Today I was very conscious of claiming the lane on a particular stretch of 21st Street where I've been buzzed a couple of times. There's a slight downslope from Q to L streets so I can maintain 22-25 mph without strain where the speed limit is 30mph. Forget the right wheel track, I grabbed the dead center of the lane.

Worked well and had no problems with the motorists. I wonder what they think of that crazy guy on the road bike with a tie and button down shirt.

Holy ***** Batman...

the bike was in perfect form this AM... too bad I wasn't. New cassette... 5 new teeth for those hill climbs... new chain; all just lubed up and ready to go. New saddle (ever break in a Brooks). Heck, new shorts, and cleats. Darn new combination, felt like greased lightening.

Too bad my stomach felt a bit off... I just could not push hard enough to really take advantage.

Still... I did nearly 1MPH better average speed than usual. Maybe by Friday I will be ready to really rock and roll.

Saw some downside to bike lanes today... two right hooks and a student that nearly got creamed making a left from a BL... Of course the motorist went straight from a left only... not at all their fault, eh?

Man, did I get snakebit by flats today!

#1 - Under 1/2 mile from work, front tire goes PFFT! Suspected construction debris and walked the bike in. Took wheel and repair kit inside; figured I'd fix it over lunch. At least it was the front wheel and not the nutted rear (this is a fixie). Couldn't find the leak, so popped in the spare tube. THANKFULLY I kept the old tube to try to patch it later.

#2 - About 2 miles from home - front tire goes PFFT! again! Another rider coming up behind me heard it, too. Declined offer for help. Called wife and asked her to meet me at nearby 7-11. While waiting and ignoring various locals who were loudly commenting on my bike problems (cheap entertainment, I guess), I had a look at tire. No obvious damage, but the valve stem snapped off when I tried to pump it up. Decided I had nothing to lose, pulled out the bad tube from flat #1. Found the leak after a few minutes, patched it, and had tire most of the way back on when my wife showed up. Felt good, I could have ridden home (or so I thought) and walked it if necessary. Finished the repair when I got home while getting dinner ready.

#3 - Son asks if we can go for a bike ride after dinner. YAY! Hop on fixie, get maybe a 1/2 mile from home and the tire goes flat again! (gradual, no PFFT! this time). Return home grumbling, drag out MTB (Specialized Armadillos and heavy duty tubes) and go for ride. Inspect flat after we return. No holes (even with tube in sink full of water), holds air fine. No obvious debris inside tire. Replaced rim strip just in case, reinstalled tube.

I'll see if the tire is still inflated in the morning. I'll probably ride the MTB untill I can ride the fixie around the neighbohood a bit and convince myself the curse is over! [Zero flats all season, then 3 on same wheel in one day. I'm thinking maybe the valve stem was loose and a pinch flat the first time.] Oh, I'm carrying TWO spare tubes from now on and my BEST pump.

Nice commute today in much better than forecast weather: was supposed to be showers in the morning turning to steady rain this afternoon but instead we had 53F &mostly cloudy in the morning turning to broken clouds with sun breaks & 60F this afternoon. No rain at all & unusually light traffic! Boss came around today to warn us to be on our best behaviour tomorrow as the Secretary for our agency is holding a planning meeting in the big conference room. We commuters decided to ride our best (read cleanest) bikes.

Lots of traffic on the way home tonight. I saw some guy on a bike on the way home. He didn't have any lights or reflectors on his bike. I also had a hard time finding a place to park. Too many motorcycles and scooters parked too close to the bike rack so I had to put my bike on the wrong side of the bike rack. Overall, still a great commute. Have a good night!

Well big surprise on the way home... some dude in a F-150 pulls up and says: "nice bike dude... "

Could not believe my ears. Way cool.

I had an errand in downtown Chicago to do after my workday. Incredibly beautiful out, took a nap next to my bike in Grant Park. I was awoken by two radio controlled airplanes flying above my head, playing with the seagulls. It was nice. Then I went home.

Another awesome day to ride. Nearly all greens too, though I'm not so sure my legs were used to that. I think I've conditioned myself to ride in spurts with a little rest at each light, so when I get all greens I'm a little more tired than usual.

Near 60F. Sunny. Bit of a quartering headwind. I passed a woman who was wearing a dress and riding a cruiser.

It's Trail Hottie season again, too. In addition to the mountains and the lake, I get the blondes and brunettes. Could be worse!

When I die, go to heaven and get a job, the commute will be just like this morning. 52F, tailwind, hit all the green lights, new yellow jersey. Nice.

Well, I live in the UK, Winchester to Portsmouth, Windy and Overcast....44 mile round trip...love the route hate the big trucks

We had a dusting of snow yesterday! Made the ride home interesting! Luckily it is pretty much gone this morning, but it was still a bit chilly out. I still need to get long fingered gloves, but by the time I do, it will finally warm up! Nice ride in this morning though.

A pretty good commute this am.....against the wind all the way but it didn't seem to matter. I just remembered somthing that happened the other day.....I pulled up to a traffic light beside a motorbike. The dude on the bike make's a joke and says "wanna race?" Ha, ha, funny joke. We go about our business (I turn left go a block and turn right and go 5 or 6 blocks - motorbike dude goes straight) as I am cruising through the next signal (green light for me) low and behold, who is sitting waiting for the signal to turn comming from the right - the dude on the motorbike. I thought to myself, "Who's laughing now you smart ass sob?". Of course it was only by seconds that I beat him but a win is a win.

I laughed all the way home.

It has been on the cool side for the last few mornings. Today was gray and gloomy and for the first few miles I was wishing I had arm warmers or something to keep the breeze off my upper arms. But by the time I got half way to work I was fine.
This mornings temp was 59F (15C). June 2 in Atlanta is supposed to be warmer! When is it going to be summer?

On a happier note -- for the last week the ride to work and home has been better than earlier in the season. Since it is supposed to be summer, I started riding in bibs rather than mtn bike shorts. Seems like I can ride harder and faster. Gee, I wonder why?

There's something you don't encounter everyday! Did you fall off your bike from the shock?

Nice conditions for the ride this morning - low 50s, virtually no wind. Would have been even better without the stupid cow in an SUV performing a perfect right hook maneuver on me. Ah well... she now has a scratch on her door from my shifter! Gotta love karma...

Stuck in the office until after 9 last night. Good thing I had the foresight to leave my light and blinkies on the bike. Downtown and midtown Sac are totally dead after dark so it was a pleasure to glide over the cool, dark streets.

Doesn't get any better I am working the afternoon shift so the weather is 78 deg. with blue skys and no wind almost forgot to stop at work today

Just about... I did choke getting clipped in as the light turned green.

Jeeze right hooks... hate them... I have even had folks change to the left lane to get around me, then swoop across me to make a right turn... so effin' pitiful. There is one spot on my commute that has a bagal store that I am sure folks are pulling into for breakfast... and probably "wake up" coffee. I notice it is especially bad there, and really make the point to go wide and hold my lane.

I always watch out for it, but this morning was just funny. She was furious about the scratch on her car, and was insisting on getting my information, telling me it was my fault and I should pay for it etc etc. Threatened to call the cops, to which I responded "sure, I'd love to see you get a ticket for failing to yield the right of way". She swore at me for a bit after that, then finally got in her car and gunned it down the road.

Left 15 minutes early this morning & was only passed by 3 cars all the way to work! Kind of freaky riding down a 4 lane road with no cars around. 52F weather was ok, lots of dark clouds but aside from a few sprinkles it never did rain & was 63F by 3:30PM.

Had a packing spot today on the bike rack . Had a good ride to work and home . Had a lot of wind on the way home . It try to rain on the way home , but did not . So over all I had a good ride . Have a good nite .

Fast day, got up too early, got on... biked 22 miles, forgot my work clothes....uggg!!!

I am here at computer, waiting for local clothes store to open...lucky no rain here in Portsmouth UK

That seems to be a theme this week.

Over 60F degrees this morning! (Trust me that's a big deal.) And sunny! Same mild headwind as yesterday. Nothing terrible.

I saw a flock of Canadian geese heading north, then I saw a whooping crane in flight, and two ducks, also in flight. Seemed to be a bird morning for me.

Cool enough for pants and jacket this morning. Today was dead animal day. A cute little yellow bird, a rabbit, squirrel and a doe.

Wasn't too motivated to ride in this morning. The sky is overcast with a 'chance' of rain, and 52 degrees with 100% humidity (fog / haze over everything). Still, I knew if I started making excuses not to ride, that'd be a self-propagating thing, so I saddled up and went.

Needless to say, the ride was great. I was so happy once I got going, and for whatever reason, I managed a whopping 50% green-light rate (I only have 4 lights to begin with).

I had my best pace for the commute too. When I started commuting about a month ago, I had an average of 13.1 mph. Today, I averaged 15.2 mph. I know that I'm spinning a higher cadence along the flats, and I'm definately carrying higher speed up the hills (except for 1 doozy that really drops me to a crawl, even in the lowest gear).

- Don