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! :D 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. :D

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. :D

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. :p

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

completely overcast, (mostly empty) threat of rain, mid 60s - in other words, ideal! the stiff headwind bugged me at times, but the bicycle is still the best way to start the day.

Ok, you can all beat me. I drove today. http://users.telenet.be/eforum/emoti...t/sterb148.gif
Lack of sleep and day number 6 of gloomy, gray skys put me off.
I don't know how the PNW folks do it, riding day after day in the rain or gray overcast skys. That's why I told myself when I was in high school in Olympia, Washington that if I ever got out of that part fo the country I'd never go back. Very beautiful country but I hate rain. If I still lived in Washington I would probably be dead (suicide). I need light and sunshine to keep me out a depressed state.

But I promise I'll ride tomorrow and Sunday. I have to work. :crash:
We're promoting bike safety, etc. at the Virginia-Highland Festival. The streets are already blocked and biking and walking are the only ways to get through the area.

There were a few storms around here yesterday, so I had a pretty big headwind the whole way home. Added an extra 10 minutes to my 12 mile commute.

This morning was much nicer. Mid- to high-50s, light breeze. I took my broken rear fender off this morning, so the ride was much quieter without the rattling! And thanks to my new toy (altimeter watch), I now know that I climb about 590ft on the way to work. :D

Woke up late today, crawled out of bed and into my bike clothes. As I was leaving my place at 8:30, a colleague phoned to remind me of our big meeting this morning with the third level boss, at 9 am - Attendance not optional. DAMN! Driving the 12 km to work would have taken even longer than biking it. I had my fastest commute ever, arrived at 9:02 and went straight to the meeting, sweaty and still in my bike clothes. There were a few raised eyebrows and a "well, that's unusual business attire" comment, but my boss just thought it was funny, and they had catered in a fantastic breakfast. All in all a pretty good morning!

Had a beautiful exchange with a small child this morning. I had just pulled up to a light and the dad and child, in buggy, were crossing in front of me to the corner on my right and then waited for the light to change so they could go the same direction as me.

So they are waiting there and my colors really caught the kid's eye. I was wearing a Primal jersey with a roadrunner on it. The kid must have thought I was a cartoon character... red bike, and gloves, bright bold jersey... Wow!

Anyway so the child keeps looking at me and pointing... the child is perhaps 20 months or so... and then starts waving. Totally cute... made my day. Of course I waved back... what cartoon character wouldn't? :D

I had a nice exchange with a child today too. Coming down a smoothish section of road with no traffic, I was hauling pretty good. Several kids were playing in the street, and one of them, probably a first- or second-grader, stuck out a hand and gave me a high-five as I spun past.

another child story...

was crusing along there were 2 kids (5yr and 10yr old?) doing the truck driver honking arm gesture to the cars driving by. Cars were gone, then I came by. the 10yr old started back up to the house, the 5yr old kept doing it so I made a "beep beep" noise. The 10yr looked back and kinda looked at me funny.

Another first, my first front tire flat. All the rest have been rear tires. Front's are so quick and clean!

Yesterday it was pouring out. I don't own a car, so it was either ride or walk. I bought the bike as my primary mode of transportation, so by golly, I was determined to use it as such. I put garbage bags in my panniers, covered the Brooks saddle, stuck a plastic bag on my head (under my helmet), turned my head- and tail-lights on "blinky" mode and rode to work in the pouring rain. First time I've ever ridden a bicycle in the rain. Drivers were actually courteous to me and I was hella proud of myself for just getting on with it. Must buy some fenders, though...

Stopped by the LBS on the way home from work. What a pleasant detour!

My ride was wet and windy, but I would not trade it for a train or car. I really felt great to be out and about. My trip into work is 22 miles. I am now in my 6th week of commuting to work....also rewarded myself with a Topeak seat post rack and bag. Very handy to put change of clothes into night before...forgot about them last week ;)

A fast ride in this morning on fresh legs, it was a nice change from the fatigue I've been feeling for the last couple of weeks. I guess I'd been trying to cram too much riding (is there really such a thing???) in these last few weeks with: daily commuting, weekend training, and mountain biking. I didn't do anything athletic this weekend and I think my body is benefitting from the break. I think my allergies may have finally released their grip on me too. Anyway, it was about 70 deg. when I left home, with cool, balmy, air and patchy fog. I blew in effortlessly averaging around 18-19 mph and hit 30 near the airport (slight downhill section). I'll be doing a 62 mile Tour de Cure this Sunday so I'll probably ease up by Wednesday and concentrate on spinning in to work the rest of the week. I will also convert my commuter for a four day trip along the C&O Canal in the next week or so, so I'll be fender-less with 700x42 cyclo tires for a while-that will make for some slow riding.

humidity has reared it's ugly head. Warm and sweaty today with a late commute flat. First flat on my Specialized Armadillos in 4000 miles. I had to run the last 0.5 miles to make the train on time. Had I missed it, I would have to ride another 7 miles to another stop or wait 1.5 hours for the next train. I made it but when iI go home I'll have to fix the flat.

MJW16: I also have the dead leg feeling going on, time for a break...na

I changed to slicks on my Specialized Hardrock Comp because most of my commuting is roads and paved trails. Realized a while back I do not get off the road like I originally thought I would so I changed the tires. What a difference. Would that mess up the odometer distance?

I have been averaging 17-18 mph since the change. This morning was a beautiful sunny breezy commute. I took it very easy and still managed 17.3 mph. I have decided I am going to jump in a bike race before the year is over. Any suggestions from any Chicagolanders?