Today was another beautiful day! :) There was a strong crosswind, which came in handy when I turned to ride up Cemetery Hill, which is crowned with the graves of cyclists who didn't make it to the top. Well, probably not, but it's a big, steep hill, and the payoff of rolling down it faster than you can pedal is worth the long haul up.

The way home wasn't bad...beautiful stars, a little more traffic than usual. I passed what was either a road-killed boa constrictor or a rusted-out exhaust pipe...don't suppose I have to tell you which was more likely in Wisconsin. :p A black cat crossed my path again...the last time that happened I ended up fighting a near-tornado on the way home. This time, a car swerved past me at an unsafe time, coming near to a fender-bender with the oncoming car...which happened to be my Mom. I gotta warn her about coming near me when the black cats are on the road.....anyway, she turned around and stopped by the roadside and made me stand in the middle of the road while she talked out her window about how dangerous it was for me to be on the road at night....oh, well....

Tomorrow I'm off, I'm going to ride a little of the Nicolet State/Oconto County trail.

Inkwolf just made the 600th post on this thread--a milestone of sorts. 'Great way to describe the feelings we have on our commutes.

My commute today was nothing compared to yesterday, with the feelings I had. But I had three little rides, and was able to get some bread on the way home from a very good bakery (Great Harvest in Hillsboro). I rode for only the second time near where I ended up in the hospital (the first was two days ago, when I got the ice cream). I'm not riding that stretch again in the same way that I did it, but this was a personal milestone for me.

I enjoyed passing a whole string of cars waiting for a red light using the bicycle lane. Later, on another stretch, I was able to do it again on a wide roadway. That felt good too.

There is one place where I get off the road, onto a sidewalk for a short time, and turn into a bicycle path toward home. The turn is a short downhill, and I stand on the pedals as I descend, enjoying the sensation somewhat akin to being in a current in clear water diving. It made me feel alive, and the bike was silent enough to send a cat galloping through tall grass to escape the weird creature which was descending upon it.

John

Dark and windy. Very appropriate for Friday the 13th though.

Yes, dark and windy, and clear and cold, my fingers were cold with long fingered gloves on. I guess winter is upon us. I had an unusual problem with the commuter bike yesterday, the front chainring started to rub on the chain in all bu the 2 middle cassette sprockets, after a little trouble sooting I found the front derailure pivot pins were worn out. the chain gage was floping aroun on the clamp bracket. I replaced it with a new shimano LX derailure and the problem is gone. this is the first front derailure I've ever worn out.

Hi Folks,

Busy traffic this morning. It seems to get heavier later in the week. At least it was nice and sunny again. I can't believe the run of nice weather we are having at the moment in the UK.

I think bike commuting suits we Brits (or English Welsh and Scots if you prefer :beer: ) as it gives us another reason for talking about the weather. As if we needed it :)

Have a good weekend,

Ed

Dark ride in today since I had the "early shift", taking my daughter to 6am field hockey practice. From there I biked to a friend/co-worker's house and we both biked to work from there. About the same distance for me (13 miles) but much slower pace ;) It was nice, though, because of the company but also because I was dead tired from a mean set of b-ball games last night.

Another windy day here in Maine. Just shy 50 when I headed out, but no clouds to be seen. A very nice morning indeed. Now need to find all my fall/winter riding gear. Fingerless gloves were not quite enough.

I rode to work today knowing that I would probably have to deliver some documents during the day. Considering that the company Corolla is out of commission, and considering most of the admin staff (who would normally take documents) are out of the office, I ended up taking my bike to deliver them. Since the other company was only a mile away, and in the middle of downtown Annapolis (no parking!), I'm sure I went faster by bicycle.

I had the added bonus of freaking out a co-worker who saw me on the road. He thinks I'm very brave. HA!

Looking forward to the commute home.....

19 miles to work 16 mph average, 50 degrees. Time to find the full fingered gloves. Started out at 5:30am, nice way to start the day.

A beautiful day in Nor Cal today. Cool enough this morning (68F) to ride to work in my casual Friday work clothes.

Planning for a serious *detour* on the way home tonight so I put my shorts and jersey in my back pack and rode my Trek 5200 rather than the old reliable.

Just two more hours at my desk!

This entire week has been dazzling. Cool weather, warm weather, windy weather, calm weather. Mostly sunny, no rain. If weeks like this don't convince people to commute, then it's certainly not about the weather.

A couple of mornings were cool enough to warrant arm warmers, but that was it for extra clothes. A couple of days I stayed late and was glad I had my light going home, but that too was a pleasure, watching the sunset and felling the chill return to the air.

It was a week to feel pity for the poor souls trapped in their cars.

RichC

A beutiful pre-dawn over Lake Ontario this morning, calm winds, temp around 60F. A nice ride in. Legs were stiff and sore at work today, took the short commute home (only 12km) - Good thing too - No legs, no energy left. I think I need a day off the bike tomorrow - 255 kms (153 miles) of commuting this week!!!

This evening's ride was the kind of commute that made me really appreciate my fenders. I'd appreciate my little Cateye light a lot more if the batteries would last more than 2 or 3 trips.

Ride home was with co-worker for a while, then to pick up my car which I left at my daughter's high school. 15 or so miles. Went via a route she has used before but it was awful. I told her to change her course because it was definitely too unsafe. She was also wavering a bit, meandering in and out of parking zones instead of keeping a straight line.

Wow, what a difference experience makes.

I had a weird commute back home a couple of days ago. After work I had choir rehearsal, at the end of that we had auditions for new singers and afterwards the "jury" went to the local pub to compare notes. So it was quite late when, after 3 beers or so, I finally went to the loo to change to my riding clothes. The ride home was dark, tired and uneventful.

When I finally got home (about 2am) I noticed my cell phone was missing. After a frantic search I concluded I had left it in the toilet. Now I don't have any other phone, and the pub was pretty much closed anyway by then, so I decided there was nothing I could do at that moment. I figured I'd just hope for the best and check with the pub the next day.

Before going to bed I realised two things: I had to get up early next morning (6ish) and I had no functioning alarm clock to get up with (I've used the phone for that for several years)! I have a tuner in my stereo that can be programmed to power on at any given time, but my stereo set is downstairs, bedroom upstairs. With the way I felt I was sure I was not going to wake up unless I cranked the volume up high enough to wake up the neighbourghs as well.

After some more mental head-banging I gave up, took a pillow and a blanket and went to sleep on the couch by the stereo. I had some three hours of sleep and woke up when the radio switched on. I was so tired and disoriented, I had to walk around my living room to locate the source of that noise and to switch it off. I then proceeded to spend my entire morning in a couple of meetings (very barely awake). It wasn't until after lunch when I was finally able to go search the phone.

I walked in the pub, the waitress regocnized me, and smiling radiantly gave me my cell phone before I could ask anything. I felt so relieved I could have kissed her right there and then, but that might have scared her (I probably did not look too hot after all this) so I just thanked her profoundly and left.

It is a fun episode to remember, but during the early morning meetings I remember thinking "I'm getting too old for this kind of sh*t!". Either that, or then I'm becoming too dependent on the mobile. Hmm...

--J

Wow, you biked home after 3 or so beers? That's one rule I've never, ever bent -> I have never ridden after having any alcohol whatsoever. Well, that and never riding without a helmet.

My two cardinal rules.

Today was grey and rainy. Still a good ride, and it washed off the trail dust from my ride on Friday. I picked up a pair of goggle-style sunglasses from where they've been sitting all week on the roadside. Some motorcyclist must have lost them.


(Friday I rode the Oconto County trail from Gillett to Suring and back (18 miles round trip.) It's a fairly rough trail, mainly for ATV's and snowmobiles. I was sorry I couldn't go much further than Suring--it turned into soft sand there, as the trail goes on into the Nicolet National Forest--but at least in Suring there's a nice little dairy stand next to the trail with a lot of flavors of frozen yogurt bars. So, makes a nice little ride close to home. :) )

Been a couple weeks, but the commuting has been really great. The weather is cooperating. It just seems like I am always riding in a head wind. Even the rides to the mall are great.

Did my first ever commute to school on Friday! 28 miles round-trip on mostly uncrowded back roads with a few hills. With a little planning the night before, everything went great!

I allowed myself plenty of time to get there (in case of a flat, tiredness, etc,) and actually arrived about 40 minutes ahead of time. I probably don't need to arrive that early.

I pushed myself a little and was sore the next day... but it was worth it!!! I definitely need to ride to school more often before the cold Vermont winter sets in.

I got lots of support and motivation from Bikeforums -- everyone else seems disinterested or thinks I'm crazy! :roflmao:

This is a great distance for commuting, I think. It's about what I do during the school season, too, as I go with my family and ride from my girls' schools. My summertime commute of 20 miles each way takes a toll. This distance is much more managable.

Good luck and keep it going. Be sure to no over do it ... stick with it for the long run -- I mean ride ;)

I started out this morning at 5, under the stars. It was very cold! I put on my rain jacket for warmth before I was a mile from home, and wished I had worn sweats instead of shorts. At least I had a tailwind. The sun was just starting to come up when I reached town, though I still heard roosters crowing as I passed the farms...did I wake them up? :D It was warmer (and much lighter) on the way home.

Yesterday my commute was with nature :) I rode 35 miles through the Snoqualime Valley it was nice around 75 degrees but a nice breeze and lots shade to keep things cool. Rode through Nestle's training center which is a huge farm with a Dairy and the grow paper trees (fast growing poplars I believe). I was using a ride book that was 12 years old and written for us road bikers. It took me off road up and over a ridge. I am glad I was on the specialized anyhow some how the road doesn't go that way any more and it is more for mountain bikes. Ended up on this ridge looking down at Carnation the town I wanted to be in with no way down but the way I came in. All I could say was "s%#@" and started walking down ran into a couple of MTBer's that lead me out to the road I was looking for. :beer: Thanked them and went on my merry way. The rest of the ride followed the Tolt river into Fall City a very flat route and most of the road freshly paved :) opened up for the last 8 miles what a blast! Lots of road kill a couple of dairy farms (pollution eeww) and mellow drivers all and all a good trip! Spent today preparing the bike for rain it is going to be a wet commute for the next few days also put the lights back on it is now dark in the AM commute.

Andy, those are good rules. And yes, I do that. Not that I'm proud of it or anything, it's just something I allow myself to do. It helps that it isn't actually illegal where I ride, but I do recognize it is not entirely a juridical question.

Wasn't there a thread about drinking and pedalling that pretty much covered all the aspects, in the good BikeForum way?:)

--J

Good and bad for the ride today. Monday morning and I have the beginnings of a cold - sore throat and a grotty feeling .

BUT! I picked up my #2 bike from the shop yesterday after her upgrade. She has new wheels and I upgraded from the old 5 sprocket freewheel to an 8 speed hub. Some nice new downtube shifters too. The old bike is a new bike... she rides like a dream and I almost forgot about feeling unwell, until we arrived at work...

Cheers,

Ed

That's one of the problems with commuting - half the time we end up at work!! :p

No commute for me today, a Monday off to get stuff done around the house. Might take the road bike out for a bit later, when it's supposed to clear up.