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.

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

Foggy and cool coming in this morning. Nice ride.

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

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.

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

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. :)

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.

:)

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

My first post...
I think I'm mean on my bike, but you know once I start moving I don't want to stop.
I ride my bike to and from school and I'm sure it only adds up to a total of 10 miles a day but it's still fun. Can a cyclist get ticketed for going over the speed limit?

thanks for reading a newbie's post.

Ride to work was brisk. Temp was right at 42F with a light NNW headwind.

I took off work early. I was heading home to drop the panniers then out for a longish ride. My rear tire blew! The rear tire is a sew-up (tubular). Soooo. I walked the bike 3 miles home. Put on my old Tufo Rhino (32mm) sew-up and waited for the glue to dry. It has to dry for 12 hours before riding. :( I can't wait until I can afford to replace that wheel! I just hope this tire holds until I can!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'll be out in 40MPH winds trying to get some miles in before the rain on Sunday.

Bob

Clear, calm & 47F at 6AM today, it was bright & sunny through lunch time, but then it began to cloud over & was threatening rain by late afternoon when I rode home. It is raining hard now & will be much warmer & wetter for the next several days.

Welcome to commuting!!!
Yes you can get ticketed.
Your welcome.

Last two days have been great. Cool mornings with 80'sF on the way home.
Read about Ya'll on Monday.

14 deg C, but a cool headwind into work this morning. A few spots of rain, and now looking out my window, it's drizzling.

Incredible! It managed to rain for almost the exact duration of my ride this morning. Once I arrived the weather erupted into bright sunshine. Never mind, at least we're not bearing the brunt of that awful hurricane in the Carribean.

Cheers,

Ed

just perfect

I spent a couple hours last night and gave my bike a good cleaning. Typically this means that it will rain in the morning or that it will rain over night. Either of which will cause all my efforts to go down the proverbial storm drain. Well that didn't happen. So I was able to enjoy a nice cruise in on a quiet, clean drive train in some decent weather. Sadly the nice weather is almost over. :(

me too - it bites. or they look you right in the eye and walk out in front of you anyway.

today's ride was mellow...we've had quite the warm and dry september up here. i'll be glad when the cirque du soleil microtunneling troupe leaves town, and i no longer have to dodge their orange barrels and little heaps of gloopy drilling mud in the bike lane.

Tonight, I beat my personal best for the trip home by more than 1 1/2 minutes!!! :D With a combination of luck with traffic lights and a decent energy level, I made my eight-mile, long-way-home commute in 28:31 (it was 27-something if you don't count stops at traffic lights).

Yeah, I know some roadies go a lot faster, but I'd never broken the thirty-minute barrier, I live uphill from work, and I had two loaded panniers. It helped that I passed a guy who decided to keep up with me. for a mile or two. Not wanting to get passed by the guy I passed kept me moving.

I'm in Seattle for the week, so this morning was my first West coast commute. I cleaned my drivetrain yesterday so, sure enough, it was raining this morning. Good times. The commute was uneventful, I suspect with about the same ratio of dinkleberry drivers to reasonable ones here as anywhere else. The Seattle area has a bunch of nice long hills which are very hard to come by in Minneapolis which is just what the doctor ordered for some hill-climbing practice. Fun fun fun.

Cool 53F this morn with that light "romantic" fog, no wind.
This afternoon, mid 80's with a strong wind at about 9 0'clock which got behind me from time to time, which helped me make good time too.
Time to go...........somewhere.

I was just writing to someone that we seem to be having a "normal" spring that hopefully will lead into a good summer with mid to late 20 deg C. At least we don't have to worry about drought down in our neck of the woods! It's drizzling and sunny and windy here right now.

Light rain this morning, Sunbreaks at Noon which turned into a sunny afternoon.