Zin

42F when I took off this morning. Rode the backup/rain commuter today. It was my first rides on the BULL HORNS that I installed on Sunday. I was saving them for my SS project, but that project is on terminal hold. So I installed them on the Rampar. They look wild and are quite comfy. We'll see how they perform in the wind on the way home.

Bob

mtessmer

I had a great commute yesterday, between that and my meeting way over in North St Paul I ended my work day with a little over 61 miles. Man, I've got a great job, there aren't to many like this out there. The weather was beautiful, a little windy but beautiful. We've had rain off and on today.

Merryish

</hee>

Merryish

Today, on BIKES TO WATCH OUT FOR...!

As I was turning onto the path today on my way home, I slowed down until there was a hole in the bike traffic and eased myself in. Just in front of me there was a guy on a mountain bike, and he stayed anywhere from ten to twenty-five yards in front of me all the way home. Which would have been fine, no trouble at all, I'm sure.

Except.

Attached to the back of his bike was a tented cart. And in this tented cart sat a very large, very disgruntled golden retriever. Who barked. All. the way. to my street.

I tried to pass him, but he kept catching me up. I tried to hang back and let him go, but every time I started pedaling again I'd hear it, drifting down from the path ahead:

arf. arf. ARF. ARF! ARF! ARF!

He was like a freakin' metronome, on and on and ON. He's lucky I turned off at Lawrence, because I surely would have killed that dog by Foster. I mean, I'm sure he was a perfectly nice dog and normally I harbor no vengeance in my heart for our furry four-footed brethren, but ... the hell?

I know, live and let live, takes all kinds to make a world, etc., etc. And I suppose if it's okay for me to use my bike for whatever I wish, it's okay for him to...roll...his dog with his. But I can't help but think, if that dog's not a paraplegic, he'd be much better off at home.

On the bright side...in spite of Mr. Guy with Mr. Dog, I made excellent time tonight. =)

Rowan

Spitting on the way home last night. I had a meeting that finished early, but I didn't bother doing the extended commute home -- I cut and ran.

This morning was blustery, cold at 5 deg C, and rainy. A south-westerly change came through and the rain clouds obliterated the mountain behind the city. Odd that on my side of the river where I live, the sky was a clear blue. The cloud formed a line corresponding halfway across the river. Still drizzling as I look out the window.

operator

Merryish whats your commute route?

Had one guy in a red acura I think with a spoofed up muffler pull up when stopped at an intersection going south on Yonge St. (Traffic was really backed up). Asked me about traffic being nonexistant for a biker like me. Had a short conversation with the two occupants at whence I remarked that it takes me 1.05 hours to get downtown from my location and 1.5 hours by bus+subway.

Made my day.

Rogerinchrist

Sounds like a good idea!

My ride was very much like yesterday's, but without the morning fog.

crank'n

yesterdays ride was interesting,insperational;spotted a hybrid bike and i caught up and here's a thin white haired bloke aged late 50's or older crusing at 25kmh yes 25kmh what a blast, and got talking about biking.

ollo_ollo

Cold, 49F & clear with a light wind at 6AM. Wore a heavy wool sweater for the first time since March. It was Sunny & bright all morning & at lunchtime, I returned to work on my Bianchi Trofeo. Within an hour of my return, clouds rolled in & it began to rain. Got pretty wet on the ride home. This is the second time this month that my optimistic weather assessment left me squinting into the rain on my afternoon commute. Guess its time to hang the Summer bikes in the boiler room for a few months

Map tester

Low clouds, mid 60s, made great time. Probably the last bike commute this week because of Ivan. On Thursday we are expecting heavy rain with winds 20 to 30, with gust up to 50.

thechrisproject

Damn you, head wind!

*shakes fist at sky*

HereNT

Cold, wet, dark, blind and surrounded by cars.

Both ways.

F rain.

kjorissen

Same location as HereNT, temp was low 60s. Luckily the first 6 miles of my commute is on a bike path so I don't have too much of a problem with cars. So, it didn't bug me much. 35 and rain is going to be interesting.

First ride in a steady rain and my question about how the backpack would handle lots of water has been answered with the somewhat expected, "Yes, you will need a plastic bag if you don't want that wet."

My commute gear is all non cotton and dries fast so that isn't a problem, but drying the shoes over the monitor is a bit of a pain. And what do I do when I get an LCD panel at work? I think I'll give some rain booties a try, we'll see if this works with an SPD setup .

PainTrain

New to the forum, into my sixth week commuting. Started on a gifted discount store beater, now on a Trek 7100 that I'm planning a long, happy relationship with.

My time is down to 25 min. from initial 45, so now exactly what it took to drive.

Weather consistently gorgeous, about 60 F in AM, 5 miles one way mostly on path along the American River, I see maybe a dozen people each way, so I have the river much to myself. I almost feel guilty compared to those in cold and windy climes. Please don't hate me 'cause I live in California!

Oh yes, I work for a health insurer, so we are encouraged to 'alternative commute', and have nice showers/lockers here.

Why did I wait so long?

caloso

I'm looking at my Canine-Spanish dictionary and that translates to "!Venga! !Venga! !Venga!"

I had a nice easy ride into work this morning after visiting BloodSource for my semi-regular donation. The volunteer running the snack counter noticed my helmet and clicky shoes and it turns out he's a regular bike commuter too. Quote: "I can't imagine why anybody would drive to work in this town!"

Me neither.

Terry PL

Slept in yesterday and decided not to commute. I was cranky all day especially when I was sitting in traffic on the way home.

Today I had a tail-wind and the ocean was beautiful. Can't wait to get back on the bike this evening!

I'm a lucky guy!

ajkloss42

I'm surprised your backpack didn't hold up better; I rode to work out in Seattle on Monday in the rain with a Thinkpad and it came out pretty darn dry. Of course, midwestern rain seems tougher that Pacific Northwest rain anyday.

I wouldn't worry about getting an LCD monitor at work... you know why . If you do, you can always drop them off in the lab in front of that heater^h^h^h^h^h^h Itanium workstation. Or better, use Pete's cube.

I think we should buy a clothes dryer for our office.

Yes, the booties will work with SPDs, they have a hole in the bottom for the cleat. Go to Target and get shoe goo or something like that and coat the edges of the booties, especially around the toes and the cleats. My shoes were still wet this morning so I wore heavy smartwool hiking socks, which made all the difference.

I found a hill (well a viaduct technically) yesterday on 45th St. NE going into the University District here in Seattle. It rivals that bastard on Summit/Grand Ave. in St. Paul. There are lots of hills that are almost that steep out here, and usually a lot longer, but the really steep grades have been a bit harder to find. I've been given some tips about some other parts of Capitol Hill and First Hill that are supposed to be brutal. I can't wait. I'm still satisfied with my double (39t/27t) for the climbing, but I have some 53t chainring envy on the big descents. 48t isn't getting me past 44 mph. Why I want to go 44 mph without medical support I don't know... oh yeah, so I can make the timing on the traffic lights.

Rogerinchrist

Got an early start this morning, which for me means "on time", it was calm & kinda warm at 72F with lots of moist air. One of the first times this month that I haven't seen Zig & Berniese out walkin' (they are in thier 80's).
This afternoon was different, cool, front came through, rained, got wet, put rain jacket on, too warm for the pants, enjoyed.
Hit 600 miles yesterday, and have riden every day that I've worked in September (it's a big deal to me)so far.

Rowan

Last night's ride home was a buzz. I was in a zone I haven't been in for a while. A leisurely pedal at 25 to 30km/h except for the hills, and I didn't break a sweat.

Wind, wind and more wind this morning, but no so much as to make it tricky to get across the bridge. Headwind out to work, however. And the rain has been on and off all morning. Oh well, spring has arrived here.

Zin

Around 42F when I headed out this morning. The Autumn winds are back with a vengence.

I got caught in a rain shower on the way home. Stopped at a park under a canopy to add a layer. The temp was around 50F when the rain started. Oh, it was that lovely HORIZONTAL rain with 27MPH wind gusts. Oh the joy of Autumn in Montana.

Its funny how no matter what the weather does to you when your on the bike, you still feel more alive than at any other time.

Cerberusgl

Had a good ride home in Sacramento, about 17miles one-way with 11.5 on bike path. The path north of Downtown was re-topped last week and is much smoother, although it has taken less than a week for glass to be redistributed. They need to make "40s" out of plastic. Wind was moderate and I drafted off a bus for about a mile. Almost ready to bust out the light for the morning portion. Only need an ultra-light jacket for the first half of the morning. Probably I'll switch to longs in a few weeks.

ollo_ollo

Rain showers today but not during my commute times. Must have been because I brought rain gear & booties!

mrfix

Nice day,low clouds and much warmer. I was back to just a jersey this morning, I had a great, quiet, uneventful ride. A great way to start the day.

Chris L

17 Degrees C in the morning, and 22 degrees C in the evening. Renewed an old acquaintence on the evening commute, and we both laughed at the moron who tried to "make an example of us" by sitting on my back wheel when there was plenty of room to pass and honking for about 2km. Four or five cars going the same direction blew straight by him while he was doing this. What a moron!

madhouse

After a looonnnggg night and only 3.5 hours of sleep, I couldn’t opt for the car and another hour of sleep because I already had the babysitter coming at 5:30am. A brisk 45F(7C) morning, and all the stars in the hemisphere wiped away the attitude, to bad there wasn’t a tailwind to help wipe away the lack of sleep. I know I feel better now than I would have had I taken the extra hour of sleep.

It's funny how no matter what LIFE does, when you're on the bike you still feel more aline than at any other time!