Had a tough time pulling myself out of bed after only 5 hours of sleep… Had an equally tough time propelling myself down the road after only 5 hours of sleep. I normally operate sleep deprived so this was atypical.

upper 40s so back to short pants, much better temperature control. very grey, very damp, wind from the "bad weather" direction (east turning north)...great to be alive and out there, in other words.

this thread will soon hit 100,000 views. woohoo!

Okay. I rode again to school today(I'm a Teacher). My wife thinks I am crazy and she is very angry(understatement). I have a few questions that need answering.

1. Am I crazy if I ride 12 miles to school, most of it on a sidewalk or non busy streeets while it is still a little dark if I have a front and back light, a reflective vest, and wear a helmet(always anyways)?

2. I am 37 years old. Is that too old to be doing something like this with four kids and a wife as responsibilities?

3. Any suggestions on how to get her to calm down and understand me better?

Please reply or email me at shepherdh@d62.org

Socksshep:

My opinion: 1) No, you are not crazy. But I'd stay off the sidewalk if you can avoid it. They're uneven and cars and pedestrians don't expect to see you there. It feels safer, but in most circumstances, it's not.

2) I am 37 and a new dad. I ride every single day I can, mostly because I love it, but also because I'll be 50 when the kids are in H.S. and I want to be able to run 10Ks and ride centuries with them.

3) I don't know if I can give you any suggestions. Every S.O. is different and some understand better than others. Maybe if you show her how you have all the lights and blinkies and reflective stuff. Or maybe ask her to help you find the safest route possible. Definitely let her know that you love her and the kids and you won't take any unnecessary risks.

34F for this morning's ride. Felt tired the whole way. Legs felt like rocks. Wonder if I'm coming down with something? Expecting another snow storm tonight! Purchased a front amber blinky for the bike. It works nice.

Rain and wind this morning. The kind of morning that lets you know you're alive. (That, and that you need to get some fenders and a better jacket.)

yet another commute in the tin can......ho hum......must get back on the bike.

Enjoy every ride.......It is only when you don't or can't that you truly miss it.

my first ride in the rain!

I've ridden before in a light sprinkle, but last night the weather guy on the news said "This is the strongest storm we've seen in 4 decades.......in October". Anyway, 55 F windy, rainy. I found out that I wasn't prepared for it. 1/4 mile from home it felt like I had two small aquariums with feetfish swimming in them attached to my pedals. I ride toeclips and straps and didn't bring an extra pair of socks or shoes...so i'm barefoot working today.

Anyway, the ride was short, 2 miles, but I think i really like riding in the rain. Seems like people were giving me more room than if it were dry...kind of like "Look at that poor soul, I'd better move to the left lane". They didn't know that THEY are the "poor souls" stuck in their cars whilst I'm living life.

I hope it's still raining on the way home!

Only crazy folks like riding in the rain, of course those of us still riding daily in the cold and damp might be a little left of center. Cool and rainy, had to be in early today so I started in the dark, I love having the roads to myself!

You're not crazy for riding to work, even in the dark (in some ways dark is safer than light because your blinkies give you very different visibility to other roadway users). There is a possibility of something bad happening to you, regardless of car, bicycle, etc. You could slip in the shower and I'm sure no one wants you to stop taking them to avoid the risk. I'm sure you've already gotten reasonable life insurance and so on to care for your family in the event of a major life change, so bicycling shouldn't be an issue. I'm more worried about cancer, heart disease, and diabetes than I am about getting taken out on the roads.

A pleasant 40 F and drizzle in Minneapolis this morning. I towed three weeks of food and clothes to work so the seatpost rack comes off the Steelman tonight for some proper unladen commuting. Excellent I say (drumming fingers ominously).

My first ride in the rain as well, a real baptism for us NorCal n00bs. Saw a suggestion here to put plastic grocery bags on the feet, that worked pretty well until they settled and exposed my socks.

Caloso, I'm 40 and a new dad also, congratulations!

When I came in the door at work, the security guard said, "Hardcore, dude, hardcore."

I must admit that felt kinda good :)

Dude, you and I are twins. Thanks and congrats to you too. Anyway, the Raleys bags that I duct taped to my feet worked for about 5 miles and then they just trapped the water that had seeped in. I may have to break down and buy some booties as well as fenders.

Fenders are a MUST. But that is a topic for another thread.

I commute daily on my MTB Trek 800. It as raining on the way back from the grocery store so I decided to take the trail home. It's not a bike trail it's really a dirt road that leads to the locals mental hsopital's graveyards. It's a short cut through the woods ;) Part of the way had newly been paved but the people that paved it put part of it in lumps which made the dirt road much more rough. Long story short I hit one of those bumps and went over rthe handle bars. I was only doing about 6-8 mph.

That's it. I'm building this trike. That's the 2nd crash I've had in 2 weeks. If I had a trike I wouldn't have had balance issues to deal with.

Another damp dreary commute in South Jersey. Traffic wasn't too bad, that's the good thing about rain- for the most part it makes people drive slower and with caution. Had a nice little eye opener yesterday when an SUV sailed through a stop sign at about 30mph just about 50 feet in front of me. It was a pretty blind intersection, so I would've been creamed if I got there just a little earlier.

Man it is ugly in NorCal today. It's almost 3:30 PM, people are asking me if I need a ride home. :)

Funny thing is today a woman was driving behind me obvioulsy pissed because I was doing 12mph in a 15mph zone. So, she started honking and yelling, "You see the side walk get on it. Bispite there is a policy on campus that makes it illegal to ride bicycles on the sidewalk. So, I just signaled a right turn and got out of her way. 100 feet down the street a construction crew had stopped all traffic to load something onto their truck so she had to wait anyway. Go figure :(

The overcast dampness cleared an hour before I left. It was partly cloudy, dry roads, 50F with a 3mph tailwind. I had the right combination of clothing and made great time. Much better than this morning

I’m a 36 father of 5, I commute 13 miles one way and leave at 5:30 in the morning. My wife thinks I’m crazy (based on the weather conditions), but I remind her that I was that way when she met me! :D

I suggest you stay off the sidewalks, to many unknowns and traffic cannot predict your actions.

IMHO it is safer to ride in the dark than daylight. The respect I get on the road with my blinkies is much better than I get during the daylight. :)

Every situation and spouse is different, but I think I can speak for the forum members here that we support your idea. Along with other health benefits, I read in “Bicycling” magazine that every 10 pounds of weight shed increases the length of a certain male organ by ½”. Maybe that bit of information will help! :D

Past month has been very depressing, they are tearing up the street in front of work, but with the still heavy traffic and terrible street condition (no pavement) I've had to take an alternate route to work. It's OK, but I miss going over Moose Hill in the morning. Alternate, alternate route is even less interesting, and the Eastern approach is impossible because it puts me on even worse streets.

Well for me, today was an amazingly awesome ride. Its been raining intermittently for the last few days, and I happened to get a window where it wasn't raining, and it felt great!

I don't have fenders and am not sure its worth it, considering it rarely rains here (though I think we're due lots of rain this year, we'll see). To any effect when it does rain the air quality greatly improves and today I felt like king of the road! Riding a bike is far superior to driving a car, you can manuever so much more effectively and actually enjoy the intervening scenery. Yeah all I get to see is Pasadena and South Pasadena before I'm back in LA, but still, its kinda nice.

Its also nice to be able to kind of take in the whole day before getting home. Anyway, bottom line, today was awesome.

Woke up with some kind of congestion in my ears, could hardly hear out of my left (traffic side) one & there was heavy rain so I drove. Felt a lot better by lunchtime & could hear again. The rain had stopped & there was a hint of blue sky & sunshine so I rode back to work after lunch & felt better for it. It was just beginning to rain during the commute home but it wasn't bad at all, refreshing really. Don

Nice ride today, little rain on the way home.
Had to work with my boss today and had alot of work .
But still had a nice day . Have a good day .

As Ice Cube would say, 'Taday was a good day."