Ouch !

Journey distance to work was 18 miles the trip home was the normal 5 miles.

It was just too nice to go straight to work, so left the house early and made a little detour

Ed Holland

Heyup!

Not so much fun this morning. There was lots of slow traffic because I was running a few minutes late. Then, whilst minding my own business, cruising along in the bus & bike lane a little old lady in a silver car appears from nowhere, overtakes and then immediately turns left accross my path, just missing me and requiring me to brake hard to avoid a collision.
In the heat of the moment I shout "Oi! Stupid woman!" whilst trying to wave in case she was using the rear view mirror. Then I notice a lady pedestrian, who jumps to the defence of the driver and says "She did signal", which is true, but not really the point. OK, maybe I shouldn't shout at old ladies, but it is hard to help ones-self sometimes after the fright of a near miss. However, I do advocate calm and polite behaviour on the road as far as possible.

Safe rides to all

mrfix

Nice morning, warm and a little on the humid side, I had to stop and take the jacket off about half way in this morning. Great ride, have a great day all.

Andy Dreisch

Great 20-mile ride home last night almost completely in the dark. Things are sure different in the dark!! The change was good, though, and I had an unexpected tailwind.

Nimrod

Glad I have a bike and "Stuff" at work. IT's such a nice day outside (75 degrees and the sun is out). I'm leaving my truck here at work and riding home (20 miles).

1,185.9 total miles on speedo, 27.7 mph max, 17.9 average mph, 19.47 miles, 1:05:14, 127 average heart rate, 640 calories burned.

Nice Day

The die has been cast and I'll be riding into work in the morning, looking forward to it.

estone

senor weather man says it's going to be moist on thursday here, and i can't wait! there's something empowering about doning the rain gear for the days ride. i have four classes all in different buildings so i'm in it all day. rain just seems to make the ride more fun for me, just need to remember to be safe...

hey, anyone got any cool hydroplaining stories?

E...

Ouch !

I find it amazing that because drivers signal they think it gives them the right to then manoeuvre. IT DOESN'T.

They can only change direction if it is safe to do so , and in this case it seems like it wasn't.

Inkwolf

This morning I found an old women's Motobecane Nomade and bought it for $5. It's going to be my take-apart-and-try-to-put-back-together project.

It was warm again, and I got to wear my shorts on a nice sunny ride through rapidly-appearing fall colors! Not much else to say.

Pete Clark

Nevertheless...

I aimed for the bus-with-bike-rack-on-front this morning and missed.

I love the idea, but I always seem to get there faster when I skip using the bike/bus/train idea.

Today, I used the fastest method of combining mass-transit and bicycle. I did actually save 5 minutes over pure bicycle commuting.

However, in the past I have lost much time by missing my rendevous.

I can make it to work in less than 60 minutes by bike. That's dependable. (I just get tired, sometimes. )

mrfix

Fast ride in this morning, I left my panniers home, it was like driving a sports car. Warm morning, jersey and shorts, I guess we won't be having many more of these in new england. Nice find for ya this mornng Ink, I know you will enjoy the tinkering, it's as addicting as riding. have a great day.

Ed Holland

Mornin'

In fact a rather grey morning here in Oxford, and I did not feel 100% this morning. In the end it was a good cruise into work, with no hassles despite lots of traffic.

Cheers,

Ed

Nimrod

Nice day this morning 65 degree's F, left at 5:30am for work 19.07 miles, 1:16:31, 1,204.9 total miles on the bike Speedo, 23.4 max mph, 14.9 mph average, 121 average heart rate, 658 calories burned.

Worked on "Spinning" a lighter gear, keeping my cadence above 95 rpm this morning. Boy was my time alot slower than normal; ahh.... Could be worse, could be in the car.

pinerider

Yesterday's commute:
The way to work - Still summer here!! Temp of 68F, 18C, at 6:00am!! Tried a brand new asphalt bike path along Lake Ontario - beautiful star lit sky, completely unlit trail, no one else on it. My BLT Doppler LED is great for lit streets, not enough for unlit. I need better lighting or less imagination, thought I saw some shadowy shapes ahead approaching the path from Lake Ontario, but nothing there... Maybe some shipwrecked ghosts???
Set a new record for the 12km - 24 minutes!!
The way home - worked too late, rode home in the dark, gusting warm cross wind/head wind, took 30 minutes.
Today's trip in:
Short commute again, still warm, light shower, just enough to keep the dust down. I think I'll go back to the 27km trip, 12k is too short!!

tchazzard

Sure felt like August the last two days here in Maine. Looking forward to the crisp fall air if it ever arrives prior to the blinding snow storms.

I also got the sports car feel yesterday as I left the trailer and dog home yesterday. What a difference a trailer and 60 pounds makes.

Paul L.

Brrr. It has been in the low 60's the last two mornings. Beautiful riding. I have hardly even had to cool down when I get to work. Had another thoughtful ride this morning, but thankfully didn't see any overly rude drivers. One guy tried to block me from getting up to the light but realized in that spot it was kind of futile so I won out. Great ride, great weather, hopefully a great day!

knobbymojo

It just keeps getting colder. It could be that pesky winter thing creeping up on us northerners. At least I dont sweat on the way to school anymore.

estone

northerner, huh? what school do you go to?

E...

Bikes-N-Drums

When I arrived at work this morning.... it was 69, dudes! Everyone kept saying it was hot as the day went on. I thought it was absolutely perfect. Nary a breeze nor drop of sweat fell on me. Beautiful scenery, the smell of the leaves. I love autumn.

tnorman

Learned a lesson today... Check all the straps on all your equipment before heading out! I neglected to do that with my backpack on the way home from work, and I had a small accident

The shoulder strap came undone, and the bag swung around my left shoulder and hit the front wheel. That threw me off balance, and I swerved off the road. My front tire hit some soft dirt, and then the brakes locked (or maybe something got caught in the wheel), and I went right over. It felt like it was happening in slow motion...

I fell in the dirt on my head, putting a crack in my helmet, a bruise on my head, and a few scratches on my face. Other than that, I don't have any injuries, thank goodness!

The wheel was out of true, so I called home and got a ride. Then I went to the bike shop, where they trued the wheel and ordered me a new helmet.

I have been super-vigilant about being safe with my riding, paying attention to the rules of the road, using lights on my bike, trying to stay visible, etc. So I guess it figures that I would have a crash that was 100% my fault! It could have been worse; I was on a back road with very little traffic going up hill at less than 15mph. And most importantly, I was wearing a helmet. So I will take this as a lesson.

Be safe, and check those straps!!

Tim

steversk

Had a run-in with a dog on the way home today. The dog ran out from across the street and started barking at me. I came to a stop and slowly walked my bike past the dog. He followed me for a while barking the entire time. He was in the middle of the road and cars were piled up behind the dog.Too bad one of the drivers didn't hit the !@#$! dog.

Ed Holland

Bad luck tnorman! I had a similar thing years ago (I always try to keep my bikes in top condition too) This time I was in a line of bikes going through the city centre when a stupid pedestrian walked straight in front of the cyclist in front of me. I had anticipated this and hauled on the brakes thinking that it would be no problem to stop. Except the front (brand new) brake cable slipped from its seat in the lever and I went straight into the back of the poor innocent cyclist, over the top and ended up on my bum in front of the pedestrian. Luckily there was no seroius damage or injury and looking back it was amusing. I obviously had to apologise to the cyclist and check he was OK, but I really vented my feelings at the pedestrian.

Today's ride was frustrating at first, as I got stuck behind loads traffic in town, and had to watch as loads of cyclists just passed me on the pavement (sidewalk). Later it was beautiful, riding in the autumn sunshine.

Cheers,

Ed

Ellie

Loads of traffic this morning, and it felt bad-tempered. This could have been because I was cruising past them. Actually, this morning felt like an effort. Not sure why. Still, I feel better for doing it!

Ellie

Cipher

Mine was great! This ladies on the other hand...


https://www.minca.cz/suzuki/

mrfix

Tnorman, glad to hear everything is ok, it's the small things that put you down. The lady in the car above should have ridden her bike.
My commute this morning was a strange one, I never had this experience before, I left the house in total darkness, clear sky, no wind and warm air. All the way to work, 18.5 miles I didn't see one person, vehicle or home with a light on. I felt no wind and saw no animal life. It was like riding in the twilght zone. When I arrived a work I was so relieved when I saw people around. I really was starting to think that I had slept through the big one. I wonder where all the vehicle commuters were this morning, traffic is usually heavy on my route and today, not one moving vehicle. It was starnge, but it was great to have the road to myself.
Have a great day.

pinerider

Great pix, Cipher! - Mr. Fix if she was riding a bike, it would have sank too! I've been involved in some watermain break "pools" where pedestrians have fallen in, but no sinking cars.
Yesterday's commute home was great, back to the long 27km commute. Still warm and gusty headwind/crosswind. So gusty, I think the wind was blowing bugs from somwhere south. I got hit in the left eye twice by bugs, no damage (too dark for tinted glassses, didn't have the clear lenses with me). Our bugs are usually hibernating (or whatever bugs do in the winter) by this time of year!
The ride in this morning was a wet one - checked the weather before I left, no mention of showeres, light shower when I left the house turned to moderate rain. I stopped to put on an NVW (not very waterproof) jacket. The rain stopped after about 15 minutes, took off the jacket, then it rained the rest of the way in. I got wet, but it's still warm out. The new fenders are great, no skunk stripes, but I still ended up with grit and stuff on my lower legs.