I did my first commute this morning into the Santa Ana wind. It wasn't too bad actually. I just kept my hands on the drops and watched my heart rate monitor to avoid the psychological impact of the wind pushing me around. My commute time was only 7 minutes more than usual (14 miles).

Wow your old commute sucked...big time! cycling to work will be a breeze after your last commute

Lots of riding today, including a trip into the centre of Oxford - which reminded me how much I used not to enjoy that when it was a regular part of my routine. Pedestrians all over the street, including one of the scurges of this town, a walking tour right in the middle of the road. I could not resist asking the guide, politely but so that his group could hear, to conduct the tour on the pavement.

On the plus side the trip took in a favourite bike shop - it turns out that replacement bearing cartriges are available to repair the headset on my Dawes racer. Last night I discovered that it was in very poor condition.

Cheers,

Ed

Congrats!

34 F and foggy this morning. Really foggy. I drove yesterday because of the fog, but as soon as I left my neighborhood it was clear. It was really foggy this morning, so I was hoping for more clearing when I rode out of my neighborhood but it didn't happen. Thick all the way in and nerve-wracking in some spots. I managed to make it without getting hit by a truck, but I hate it when visibility is so poor. Supposed to be 55 F and sunny by the time I head home.

Good for you. I could not imagine having to do 11 miles let alone 110.

Today was the first time I ever commuted on a fixed gear. It was awesome! I wasn't expecting much from it, but I love it. Felt surprisingly relaxing to do 9 miles in the morning and 5 in the evening.

36F with thin high clouds & a big 1/2 moon shining down at 6AM today. Enjoyed a quiet ride out South Bay road & when I turned onto Martin Way I could see a blinkie about 3 blocks away. I was gaining steadily & could see it was 2 bikes now, then on a dark stretch where the road passed over a wetland, saw another rider right in front of me on a mt bike, dressed in dark clothing & no lights or reflectors showing. I passed him & caught the other riders as they turned toward St Peter's Hospital. While I was waiting for the red light, lightless rider arrived. My Spanish was as bad as his English but I convinced him to accept one of my blinkies & clip it to his hip pocket. He smiled & thanked me then turned right & rode off to work, but now visible.

Wow! Talk about a good deed. Hope he'll use it regularly...

mmmmm lets see, 120mm of rain in the last 24 hrs...plenty of flooded roads/paths, trees fallen and traffic lights out, top temp of 15C. It was a bloody great commute! All the wimpy cages and masses of school kids were having days off because roads were blocked due to floods (or they were sick ). I had a head wind this morning and I'm hoping for a tail wind tonight. More heavy rains expected so it'll be fun wooshing through puddles and dodging objects washed into the path

Good ride(s)today. Been commuting kinda sporadically over the winter, and am trying to get back into the routine. So I got my stuff together and got to bed early for a good night's sleep. Was up plenty early so I wasn't in a rush, and the earlier I leave the less of a hassle traffic is. Nice mix of trance that just happened to pop-up on random play together with the snow-covered mountains and early morning light, made for a surreal ride across the Santa Ana River wash into San Berdoo from Redlands.

On the return home I took a route I've never taken before, through some not-so-nice areas of N. San Bernardino and the middle of downtown, 'cause I needed to stop at a bike shop that was way outta the way if I took my normal route. The new route was a nice change of pace. Might do it again. Forgot to check mileage to see if there's a difference. Time-wise I think it was a little longer, but the headwind could've accounted for part of that.

-Trevor

Fabulous commute today...bit of a rush going in as I had a meeting and only did my minimum 7 miles. I did 20 miles going home though and it felt like an early spring day. I actually didn't have to put on 4 layers. Managed to average 18mph for the 20 miles on my pannier equipped commuter (bike + racks + fenders + lights + water bottle and pump + panniers and contents = 51lbs.). Not a light bike by any means but I like it just the same...

Good ride to work and home. Tried the railbed to work today. But it was still icy. So were some of the bridges on the way to work. I hope tomorrow the traffic thins out some. Have a good night.

Thanks for the responses, It feels so good to be cycling to work especially mostly on cycle paths. I thought it would be relaxing but I'll have to learn to curb my competitive nature and not try to keep up with the fast guys

About an inch of snow on the ground when I woke up this monrning and since I do not have any studded tires, I took the bus. The streets were pretty clear and I probably could of rode but I would have been to cautious and take to long of a time.

Supposed to clear up for the ride home, if not, I will take the bus home too.

Umm, isnt something missing here? Like you will take the bus home first to get your bike so you can commute home? Very curious-

Rode the bike to the bus stop which is about two blocks away from home, took the bus to downtown, then road about 3 blocks to office. Will probably ride all the way home if the snow stops.

Windy morning in the VotS, going the wrong way for me. Bet Noisebeam had a quick ride in today, tho. Beautiful clear morning.

here in DC area temps (upper 20'sF)were actually comfortable. Best AM ride this week. PM ride forecast is for snow, could be dicey

more of that freezing fog weirdness, about 10 °F. it has been sunny and around freezing during the day lately, so much of the ice in the streets near my house and the bike lanes elsewhere has disappeared (either by melting and evaporating or subliming), which is a nice feature. tuesday i got home at 5:55 and was amazed at how light it was. around we go!

pleasant ride today in DC - mild by recent standards - mid 30s I would say

has anyone in the DC area ventured onto the area trails lately - I was pondering a ride to Mt Vernon thru Rock Creek this weekend but am wondering whats the condition of the trails?

More Santa Ana wind this morning . . . blowing the wrong way. I just spun and had a good ride. I even got to help out a fellow commuter. I passed him and said hello. He said hi back and asked if he could draft. I said I wish I could draft myself in that wind . . . no problem!

Had a fun and unusual morning on the bike before work. Got up at 6 and leashed up Khiva the Wonder Pup to let her pull me around the park for her poop run. Took her back home, gave her water and a biscuit, and took off for Freeport on an out-and-back TT.

On the way back, the commute got a little heavier and I pulled up next to a SUV at a light. He rolled down the window and I thought to myself "Sheesh, here we go again..." Instead, the guy gave me a big smile and thumbs up and said "Hey, wanna race?"

Rolled back to the house about 7:30, made up some formula for the twins, hopped in the shower, put on my work clothes, and hopped back on the bike for my easy 4 mile spin to the office.

A great morning.

Yesterday morning the Paint Branch trail network in Maryland still had a nice thick layer of ice on it. It had thawed and refrozen so many times that I doubt they could plough it. I dunno about other area trails, but this one was positively treacherous.

Today wasn't really faster or easier than usual (but I did get up to 30.0mph behind a bus draft, but not because of the wind). But it sure is windy today - going home the past few days has been a chore, but I haven't noticed that it is as windy in the morning as in the afternoon. I travel about 2mi W, then 7mi S in the morning ride. The wind today is said to be from the east.

I have much trouble viewing this 'how was the...." thread as in either threaded or in sequential form it lock up my browser completely. I was only able to get directly to this message as it was picked up in a search.

Al