WHAHOOEEEE, IT'S FINALLY SUMMER!!! Yep, having a great week and I'm really racking up the miles. Boy, the changing clothes thing is so much easier and faster on a commute when it's warm weather. Of course the longer daylight hours are great too. Now, if we could just get into a time freeze and stay this way.

I can't believe you used the "F" word! You should really be more responsible than that! Especially since winter is only 3 months away for us northern folks!

Ok ok, just kidding. But you know what I am talking about, now don't you.

ahhhh... yah, oops, I must have had a case of temporary insanity. But thanks for brining it up, now I've got this bad visual.... eeewwwww!!!!

Hi Caloso
No. I have two choices: Usually I take the commuter bus and ride home. But when I'm feeling great I'll do the round trip. I live in Folsom, pick-up the ARBT all the way to Goethe Park where I get-off and go along Folsom blvd to Franchise Tax Board. One way using bus commute is 16 miles. Round trip, from home is 35 miles. I'm still a wimp and average around 16 MPH. I just bought a Bianchi Axis and I'm still trying to dial it in. I transitioned from an upright hybrid. Happy with the bike but not quite there with the comfort.

Later, Rooker

Nice day today, thin layer of clouds kept the temps down. Personally I'm ready for it to start cooling off.

Rooker: Then I guess we just miss each other since you head off the trail just before my turnaround. Look out for all the wild turkeys on the trail!

This morning I took a long detour over the Sacramento River and into Yolo Co. I found myself on a country road bordered by wheat and rice fields. Amazingly peaceful. Plus, I had the thought that I was looking at some of the main fuel sources for my machine.

It was overcast & looked like rain imminent at 6AM so I had to spend 5 minutes locating & stowing my rain gear on the rack. Turned out to be a false alarm as it cleared up & we had another beautiful day with 86F again in the afternoon. I had a little excitement returning from lunch. I was on a bike trail near its exit onto Martin Way next to the I-5 freeway off ramp. Its not unusual to encounter deer on this path so I try to keep my speed down then pump it up near the end to merge easily with traffic. I came around the final curve at about 25 mph & Uncle Buck was standing broadside on, just giving me the "big eye" I clamped on the brakes & yelled as I skidded towards him. He finally jumped off the path just before impact. Whew!
To close for comfort. Don

Good ride in today, despite the already climbing heat. The train has messed up my computer, so I've no idea what the temp is-- probably a good thing. Added a hill.

Lots of tiny bugs this morning. Made my HI-VIZ jersey look like it had a few thousand
tiny black poke-a-dots. There were even a few boats on the river with skiers behind.

Coleen is now bike commuting on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She had lost interest for the past couple of months. I am so happy she is up and motivated again! She looks to work her way up to 3-5 days a week.

Last night's commute home was good and bad at the same time.

It was good because I was feeling my wheatties, and rode home in record time.

It was bad because a white sedan, with four hispanic males inside, swerved into the bike lane, trying to hit me. The two in the back were looking out the back window, laughing. I got their license plate number, though.

Not thinking this was an emergency, I called the cops when I got home. Unknowingly, I was misrouted, and ended up somewhere that is open during business hours only. I called again this morning, and they wanted me to come down to the station to file a report. When I showed up at the station, they were unwilling to file a report, stating that I couldn't prove intent. The officer who helped me initially was surly, and pretty unhelpful.

I got another officer to take a "beat report" for me so that the officers patrolling that area, Park Ave in San Jose (which is nothing like the Park Ave in Monopoly), will know to be on the lookout for these guys.

Finally, they asked me to call 911 if this ever happens again. I didn't consider in an emergency at the time, as I was not in imminent danger or bleeding or incapacitated in any way. Apparently, calling 911 will get me the documentation and response required for such a situation.

Oh, and some jackass in a truck, pulling a trailer, decided to right hook me by passing with less than 50yds to the turn. The SAME turn I was taking. I passed him again at a light, looked at him, and shook my head. jackass.

Had a fun ride home last night, wandering around this local wetland checking out the trails, seeing if I can bypass a segment of road. Finally found Totem Lake then took this new route home that is out of the valley, hilly but not overly so and away from the trail (ab)users.

Clear and warm this morning and since I had to swing by the Apt. office I bailed on the trail and took the road. Less then a mile up the road I got stung by a bee (probably) in the middle of my back. Ouch - I have never been stung by a bee before in my 30+ years of life. Happily I turned out to not be allergic, but there goes my bid for a lifetime record.

I've had better. You can read about it here.

I had lost part of a filling over the weekend so had to see the dentist this morning. My regular Dentist was on vacation & the young lady who was covering for him turned out to be a cyclist. They use a small tv to display the dental images & it was also hooked to a satellite dish so when she spotted my carnac shoes, she asked if I wanted to watch the Tour de France while she worked! She had just discovered it & was really enthusiastic. Best dental visit ever. Don

Spectacular weather for this morning's ride. The cold front that came in yesterday brought low temps (69 degs at 5:40 this morning) and low humidity. As my legs were a little tired I took my time to enjoy the ride and spun in at about an 18 mph avg. Yesterday's ride home was another story. I left about 10 minutes early to get a jump on the rain but got caught in a deluge with high winds just as I was crossing the 14th street bridge. The wind was so strong that I couldn't get above 14-15 mph no matter how hard I tried. I was soaked within the first few minutes so hiding out under any one of several bridges was unnecassary so I just rode my normal route/pace and tried to avoid crashing on tight turns (I'm not used to riding on skinny 700cX28 tires). When I got home I: showered, washed my clothes, and baked my shoes in the oven to dry (which worked surpisingly well). I'm looking forward to tomorrow's commute as well as the weather should be nice into the weekend.

Great past couple of days riding to work. Tuesday was really hot, yesterday was not to bad and this morning coming in was great. Nice cooler tempatures no wind and little traffic. Hope the ride home goes this well

There was an apple pie in the fridge this morning, so I helped myself to a slice. I would recommend it as breakfast for anyone getting ready to ride.

There were 14 other bikes out this morning, quite a drop from earlier in the week. The temps were in the high 60's and once again there was no wind. Another great day to be riding.

It was a beautiful ride in ... 60F, lots of sun, lots of riders. A Park service pickup cut us off, turning in. Then to get out of our way, he almost ran over some runners. They gave him hell. Lots of wild turkeys and their chicks (or whatever they are called).
Go Lance.

Wow, what a great day to ride! I had a meeting in Bloomington this morning so by the time I got back to my Thursday office after lunch I had 40 miles in. Hmmmm, it didn't even feel like it. I've still got the 16 miles to get home after work today. Life is great, where can you get 56 miles in, work eight hours and still be home in time for dinner. I'm now in full swing of summer (as short as it is here in Minnesota). Hey Montana, I'm glad you're okay, take care of yourself.

Gnats were out in full force last night, ate a few and caught some with my eyes. Ride home this morning with a headwind after I had to work 1 hour overtime and already tired. Called the sag support on the last 2 miles home. Stopped at the LBS to get a new mirror, they said my bike weighs about 50 pounds. Also stopped at a costume store and bought a couple mustaches. It will help in my disguise and raise my confidence level when I ride in the pitch dark parkway. Also got my new helmet light so tonight I will have more lighting. Most cars (about 1-2 every 10 minutes) drive with their bright lights on since it is so dark. It was kinda scary not having a backup lighting system. It sure is expensive to start commuting. I also had to buy a shorter time charger for my existing night rider lighting system as it was not always finished charging by the time I needed the light.

15 degrees C this morning, heck it was even 13 on the pre-dawn ride this morning! So much for 'winter'. Surprisingly pleasant ride in today, the clouds over the ocean, but the odd ray of sunlight poking through them and reflecting made for quite an interesting vista from Narrowneck this morning. For some reason I decided to sit on 32km/h this morning, which is well outside my self-imposed speed limit for riding through Surfers Paradise.

Beautiful day again today. Surprisingly few commuters out though. What's amatter with these people anyway? We were short handed at work today & very busy so I really appreciated the lunchtime ride. Had a fast afternoon commute on my Bianchi Trofeo. Don

Another pleasant evening commute, 19 degrees C, more gridlock to blast through. Seems to be increasing all the time. Still, it didn't worry me one bit, Ra!

We are having some rather poor summer weather here in the UK at the moment. Yesterday was very windy, today things are calm but very humid and with plenty of rain showers.
Actually, from a riding perspective, I find that warm damp/wet weather is good. In particular I am sure it helps me to breathe more easily and so maintain a higher level of effort. I wonder if anyone else has noticed an effect?

Anyway, have a good weekend all - See you Monday

Cheers,

Ed

Nice ride in this morning. My son rode in with me. He is going to the amusement park here in downtown a little later this morning. The temps were in the mid 60s and as usual there was no wind. I lost count of other bikers out this morning, but I'm pretty sure it was an even smaller number than yesterday. Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Trek 520 + 20 MPH + Bumblebee + Cheek = OUCH!