billh

Chilly, yet invigorating. My motto for the week is "a clean butt is a happy butt".

ahpook

Nice weather but I had a bit of an equipment scare that made today's ride in slower than I was really happy with. I was finding it really difficult to shift up to the big chainring, and even when I got it to shift the front der was rubbing like it was trying to derail back down. I spent a few minutes flipping out about this and then it struck me: New bike! New cables! The cables are stretching... just give the barrel adjuster a crank and take out the slack. Four or five half-turns and sho'nuff -- shifts beautifully again. That was the only real problem but it was enough to throw me off balance and take it easy for the rest of the ride, causing me to miss a few "easy" lights. Gonna be a nice warm one for the ride home though.

Zin

Cold this morning. Temp. was 22F when I headed out the door. Cold and sunny. Felt more like November.

billh

Oh yeah, speaking of mechanical failures, last Thu on the way home, I was sitting back on my seat, pumping up a long hill and . . . . CRACK! . . . seatpost bolt completely sheared off. Fortunately, I did not crash, but then I had to peddle about 2 mi the rest of the way home, standing up. That is difficult!

balto charlie

this happened to me once and I know what you mean "hard to pedal" standing up. My post was a cheapy Kalloy....never again. All I did was drop off of a curb and BAM, the bolt sheared off. I scraped my leg on the seatpost. What was your post?

mtessmer

Man, this is early March weather. Still, I got extra miles in by having a dental appointment this morning before coming to the office. It's not warming up any so I'm not doing any extra miles going home though. It's suppose to warm up as the week progresses... we'll see.

Gugek

Longtime lurker, first-time poster, six months of bike commuting.

Slightly chilly in the morning leg (40 degrees), 11.5 miles. Started out in morning twilight but the sun came up pretty fast. The return leg was same route, didn't want to push it so did the commute in an average time, it was a beautiful ride none the less.

No problems with cagers.

No other commuters or riders sighted. =(

vrkelley

Sprinkles AM, PM-lunch run and return trip. A very nice ride.

ollo_ollo

It rained overnight but let up just long enough for my morning commute. It was 56 so I just wore a wool sweater over my work clothes & had a comfy ride in. Getting ready for a trip to visit relatives & got the old Motobecane Grand Jubile all cleaned up, polished, lubed & adjusted over the weekend. Wanted to bring along a good (but not expensive) bike so I can get in a few rides along the way. Don

spidercyclist

Had a flat on the way home tonite .This is the second fat
In to weeks . The first one was in the valve and the second one was glass in the tire. So i hope this is it for a long time . Have a good nite .

mjw16

Cool this morning (40's) with some patchy frost on the grassy areas, wore my commuter jacket, full-finger gloves, and skull cap. Although I was absolutely craving carbs last night (and satisfied that desire with a big pizza), I felt bloated and slow this morning with little strength in my legs. I saw two other riders and had a surprisingly fast ride in, the cool, crisp morning air will be missed with the onslaught of summer's humidity. Coming home yesterday, trying to beat the approaching storm, I hitched a ride with a roadie. I tailed him at about 19 mph for a couple of miles when I felt warmed up enough to take a turn at the lead. I bumped it up to 20-21 mph and pulled in front but soon fatigued in the constant headwind. I pushed hard with this guy right on my wheel for a couple of miles when he passed me, barely breathing, and with a smile said "thanks, that was fun". He pulled away as I faded and soon became a red dot on the horizon. Although I'm still getting back into shape and was encumbered with a backpack and my slower, heavier bike, I could tell this guy was a real athelte-very impressive.

ridealot

Past couple of weeks have been horrible for commuting. Meetings, having to do some traveling and just plain nuts! I am hoping that some normalcy comes back to me in the upcoming week!

Anyway, the commute in this morning was nice, cool with temps in only the low 30's but no wind and it seems like the air was fresh.

vtjim

40F and sunny. Nice ride again. Saw a flock of cormorants (aquatic bird) floating in the lake. The woodlands are beginning to green up. Trees are budding and the undergrowth has sprouted and is growing.

I have less than one month to go until my one-year anniversary of not driving a car to work.

genel

Cold again this morning, 34F at home. Dug out the winter gear and was plenty warm. Nice day to ride. Overcast and little wind. Still some snow in the road cracks from an afternoon snow shower yesterday. Ride home yesterday was brutal. Very cold headwind (15-20), and I was wearing light weight clothes.

Road traffic this morning was unusually heavy. But only one truck made a close pass.

jeff-o

Cold cold cold this morning, frost on the roofs and car windows. Fortunately, it was dry enough to ride, but I put on my jeans and gloves.

There's a 40% chance of rain (only 1mm prediced for the whole day), but I still hope I miss it. It'll be cold rain, and not pleasant to ride in at all!

DogBoy

WHERE IS SPRING! I should not be wearing a thick base layer in May!

Commute was interesting today. I had both a good and bad interaction with drivers today. I was approaching a stop sign (about 200 - 300 meters away) so I took the lane (to make a left turn at a T intersection). A buick (that was WELL back when I took the lane) rushed up behind me didn't think I should take the lane and forced me off the road. The suburban in front of the Buick (with a "share the road" bumper sticker) stopped immediately, maybe thinking the Buick had hit me (I just rode off into the shoulder when I saw what the Buick had in mind, I didn't fall or even stop). So here is the Buick about 2" from the suburban's bumper with a pickup truck behind him and no one was going anywhere...except for me riding along the side of the road. Suburban window rolled down so I stopped to chat and the guy holds up a badge and says "I'm an off-duty highway patrolman and saw what happened. Would you like me to call the police and report the incident?" I said thanks but no thanks. Patrolman invited me to go ahead and then got out of the car . Guy in the Buick is now flashing his lights and blaring his horn impatiently, while the guy in the pickup truck behind the Buick seems like he's in a state of zen. As I made my left turn onto a busy cty highway, I saw the Patrolman showing his badge and approach the Buick. I wish I knew what happened from there, but I had to get to work. I doubt he'll get anything but a stern warning since they were on the road blocking traffic and they weren't on a state highway. Probably more of a "I saw what you did...dangerous...can lead to charges xyz." type of conversation. Oh well...sometimes there IS a cop around when you need one.

bcritch

DogBoy's story made my morning. Very cool of that cop!

Today was commute #5 for me. It was a little cool, great riding weather, though. Enjoyed the ride. As always, when I get to the downtown subway station (I take the train)I have to go to the elevator, it is the rules of the subway. Anyhow, of course, I am waiting and people that get there after me cut ahead of me so I cannot fit with my bike (they could have taken the escalator). So, I just have to wait it out, again and block the entry to the elevator with my bike so the next group doesn't do me the same way.

DerekU2

I posted this in it's own thread, but now realize it's probably best here...

I Finally did it. Or half of it, I suppose. My first commute. I'm sitting at work in Lexington, MA with my bicycle behind me and my car 12 miles away in Somerville, MA. I came down Massachusetts Avenue for about two miles before hopping on the Red Line Linear Park Bikepath that hooks up with the famous Minuteman Commuter Bikeway at Alewife Station in Cambridge. I took the bikeway for about 8.5 miles right to the front door of my office. Distances are estimated, as I don't yet have my cyclocomputer. I got a lot of great information from everyone here and wanted to say thanks!

It was a tough start - I had a headwind all the way to the first trail. Thankfully, the trail provided shelter from most of the wind for the rest of the trip. About 3 miles into the commute, I realized I forgot my water bottle. I had taken it inside this morning to fill it up and accidentally left it there. So I stopped at a bakery and bought a bottle of poland springs. I borrowed a Timbuk2 messenger bag for the ride, but found that the damn thing wouldn't stay on my back when I stood and peddled, so I had to remain seated most of the way. Maybe I'll pick up a CamelBack HAWG to use instead, or just go the Panier route.

Anyone else here ride the Minuteman Bikeway? Is it me or is it very slightly uphill all the way to Lexington Center before cresting and reversing to very slightly downhill? I swear this is the case. About 4 miles in I was cursing myself! When am I going to get there? Everyone is passing me! I'm so slow! Then I stopped and remembered that I will get there when I get there and that I should just enjoy the ride. Lexington Center soon came and that got the adrenaline pumping to finish the route.

Mistakes that were made:

1. Forgot the Water Bottle
2. I need Mountain Bike Pants
3. Forgot a towel for the shower (used an extra t-shirt)


Again, thanks to everyone here! I'll see how I feel after the trip home before deciding if I'm going to get right back at it tomorrow or take a day off.

balto charlie

Dogboy: I concur, nice cop
Winter still won't let go. At least I was dressed for it today, tights, gloves, windbreaker(no shorts) dressed properly made a big difference and totally enjoyed the ride. Upper 30's this AM, come on spring bring it on

Wulfheir

Congratz on your first commute dereku2. it'll take a few commutes and trips to your lbs to accessorize gear that's appropriate for you and your requirements.

RonH

Great story DogBoy. Why wasn't someone like that around last week.

tnbaldguy

Hey Great job man. The first couple of times are always the hardest. I used to commute a long time ago and recently (last year) started up again. I am definately a fair weather commuter though. My guidlines are above 40f and not raining. The second is negotiable though. Wow is cycling a great stress reliever at the end of the day or what. I clear my mind and just pedal. Letting go of all the @#$#$%^ of the day. Keep on cycling!

spidercyclist

No flat tires to day . Good ride to work and home .
Have a good nite .

ahpook

I had a nice commute today. On the way in I had a recurrence of the flat that had me phoning for the Support Vehicle yesterday afternoon. But unlike yesterday, it wasn't really a bad blowout, and after the fiasco yesterday I had converted my frame pump to inflate Presta, so I was just able to pull over at a bus stop and re-inflate for the last two miles.

Patched up at work and actually FOUND the metal splinter root cause -- it had punched right through last nights patch! Stopped at LBS on the way home and bought a couple of replacement tubes. Had a nice snappy, fully inflated ride home.

RonH

I haven't been able to commute all week.
Monday I had to go to Sam's Club on my way to work and buy $75 worth of refreshments and snacks for one of our upcoming events.
Tuesday we had a late meeting (I knew about it last week so planned to drive) that lasted until 8:45 PM. I didn't want to ride and get home just in time to climb into bed. We go to bed around 10 PM because my wife has to get up early and be at work by 7 AM.
Today I may have to drive to Kennesaw (about 33 miles from my house) to pick up more stuff for the same event. I'm trying to make arrangements for someone else to do it so I can ride.

I hope the cycling gods are reading this and things will work out so I can ride to work today. The weather is supposed to be fabulous!!