Rain! Finally, the drought-stricken Washington Metro area is getting a good soaking. I had to dig a bit to find my rain pants, but enjoyed a dry, comfortable ride in 67 F weather. That is quite a change from our August heat wave here. I can't remember the last time I wore my rain gear.

I love the swirling grey clouds outside my window. It is helping me get in a mood for Fall.

Paul

Because my commute is only 5 miles I use it as a blast and try to go as fast a possible, and that's what happened this morning, but coming home was a different story.
As soon as I stepped on the pedal I realised that there was nothing in my legs, I've only felt like that after a long ride never at the start of a ride. So I decided there was no point in trying so I cruised home at a leisurely pace, and I have to admit I really enjoyed it. No racing to beat the lights , no trying to keep up with cars, just the joy of cycling and watching the world.

It's something I intend to do more often:)

I too have a 5 mile commute , so i decided to take my beater Mountain Bike to work yesterday to try to get a little harder workout. My buddy calls me, he wants to hit the trails after work and I say OK, So I bolt home a little early ( he offered to pick me up but i said no). That was a good workout pushing those knobbies on the payment and then hitting the trails and doing about 15 miles of Mtb. My 10 mile commute turned into some decent miles yesterday, I think I 'll do it again tommorrow.:D

It was fun today just because it was different. Who would have ever thought that week after week of sunny, hot, dry weather could get boring?

Going in: iron-gray clouds, stiff northwesterly wind in my face, a raindrop here, a raindrop there. I prepared for rain but I didn't need my rain gear; an early meeting had me into the office just before it really got started. But the swirly winds and the complex sky and the unsettled nature of the weather made the whole ride that much more exciting.

Coming out: it was colder, it had rained off and on, the sky was dark, I decided to put on the rain pants and jacket, as much for warmth as anything. And halfway home it did actually start to rain. Not drenching, but enough to justify the gear.

The forecast predicts heavy rains and local flooding tomorrow. Hmm.

RichC

Me. I have endless brilliant sunshine day after day after day for 6 or more months. Only the temps vary. Things could be worse, for sure, but it does get a bit monotonous.

Today's ride home was interesting in one respect. Usually when I get to work in the morning I'll soak and rinse my shirts and shorts while I'm in the shower. Then I'll hang them to dry through the day. This, to cut down on the horrid smell they would otherwise assume.

Well, I forgot to "lay out" my shorts and when it came to put them on they were still quite wet !!! Made for an interesting, squishy ride home.

Also, my customary tailwind is starting to lose its steam. Another sign fall is coming. Soon enough it will whip around to become a headwind.

Did the hill route. 20 miles.

Cool and partly cloudy today, without much wind. Nothing much to report, except that the bugs seem to be diminishing (Yay!) and a big owl flew through my headlight beam. :)

We've had week after week of sunny weather as well, and all the occasional commuters have crawled from under their rocks, it seems. As I'm a late bird (hey! the second mouse gets the cheese, remember!) it's been next to impossible for me to find a vacant slot in the office bike rack.

Not anymore! We had a rainy day yesterday and this morning the rack had only the hardcore commuters' 4-5 bikes. Despite the fact that today is sunny and dry again. We'll see how long a sunny period is needed to lure out the rest of the pack...

--J

Mornin
Last night I installed my new bike Planet Freddy Hardcore fenders on my commuter, It was supposed to be raining this morning but all I got were a few sprinkles. I may get to try them out on the way home. My ride in this morning was under heavy cloud cover, no wind and the air was a little on the cool side. No bugs, after yesterdays bug filled ride I welcomed that change. The fenders a great, they don't rattle at all when I hit bumps and they look like they cover well and will provide good protection for the drive train, they have built in mud flaps. Have a great day all.

It was supposed to be raining. Listening to the news it sounded like the apocalypse had arrived. Traffic jams, flooding, stay off the roads!

Bah. A few drops and a sprikle under low gray clouds, but I didn't even put on my rain gear. I did wear a long-sleeve jersey and tights, though.

Maybe on the way home. Dang it, now that I've had a taste I want some REAL WEATHER!!!

(I grew up in Chicago and I still remember.)

RichC

We've had a spell of warm dry weather here in Oxford, so cycling has been good, if a bit sweaty.

I'm trying to push up my average on the 8 mile journey, and managed to top 19mph in both directions yesterday, and was very close today. This is satisfying after having a two week break.

Dry skies and tailwinds to you all,

Ed

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