my tires were properly inflated and I was running late. It is nice to know that if I am a few minutes behind schedule I can make it up. On a sad note the catcalls have started, but I am happy to report I kept my temper in check and managed to not flick anyone off or tell them to go to h - e - double hockey sticks. Almost forgot, I saw a white tailed bunny, which is cool since my hometown is quickly turning into a gigantic concrete jungle.

We have had rather a windy couple of days here, not perfect riding weather but still warm and sunny!

I started the rebuild of my #2 bike last night, following a strip and repaint of the frame. So far I have fitted the forks (including new headset), brakes and a new bottom bracket unit. I hope to have some pics to show off when she is ready to ride again and looking her best (though I'm biased here ;) ).

Cheers,

Ed

Great temperature here in Denver this morning. With a road closure for a month or two, my route has been altered to go through the local state park (entends my total trip from 12 to 15 miles) which includes about a mile or so of gravel trail. I've noticed a lot more bike commuters while riding this route - great to see!

Almost 60F this morning. Another A.M. ride in shorts and jersey. I think I'm getting spoiled! Got to see a large Hawk soaring overhead half way into town. Pretty cool.

58F overcast with a light mist falling @ 6AM, still cloudy and 61F at lunctime. Hope it burns off before my afternoon commute.

Fully overcast and thus much cooler today. Pretty stiff headwind as well, and the radio tells me I have a headwind to look forward to on the ride home. Had a good ride in though, still pushing it for increased exercise. Lots of other bikes out today, few of who looked like commuters. Kids off for summer perhaps. Damn kids, why don't I get summer off?

Beautiful ride into my south office this morning (16 miles), great weather! I'm not going to say anything about my ride home, the last two times I did the weather changed and I nearly drowned, got beat up with hail and nearly blown away :( But I survived.

Boombastic.
Overcast, slight tailwind, cool at 67 degrees. "Summertime" in SF, CA!
Took a short lunch ride too. Same weather.


El Cabron

Today I drove a car to work.

I dropped by wife of at the airport and the only way to make it to work on time was to keep driving. (my wife wasn't keen on the idea of leaving 1hr earlier in the morning so I could then go home and cycle to work) Anyway we share one car, hence my normal cycle commuting.

I feel more tired today and need coffee. When I cycle to work I crave juice, not coffee.

Its strange to be behind a wheel after not driving for 10days straight. I didn't pass any cyclists.

Al

Kind of a rough ride in this morning, the weather and traffic were o.k., but my g.f. and I celebrated the end of Georgia's 6% alcohol limit for beers, last night at a popular brew-pub. Excellent trippels, barley wines and imperial stouts were sampled (as a homebrewer I can appreciate a tasty beverage), but this morning's ride in was wobbly. Warm and overcast on the return trip with traffic heavier than usual. Fortunately no altercations to report.

This morning's commute combined a 25 mile training ride on the bike trail. On the way out we noticed a woman standing directly in the middle of the path holding an empty milk jug. Figured she was probably waiting for her husband picking blackberries from the huge vines between the path and the river.

On the way back, at the same spot, there were 8 police and sheriff's cars. No cops visible and no sign of the woman. Weird. Was she attacked? Did she find a dead body? Such a mystery....

You get them too? I get them (and other things) everytime I wear red, which is even more disconcerting if you're a male living in Redneck Wonderland. I find arrogance is the best way to deal with these things, just treat them with the contempt they deserve.

On another note, I passed a truck today -- and he wasn't even stuck in gridlock. Dropped him/it like a stone. Obligatory weather report, temperature range on the commute of 10-12 degrees C, amazing how it can gain two degrees in 20 minutes in the middle of "winter".

Are you sure the milk jug was empty?

It was 61F during my lunch commute home but the sun came out this afternoon & I rode home in 79F weather, lots of cyclists out & around town this afternoon. Spent the evening bringing my tractor & implements back home from across town & now I'm ready for a great Fourth of July.

I commuted about 3 times and found that it was too hard both ways. So yesterday I drove to work and cycled home. One small problem, I only brought 1 cycling shoe so I wore my tennies. I really like the ride into work much better. Already, they started to tear up my route with construction, so I had to make a 3 mile detour.

A bit breezy this morning. We had strong winds and heavy rain last night so there was a couple of large puddles to be avoided along with the fallen bits of trees. This is supposed to be Summer in the UK. More like autumn/winter.

Temps in the low 60s, no wind. I slept in a bit, so I ended up seeing some different people on the way in. It is going to be a wonderful day, might leave a little early and get a jump on the holiday weekend. Happy 4th to all here in the USA!!

Hard rain last night left me with deep puddles, wet roads and fog, traffic was heavy but seemed to be under control. The ride to work took me 1 hour 5 minutes, the fenders kept me dry and the bright tail lights and hi-vis jersey kept me seen. Teh skys are clearing so hopefully we'll have a nice ride home.