Sailguy

Two days in a row, and feeling good. (For those of you who may be counting, I don't commute at all on tuesdays ). My new route definately has a spot that is more hairy than my whole old commute. I don't know if I will take the direct route on rainy days since that would mean I will be riding on the road paint. That stuff is slick when dry. The hills are a bit larger on the direct route. Also, there is more opportunity for a very hilly alternate route w/ minimal mileage increase.

ollo_ollo

Another 54F ride to work at 6AM & 85F ride home this afternoon. Saw about a dozen other cyclists 3 or 4 were on vintage rides.

Jean Beetham Smith 

Sharon, MA doesn't allow shooting in their town, the east side of town bordors a large state park, and the west side has a large wildlife sanctuary. Because there is no hunting, the big human threat to the wildlife is vehicular traffic. Most of the time as I ride through the sanctuary the deer just stop to look at me briefly, then go back to browsing. This morning I encountered a deer crossing the road. It paused, turned and jumped over the stone wall, where it stood watching me ride by. This leads to my question of the day:

If a dumb deer can recognize me as a vehicle, why can't more motorists?

Augie

Hot today, though not compared to some of you guys, I'm reading - only 95. Sorta hot for PDX. Relatively quiet, quick commute. It gets smoother every time I do it. Though I'm starting to think that maybe running 6 mi in the morning and then commuting 15 mi both ways might be a slight overkill. I'm not feeling in danger of injuries, but it's leaving me kind of tired all the time. Tough to get out of bed in the am.

KosCycle

Cool, yet humid this morning. Left early so there wasn't much traffic, just me and the road for most of the way.

Distance - 15mi
Avg Spd - 18.5
It Felt - Pretty Good

super-douper

rode from work to a friend's house to help work on a boat. 14miles, 91 degrees, loaded panniers. I've never riden there before, so the route I chose probably wasn't the best. The worst part was 300 yards of road where a road turns into an expressway, and there's a freeway onramp there. Why do people drive like such idiots around onramps? after that hairy spot, I jumped on the bike trail for most of the rest of the way. Was a great ride for a wednesday afternoon, I should do this more often.

Chris L

After my ride home this evening, I'd suggest it's because a dumb deer is a considerably smarter and more evolved species than the motoring primate. Two near misses this evening, one which I believe was a blatant murder attempt, a fricken cabbie actually accelerated into a roundabout after he saw me there -- good job I have so little time for Regent Taxis generally. My automatic assumption on first sight that the guy was a dropkick gave me a few extra seconds that may well have saved my life.

ridealot

The ride home last night was much better then the night before, traffic was back to normal and people where giving me the room I needed.

Ride in this morning was cool with a tempature around 54(F).

DustinCHinman

I have a question. What kind of clothes do most you wear when the weather turns cool. I have cool weather jersey's and tights for when I ride the road bike but I don't really want to wear those clothes to work. Any ideas?

RicardoJM

The temps were in the mid 50's and no wind this morning. The number of other bikers I saw was way down - 8. However, the number of fox I saw was way up - 3. I didn't set any speed record this morning, but I had a great ride in anyway.

I've been thinking about fixed gear all summer, yesterday at lunch, I rode the LBS and bought a flip/flop rear wheel, 15tooth cog, lock ring and short crank bolts. It won't be long now until I give it a try.

cyclingshane73

Ride in this morning was pretty fast without incident. Its too damn cool for August. I'm not liking this years "summer" one bit. Last year I was sweating like a gorilla at this time of the year (no offense Chris ), this year my jerseys are only a tad sweaty when I get into work, almost dry you could say. Just like Ricardo I've been thinking about getting a flip flop single speed/fixed hub for the fall months as well too. I don't want my drive train to get all mucked up when the weather finally turns sour.

Paniolo

Ride home last night was great. What a difference the northerly tail wind makes vs. the prevailing sw headwind. Relatively cool too, low 90's. I could literally feel the wind pushing me up the long uphill section after the bridge instead of trying to push me back Usually I dread the 11 mi home leg because of the extended uphill, the headwind and the summer heat. Yesterday was great ... even the hors catagorie (for me!) climb right at the end where I invariably confirm my max hr

This morning it was very cool ... I felt chilled mid August in Central Tx!! A roadie or tri trainer in his aero bars caught me coming up the hill about the 9 mark with the help of a light that stopped me at the bottom. I picked it up and stayed in contact till the light in the middle of the steepest part went yellow just as he hit it. I had hoped to hold with him another 1/4 mi to my work turnoff

I should actually get 5 days commuting this week after averaging 4 days almost all summer. No appointments and finally worked out a carpool arraingement to take my son to soccer practice while I pick them up after practice.

mtessmer

Nice commute this morning, cool (45F), but nice (I was dressed for it this time). Total different picture this afternoon, 69F, a total different outfit for the ride home... just like fall. I'm not ready for this.

Zin

Amen Brother! AMEN!

Brains

August roads - empty - bliss

ollo_ollo

62F & clear at 6AM this morning, 81F during my 3:30PM return home. On the way in, I overtook & passed a fellow about my age (64) riding a hybrid commuter with panniers. Just said good morning as I passed, couldn't ride along with him or I would have been late to work. I ate to much at the annual Bar B Que so took it easy all the way home.

Jean Beetham Smith 

Only the 3rd or 4th hot (87F/30C) muggy (85% humidity) of the summer. Maybe that means there will be equally few cold (below 0F) days this winter. Well, I can dream. Meanwhile I'm waiting for my new batteries to come in. It is definately twilight when I'm leaving for home now.

super-douper

Today was a department picnic. Rode there, only 2.5 miles, played some soccer and ate some BBQ then rode back. Felt good to take the bike there instead of ride in a car. Someone left a basketball at the park, so I ingeniously lashed it to my rack using some velcro, ulock and cable lock. Net effect? Now I feel smart and fit.

Starting to see that my bike is a REAL alternative to a car. Almost everywhere I need to go is now in my biking range. Also getting used to the feeling sweating and drying without feeling disgusting.

Chris L

Strange today, the temperatures warmed up so quickly! I managed to clock 6 degrees C on the pre-dawn ride this morning, it was 9 when I got home. An hour later when I started the commute, it had hit 15 degrees C. Suffice to day I was a little overdressed. Still, it's not the end of the world.

vrkelley

It went better today. I'm less affected by the heat and enjoyed the ride!

Chris L

Another mad commute through "The obstacle course", but things were a little saner today due to the gridlock keeping people in line (I love Fridays sometimes). I produced a classic piece of 169% Ownage on the Sundale bridge, and indeed on the approach passing a number of cars that I really couldn't be bothered counting. I wonder how many times I have to do it before they get the message.

Ed Holland

My new alternative route to work is fantastic. It is 4 miles longer (total just over 14miles) and is beginning to feel almost like a proper ride. Plus there is an escape route if I'm running late for work. There is an extra hill to climb, and the new section is on really quiet country lanes, passing through a couple of attractive villages. It is really good to make changes now and again and keep things fresh. So far, I have achieved average speeds well into the 18's. I have also developed a much larger appetite at lunchtime.

Have a good weekend folks.

Cheers,

Ed

cyclingshane73

I decided to do some work on the right shifter for my road bike last night and ended up getting in real deep. Little springs everywhere and now its totally f**k'd. I couldn't get it back together. So I rode the MTB bike that I have only rode once all year in this morning. Chromo cranks, flats, riser bars, big fat tires and five inch travel fork. No complaints. It felt good to bust it out this morning. I had a good ride.

Paniolo

Unbelivably cool for August in Texas! It was still in the 60's when I left and will only be high 80's on the way home. A couple of years ago it was over 100 every day and only a few lows went below 80. I wish it would stay like this for a long time! Great ride in today.

Zin

Cold again this morning. Added an extra layer up top. Good thing too. Its funny, as I ride more and more, it is taking me longer and longer to get warmed up. Heck, by the time I'm warmed up, I've only got about 1.5 miles to go.

I'm leaving work early today. Hope to get a nice ride in. Hope everyone enjoys the weekend.

Bob