Rogerinchrist

Got up extra early to make a delivery about a mile in the other direction. Fun riding on my country roads in the dark, couldn't see the computer so my cadence was naturally by feel. Felt really good to get to work early too.
Ride home went quick, saw two sandhill cranes which aren't overly common in this area. Had to pick up my daughter directly after work, had a nice tailwind for once.

Chris L

They do have a nice scent don't they? We're just at the end of the wattle season now, but this morning's pre-dawn ride to Hinze Dam in the rain brought the scent out again. The combination of wattle with eucalyptus is hard to beat. Light rain on the commute, and 17 degrees C. I think that was actually the overnight minimum up here. Warming up for Glorious Mee this weekend, and hoping the temperatures stay this low.

ridealot

Yesterday was a wild ride. Wind was bad, we are getting the after effects of Frances up here. Wind gust up to 26mph. Nice misty rain, at sometimes it was a hard stinging rain. Needless to say the ride home was not typical.

Ride in this morning was much better. No wind and cool temps.

cyclingshane73

We are getting the remenants of Frances up here. It was pouring when I left this morning. A good north wind was blowing however it really didn't bother me. About 1/4 into the ride I hit the path along the lake shore and began to head west into the downtown core. The sky was grey and featureless as the rain continued to pour. The waves were rolling into the shore line nice and strong. Even though I was wearing my Gore-Tex jacket I was still soaked through because I had the vents open as the tempurature was nice and mild. Then all of the sudden I had a thought, all I could think was, "This is great, I love this." Yep, that's pretty much it.

cicadashell

frances reduced to a wisp of her former self, last night, the morning roads merely moistened. another mellow ride; the town has been repopulated with students, but they don't get out too early. going home, i have to be more careful.

Map tester

Nice clear sky, mid 60s, nice clean air courtesy of Frances.

RicardoJM

I drove in this morning, then went for a ride before starting my day. I know that it is technically not commuting. With the sun coming up later, this approach lets me get in a good ride and get into the office on time without having to leave in the dark. I do have a good light and putting it on indicates that summer has come to an end. I'm not yet ready to end my summer.

Nice morning for a ride. I took the Cherry Creek path out of downtown. I didn't count but the path was full of allot more riders than I see on my regular path (S. Platte).

Ed Holland

Had a lovely ride in this morning and a lunchtime ride with a workmate. So far that adds up to about 30 miles, and there are least 10 more waiting for the ride home home. Great!

Ed

pinerider

Raining cats and dogs this morning, rode through lots of poodles!!! The remnants of Frances meant steady rain and headwind of 30 kph gusting to 42. I was so abosrbed with finding a route around the puddles, I missed my turn into the driveway and rode an extra 100 metres in the rain!!

Zin

Had to ride the 'stand-by' commuter bike this morining. I dropped the Bianchi off at the LBS after work last night to get a tune up done. Oh, I'm having them put new gel tape on the bars as well.

The weather was nice and in the mid 50Fs. I may be riding in rain on the way home.

Hey pinerider, I'm catching back up to you on bikejournal~! Better watch out!

Merryish

Whee!

I took last night and this morning off, because I've only been doing this for a week now and was starting to feel a little noodly in the leg just thinking about riding. I don't want to over-do and wreck myself - I'm not in great shape </understatement>. I felt really *twitchy* on the bus home yesterday and to work this morning, and was so so glad to be back on my bike this afternoon.

And it was a lovely, lovely ride. Jorge, the sweet and charming maintenance guru at the bikestation, topped off my tires (forgot to bring my pump) and when I grumbled slightly about seat height, he did a fit for me right on the spot. Adjusted everything, and gave me some really good advice about where my feet should fall on the pedals and how to hold my heels for a more efficient ride. He also told me to take my bike back to the LBS I bought it from and exactly what to tell them in terms of tightening and stretching and what-not. It was really educational - I sound like a dork, I know, but riding a bike for transportation at 33 is a lot different from riding a bike for fun at 17, which was the last time I rode a bike before last week.

This trip felt great - I made better time, and felt better doing it. At first, my right knee wanted absolutely no part of proper form, and complained extensively, but it got used to it after about a mile and I settled in for probably my best ride yet. It was cool out, just cool enough to scare some of the moms and tourists back inside, and the lake was beautiful.

I love my bike.

ollo_ollo

Cloudy with showers this morning, by afternoon, & we had sunshine & a light breeze, 74F seems just right for commuting in comfort. Don

Zin

Picked the Banchi up from the LBS after work. With a fresh tune-up. Set my best time and avg. speed yet for my route. 18MPH average speed! It was a good ride home. Temp around 75F. Like Don said, "<snip>74F seems just right for commuting in comfort."

Rogerinchrist

I really enjoy reading Merryish's entrance into commuting, makes me excited to get up every morning to ride! (I'm not a morning type)

As temps go I kinda prefer 60's.

Cool & foggy this morn, I left rather late too. Did see a fellow commuter that I haven't seen in the a.m. before going the other way, could barely make him out with all the moisture condencing on the specticals.
This afternoon's ride was clear, sunny & 73F. Nice.

Chris L

Clear skies and 15 degrees C this morning. Took a detour up to The Spit on the way in. That was pleasant, but it's really just a warm up. Glorious Mee tomorrow.

Ed Holland

....Must have been waiting for me this morning. As soon as I wheeled the bike out of the shed, the rain started. As the journey progressed, it became heavier and heavier.

Happy riding,

Have a good weekend,

Ed

mrfix

Nice mornning, I rode on wet roads all the way in, it rained all night but stopped about a half hour before I left. Temp. is 64 degreesF and the humidity didn't seem bad. Traffic was heavy but moving along, I took my time and averaged 15.3 miles per hour. The weather is forecasted to clear and tomorrow is suposed to be a beautiful day.

pinerider

I've got today off, so last night I rode the whole trip home, 47 km. (or maybe I just rode the long distance to stay ahead of N7 at bikejournal.com!) It was mostly sunny, temp of 22 C with a nice tailwind of about 25 kph, so it was a quick trip, too. The sun and wind helped dry my socks and shoes that were still wet from the rain ride in the morning.
My first long ride on the new (to me) Velo Sport touring bike with full panniers, found it very comfortable and the panniers made nice sails for the tailwind!
It has a bit of a drivetrain clunk somewhere, not sure if it's bb or freewheel. I'll have to have a look at it.

ridealot

Uneventful ride home last night. traffic was normal, a slight headwind but not to bad.

Foggy and cool coming in this morning. Nice ride.

nolageek

Have to vent. I was riding to work today when a car pulled into the far right lane (with me) and stops about a block in front of me to let the passengers out (I think they were being dropped off at school.) Two girls get out on the passenger side, one gets out the driver's side. The two passenger side girls walk and stand in between two parked cars and wait for their friend. Their friend walks around the back of the car looks at me and stops behind the passenger side taillight. Leaving me about 3 feet of space on the side of the car.

"Ok" I think as I approach, "She's waiting for me to pass."

I dropped my speed and went between their car and the parked cars... just as she finds her cell phone in her purse and steps right in front of me.

I had about a nanosecond to brake so I wound up careening off of her as I swerved and body slid across the side of the parked car. (No damage to the car, I checked.)

Looking back I know I should have just stopped and waited for them... and I would have if she hadn't made eye contact and looked like she didn't see me.

The thing that pissed me off was that she didn't even look up at me the entire time. Not once. Not after I sucked it up and appologized. Not even afterwards when I said "Some sort of acknowledgement would be nice." Just nothing!

I get that all the time. People crossing the corner just as I get in the middle of the cross street and am headed straight for them. I mean, I can brake in time, but still... I am travelling at 15-20mph - you'd think they'd say to themselves "if I start walking now, I'm going to be in that guy's way. Maybe I'll wait 10 seconds... or maybe I'll walk fast."

I see that "I'm too cool to pay attention to my surroundings" look a lot.

Vincent

WonkerJaw

Good Morning… I don't want to say the ride in this morning was perfect because that would mean my morning ride would never get any better. The weather was just right at 72 degrees, no wind, and a pleasant sunrise.
This morning I saw a mother who had her little girl with her in tow. The mother blew right through a stop sign crossing a well traveled street. I was so surprised I did not say any.
On a brighter note… I got a co-worker to ride in this morning. She really does not have any excuse not to ride. Her commute is six minutes. Maybe she will get bit by the commute bug.

mtessmer

Nice commute this morning, it was low to mid sixties. I got to wear shorts! That's kind of unusual for this time of year here in Minnesota (in the morning that is). I had a nice lunch ride, checked out my favorite Chinese restaurant. It should be a great ride home, I think I'll take the long way (especially after the big lunch that I sowed down). Have a great weekend all.
--Mark

oboeguy

Fine commute today. After getting poured on two days ago, and getting a ride yesterday, today was great (clear blue sky, nary a cloud). Testing out my new pedals, I made it to work in record time.

Merryish

Thanks, Roger! I'm really enjoying entering into bike commuting and the comm, too. =)

On today's rides I could do no wrong. Chicago's having a string of really gorgeous days, and the air has been crisp and clean. The lake, I have decided, is the best thing ever.

There are three sharp inclines (I hesitate to call anything in Illinois a "hill") on my way in. The first one, I usually make fine. The second two, I always have to walk at least part of the way. The problem in both cases is the traffic light at the bottom, followed by the sharp rise. I lose any momentum I might have had and end up fighting gravity halfway up, then hopping off the bike. Not so today! Even with the traffic stop on the second one, I managed to make it to the top without a walk; and on the final one, I made it to within 4 steps of the top before I had to give in to the laws of physics.

The ride home was just phenomenal. I don't think I've ever been that fast. It didn't feel like work at all, and I was doing more passing than being passed, all the way. None of the inclines bothered me, and while I did nearly die twice (woman with a toy terrier on what seemed to be a 500 yard leash nearly clotheslined me; erratic six-year-old on a bike taller than she was nearly caused a 4-bike pile-up two blocks from my house) it was still a fine, fine ride.

javagrrl

It's an inferno here. Other than that, it's a good day to ride.