I got caught in a downpour yesterday afternoon that I tried to wait out under the 14th st. bridge. I quickly realized that it wasn't going to be a passing shower, as it turned out it rained for the rest of the day and most of the night, so I continued on. There were quite a few riders taking cover under trees and changing flats, presumably, on the side of the trail . I asked everyone if they needed help and they declined. I got home soaking wet and immediately got in the shower, put my clothes in the washer, and my shoes in the oven to dry out (the whole apartment smelled like baked, wet shoes). This morning's ride was much nicer although it was very humid and foggy. Other than a fallen limb (that I barely avoided) and some localized flooding, it was an uneventful ride. I spun behind another rider until I passed him at the airport and got into work a little early. Hopefully it won't be hot and sticky on the ride home.

Great commute today. Boy I love this "new" bike!

Just wondering if anyone else is riding through massive amounts of tree sap? Its very sticky in the morning and wet in the afternoon.

I had a great sunny 15 mile ride in this morning. I noticed on the weather radar that a storm was coming in so I took an early lunch (actually I left 15 minutes earlier then usual). It was a good thing I did because it started to sprinkle on the way back to the office and after I got settled back in it really started to pour. Hopefully it will be through by the time I leave here, but I'm not to optimistic about it by the looks of the radar. Oh well, I'm glad I brought my rain gear... no big deal, it's all part of the adventure.

I was having a good ride into work this morning until about five minutes from work I got caught in a downpour. Which isn't too bad except that just seconds later my back tire went flat. Nothing like changing a flat in the pouring rain! :rolleyes:

Totally overcast & 60F at 6AM, stayed cloudy all day. By lunchtime it was 70F & on my ride home it was 76F. Even with all the clouds the humidity was only about 65% so we had fairly pleasant riding conditions. Don

Today was hotter, 87F/30C, but still drier, only 74% humidity. Windless = breathless today. When I got home I asked Dan for a big hug, and he backed up saying "NO, No, get away, you are a radiator" So now I know what kind of machine I am.

16 degrees C this morning -- can you believe that "officially" winter still has another four weeks to run? No, neither can I.

It was a strange sort of commute, early on I went on a psychotic attack to just make a couple of traffic lights that were orange at the time (got them both, ra!). Then I got owned by some gusts of wind, recovered, got delayed by more traffic morons in Surfers Paradise, recovered again, before hitting a loooong traffic light delay just before work.

Just another commute folks.

I've had a great summer commuting-- almost no rain, no big breakdowns, no crashes. It's been boring...... and very nice!

Today I met another cyclist on the road at a stoplight. A Japanese collage student. He's riding a steel "U" frame one speed, full chain guard, head light, tail light, frount tire mounted generator (looked top of the line), 700 wheels, with high flanged, quality looking hubs, with Panaracer touring tires I had never seen before (again, looks like top end stuff)

The kid's got a good stainless steel pump and a nice black backpack. He's not really dressed like a hardcore cyclist, he's wearing polyester slacks and tennies, but he can handle a bike. He askes me how to get to Tacoma. I tell him he's already in Tacoma and ask what part of town he's heading to. He tells me he's going to L.A ?!? So I tell him to fallow me and I take him across the east corner of town and get him on the back road to Portland, Oregon.

So I say goodbye and wish him luck. I ask him how long the trip to SoCal is going to take. He thinks about 25 days, maybe more. I ask about climbing hills with the one speed. He just laughs and says he'll push the bike uphill on the tough ones.

Totally crazy kid! I hope he makes it.

Yesterday's ride home was miserable! Hot sticky weather. The tempature was around 90-92 and the humidity was way up. I sweated a whole bunch.

The ride in this morning was not as hot with tempature around 70, but the humidity was still way up. Chance of storms today.

The new commuter is doing a great job so far getting me back and forth to work.

Hi Folks,

I had a great ride this morning. The weather cooled off overnight after a spectacular thunderstorm yesterday afternoon. With all the extra moisture in the atmosphere, there were eerie patches of mist drifting across the countryside, with bright sunny weather in-between. I spent the first half of the ride chasing a mist cloud, finally descending into the cool damp fog on the last section of the ride. Atmospheric, in many ways :)

Cheers,

Ed

Quite cool this morning. I wish I had worn the tights! Temp was in the low 50F range, but had overcast skies. I felt sluggish the whole way in. Still, it was a nice uneventful ride. :D

63F, cloudy & a few sprinkles at 6AM today. Saw several of the regular commuters on the way in to work. I only worked 3 hours then to the dentist for a 3 hour session. While I was in the chair, a steady rain started. We really needed it, this has been the driest Spring/Summer in memory & everything is really dry. Don

Rode Sunday and Monday. Uneventful except had to go the long way 'round Monday; ran out of coffee and stopped for a hot tasy beverage. had to use the car Tuesday for my job. About to leave for the commute now. Hopefully thunderstorms won't deter me on the way home.

I missed the storms again yesterday afternoon. Stopped raining about an hour before I left work. Nice ride home, a little cooler but still hot.

The ride in this morning was real nice. Quiet and the wind at my back. The tempature and humidity dropped so that helped make it pleasant

I had a good 18 mile commute this morning. Used my Carradice Barley for the first time commuting and managed to fit all my stuff in there. A nice change from panniers where I tend to bring more stuff.

Unusally, as I passed through the Air Force Academy on the Sante Fe Trail, I passed ~300 cadets running in a giant pack (consuming the entire trail, of course). Pretty neat to see, and more people than I usually encounter in a couple months of commuting.

baker

Well, looks like its back in tights for the morning commutes. The morning temperatures have been in the high 40F or low 50F range all this week. Lots of tree limbs on the road from the thunderstorms last night. More big boomers in store for us this evening.

August 05

Will be a memorable day today. Sunny and extremely windy this morning -this is the windy city- tail wind I should add.
It propelled my commuter (hybrid) without full effort to a never reached on flats 30.3 mph hehe. On the downside a slower fellow commuter screamed WHHHHOOOAAA when passed. Forgot to yell "on your left" but with nobody on the bike path and overtaking at least 10' away from him didn't deemed necessary.... that was fun. :D

The ride in this morning was considerably cool for August in my neck of the woods. Usually its hot and humid until September. Then the tights come out. Not a bad ride, feeling a little burnt out though. Although I checked my computer and noted that I was keeping a cadence in the upper 90's cruising at 30 km/h. I also hopped on the scale this morning before heading out, and for the first time since June until now it finally dropped almost right on 200lbs mark. Down from the 215 in May. That was quite motivating. Looking forward to the ride home after work. :D

Scads of walkers and runners out on the American River Bike Trail this morning. There's one guy who always wears a big straw hat, cradles a big water bottle, and takes these really exaggerated strides. He gives a big friendly wave to everybody that goes by, even roadie snobs in full lycra like me.

It rained overnight and we had scattered clouds & 58F at 6 AM. The roads were still wet all the way in to work so the red Gommitalia tires on my Motobecane got a good wash. They haven't looked this pretty for quite a while. I had errands in the afternoon so I drove back after my lunch break and that meant I missed riding in afternoon showers today. This evening I fashioned & attached a leather mudflap to the rear fender on my Motobecane and mounted a blinkie light on the backside of my helmet(Its getting pretty dark during my morning commute) Don

Recent threads about slip sliding in wet conditions..My commute for the last 5 months have been dryer than a fire cracker fart. Thank god for dry commutes...I ever live where it is wet..Don't know how I will adjust...I get disgruntled when it feels wet from a heavy fog. The good thing about our usual dryness, (other than lack of water and how that effects living organisms) biking is great and I would think safer.