34F North winds 15-20MPH driving rain & snow. Fully loaded panniers for the trip. Slow and soggy.

It is good to be on the bike!

Wow, you guys in the north are amazing - truly inspirational!

Yes, I biked to the polls in the light rain and stood in line for 40 minutes, then I rode to my office in Blaine. I took the long way to check out a new route. It was a beautiful route and being the sun came out in the afternoon with clear skies I took the long way home even though it was dark by the time I got home. Thank heavens for great lighting systems. I ended up with a little over 40 miles on the day.

A soaking rain in Sacramento but not cold. Would have been a pleasant ride if I'd ever remembered to get fenders. I guess I better swing by the LBS this afternoon to see if their shipment of SKS Raceblades came in.

Weather is getting cool/cold. I'm overdressing but glad for it when I have to stay late for work, like I did last night. I saw sun (and light, for that matter) for this first time this week, this morning. Nice..I was tired of riding in the dark.

I loved the looks I got at the polls yesterday morning. I didn't even bother to take my helmet off when I voted. The extra rush I got from voting gave me an extra push on the ride in to work. I smoked in!!!

I didn't get the chance to share my unpleasant experience on the way home last week. A guy in a pickup truck followed me for a block with his horn blaring, pulled up next to me and yelled at me through the passenger window "Get off the road". His wife was in the passenger seat. I know that because he referred to her as his wife when he pulled off into a gas station parking lot at the next light, waited for me to stop at the light, yelled at me some more, got out and challenged me to a fight (as his wife yelled "Get back in..it's not worth it!!). I never got off the bike. He never got within ten feet of me. After he called me an AH, I said my only words during the encounter -- "That's right and I'm a p****d off AH. Listen to your wife and get back in the truck before you find out how p****d off I am.". He did. My right foot was still on the pedal and was shaking (visibly) from the adrenaline. I'm a Christian and try to act that way. It wasn't easy to do that and my language showed it. But I also resisted the temptation to pound the guy.

On a lighter note, I am noticing that my cadence is slowing as the weather cools. The survival mindset is replacing the performance mindset, I guess.

Happy riding and commuting.

TT

Another note. I'm a dork for this one. Accidentally left the light on when I parked the bike Monday night. Got on the bike yesterday morning, closed the garage door, took off and didn't try the light until I had gone a block. Dead battery. Storm door at the house was locked. Too early in the morning to ring the doorbell as the kids were asleep. Rode to work in the dark. Stayed late to finish a project (again--this is getting to be a habit I don't like to get into). Rode home last night without a light. I had a back flasher, thank goodness. Lady yelled at me for not having a light. Made it home safely but it definitely was a stressful ride home.

Its getting cold up here in the Great White North. 4 degrees Celcius / 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Rides in the morning are just after sunrise. Rides home are mostly just before or after sunset. I can relate to the slowing down bit too. When it starts to get cold, the goal is to just spin and go slow.

Getting lots of comments about the trike too. I was stopped at a light last night, and a pedestrian commented "nice bike". This morning a dude on a fixed gear said, "nice bike". Definately got something unique.

Okay, so I guess I have to stop complaining about it getting "cold". Y'all are inspiring. I'm looking forward to winter commuting, starting tomorrow morning (supposed to rain, but what the hell).

CZ a small group of us travel by bikes to the polls every election, but it is only a two mile round trip.

It's kinda hard to see in this picture, but here's the traffic tonight getting on the Bay Bridge. It's about 8 blocks long.

This is a view out my office window, looking down Folsom Street:

http://www.satanio.com/pics/other/to...982405_640.jpg

36F, clear & no wind with patches of dense fog at 6AM today, had a quiet ride in on my Moto Grand Jubile. We had a nice sunny day and 50F by lunch time but it didn't get any warmer the rest of the day, supposed to get down to 32F tonight. Brrr.

I rode to the polls yesterday as well, right around 5:50 am. It's neat to expand upon the commuting to include voting, errands, etc. Leaned it againts a tree, unlocked, and trusted that no one would mess with it. After about 40 minutes it was off to work. I'm currently switching back and forth between my Surly and my recently acquired Centurion depending on the weather. I'll stick with the Surly on the bad days as I can run pretty much any tire on it, wheras the Centurion can only accomodate up to a 700x28 tire. I guess we're expecting rain in the DC area tomorrow and I'll feel more comfortable on my 700x32 knobbies. I've noticed the Centurion is quicker and certainly more nimble but the Surly is more of a workhorse with better versatility for commuting. It's nice to choose between these two.

Aww shucks... :o Thanks.

Very humid this morning on the way in. It's good I work in a business where a little persiration is tolerated. Nice and breezy coming back, I just love catching up with autos at the traffic light after they blow past me at 50+ mph.

Nice ride to work & home. Race a train on the way home.
The train won . Have a good day .

This morning was a bit chilly (-1C, 30.2 F).

As I got on the bike path, I noticed the grass had frost on it. With the sun shinning down on the frost, it made for a fantastic view. White & shinny on green.

Every morning since the begining of summer I've been seeing this old lady running next to the bike path... This morning I slowed down to tell her that I thought what she was doing was gr8, and that she should keep on going. She thanked me and I rode on.

About a 100 meter later, I see a dead bird, with a broken wing... The poor thing must've been hit by a rider, and not too long ago either, I almost though I saw its eyes move. I picked it up and moved it on the side, and gently laid it in the grass next to a tree, so another rider didn't ride over it again.

In this time, the lady caught up to me again, and we started talking. She told me she was in her mid 70's, and she had been running every morning since her 40's, after she quit smoking. She runs something like 12Km's every morming... She was very present, and she said she was healthy (she def didn't looked like she was in her mid 70's)
I found this very very inspirational. She doesn't run fast, but she does it. she's out there every day!

All this time, chating over a dead bird... Kind of life and death reminder. I will remember to live strong everyday.

The weather channel this morning says -5C / feels like -11C with the wind. Given that I was going against the wind most of the way you could even say -14 or 15. I never thought I would appreciate getting all over the city under my own steam and not needing a vehicle as much as I do. Those endorphins are really flowing this morning. A person who works in my building had a comment as I was entering the building this morning with all my gear on. "Little cold for biking isn't it?" My reply was "It is a perfect day for biking" as always. I think most people who know me think of it as a phase I am going through and someday I will come back to reality and drive the tin can just like everybody else. Disappointed they will be!

Have a good one!

A glorious 39F morning with a light wind and not a cloud in the sky! :D Perfect for a recovery ride after suffering through a cold for the past 10 days. It would have been my first ride in 2 weeks if I could have found my stuff! :mad: Last night before going to bed I thought to myself, “Self, you need to lay everything out for tomorrow.” But I didn’t listen. So this morning I fumbled around the house and never did find my head/ear band or my winter gloves. So I grabbed a stocking cap and crammed on my helmet. (My old helmet, because my wife’s dog chewed up my good one! :mad: ) and some ski gloves and headed out on the road 15 minutes late. I haven’t biked in two weeks, this is my first commute on my Nokians, and I am recovering from a cold/flu. I got a mile down the road and realized that there was no way I would make it to work on time. Considering I fired a new hire for being 10 minutes late on his 5th day of work (He also had a no call- no show on his second day! I fired him then too, but HR got involved and said there were other circumstances and I needed to take him back. Oh, He Still Works Here… Long story! Rant over.) I figured I couldn’t be late so I turned around and headed for the car. It is a glorious clear and bright fall day and I won’t be able to bike home!!!!! :mad: (Am I allowed multiple rants in one post?)

upper 40s, insistent drizzle, gritty splatter. had to drive lately, so happy to be back on the bike.

28F/-2C with a nice tailwind to around 20MPH/32KPH. I'll pay for that on the way home! Another day of full panniers. (this is the week to haul in the clothes) :rolleyes:

It rained tons last night so the streets were plenty wet this morning. But I didn't care because I just installed my brand new SKS Race Blade fenders. No more Freshman Stripe!

Last night as I was getting into bed my wife asked what I was doing out in the garage. I told her I was putting on the fenders I'd just bought and I'd need them right away since it was probably going to keep raining. She said, "Why don't you just not ride your bike tomorrow?"

I didn't say anything for a long while. Finally, I said, "I'm sorry. I don't understand the question."

Yesterday while I was at work my wife told me it looked like it was going to rain and it was getting dark. She said she could come pick me up. I said "I have rain gear and lights". It's funny, even the people closest to us don't understand that we ride because we WANT to, not because we NEED to.

Last night the wind was getting stronger by the minute, it was getting darker and the sky looked angry. It never actually rained though. What a good ride.

Light rain and 49 F / 9 C. Decided to wear raincoat, plus rainpants and Totes in case rain picked up. Good move. I would have been more comfortable during the first half of the trip if I had worn light gloves, though. Perhaps it is time for them to lose their liners and move from my closet shelf to my coat pockets.

Paul

Deja Vu!!!! The same thing happened to me yesterday morning. Your statement is right on. However, my wife also understands that I NEED to ride. I think her asking me if I want a ride is just another way of her telling me she loves me.

This morning I rode in a heavy drizzle and 46 F degree temperature. The thought struck me about half way to work that I was enjoying the ride. It's nice to see that someone else is just as "crazy" as me!!

Rain, rain, rain, rain. Also, there was a little bit of rain. I'm going to get contacts any day now, because glasses under safety goggles make for some pretty interesting vision. I got fairly wet, but it wasn't too cold. Just enough to make for a little discomfort, not an actual chill. I skipped showering at the bikestation - just parked my bike there and left because whatever I changed into would get soaked on the walk to work (no umbrella). Changing in the bathroom at work was an adventure, as the bathroom was freezing cold and I was soaking wet. It was good to get into my nice, warm, dry sweater at last.

I expected today's ride to be hard, because of the 30 miles I did on Sunday and then the skipping of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (days off). But it went really fast and smooth, after I got the vision problem under some slight form of control.

It was great to be out in the weather. The lake was green and frothy, the sky low, and there was a bright white haze out on the water just offshore. Pretty.