First commute and first bike ride in over 10 years this morning. 5 miles, light, steady rain, humid and 15 minutes late. Best morning in a long time.

Now could you say that had you been in a car? ;)

That is awesome. Enjoy!

This was my fifth straight day of my first week commuting. Like Chambana, I have had the best mornings and evenings at the pedals of my bike.

TxBiker and Chambana: Welcome and keep it up! I agree that somedays, the best part of the day is the commute.

This morning was weird. Funny how somedays you feel like you're struggling but you're really not. I was riding pretty slowly along Riverside Avenue heading toward downtown. I felt like I was really laboring but only going about 15 or 16 mph. I could see that the light at Broadway was turning (I guess I was probably 300 or 400 meters from the intersection). I thought to myself that if I want to make this light I better hustle so I put it in the big ring, stood up and hammered a bit.

After I sailed through the intersection I looked at my computer and it said 30.5 mph! Man! I think I was still in the 13 cog too. I think I might be in better shape than I thought.

Yesterday I was almost hit three times in the same manner -- by an SUV turning left against traffic, right in front of me. As if they'd looked, seen no cars coming, and not noticed me in my bright blue jersey barrelling along towards them. Good thing I assume I'm invisible and behave accordingly. :o

On the other hand, I think my new clipless pedals are helping... Cresting a hill with my heavy bike, I was passed by an unladen road biker. (Typical for me.) But on the way down, I passed him. And going up the next hill, I stood up in the pedals, turned on the speed, and left him waaay behind. :) Wow -- I can stand up now! Never could before...

Some bastard must have snuck into my garage last night and filled my frame with lead shot. Flats felt like hills, and hills felt like mountains.

But I was still on the bike, so all is happy with the world. ;)

Well, I was going to wait until I sold my car to start commuting but reading these forums made me anxious so I planned out my route yesterday and commuted in to work on my bicycle for the first time today.

The ride in was great and is the perfect way to start the day! Weather here in SoCal couldn't be better, blue skies and the sun shining with a nice breeze.

Thanks to advice from you commuters I planned a route that avoided major roads where autos travel 45 mph+. This made my commute much more relaxing and enjoyable.

It's about 9 miles from my house in the Temecula Valley to my office bldg. I took it nice and slow since it was the first time I had traveled that route on my bicycle so it took me 30 min. to get here but I could easily shave it down to 20 min. since it is mostly downhill. The trip home will give me a good work out. ;)

I'm definately going to do this every Friday until I sell my car and then I plan on commuting at least 3 days a week if not the whole work week. The only problem I see is keeping my clothes from wrinkling. Today wasn't a problem since my office has casual Fridays but during the week it may get tricky. Especially since I'm a little OCD about wrinkled clothes.

I appreciate all the advice given in these forums!

This has been a great week. Yesterday I felt tired but beat my fastest time by about eight minutes. :beer:
Today was another story. Big thunderstorms rolled through last night and there were trees and power lines down everywhere.
I got stuck behind a line of cars on one of the side streets I take. It took ten minutes to go three blocks. :crash: The main road it emptied out into was blocked by a downed tree.
I managed to get past that only to get stuck in more traffic at a construction site on the college campus I ride through. :crash:
I finally got to work but only about 5 minutes later than usual. :D

I was riding back to work after lunch, and three ladies were in a crosswalk. I had timed
my approach and measured my speed perfectly to avoid them, but as I sped by, (behind them)
I could hear one of them say in a strong Southern drawl, "Dang, don't hurt us, fella!" I just
had to laugh at myself... I didn't want to scare any pedestrians... :D

As much as I try to slow things down during the dog days of summer, I just can't help
trying to go as fast as I can... back in my office now, overheated, dripping with sweat.
Can't wait for cooler weather... but I still remember how frikkin' hot it was last summer.

Have a nice weekend, everybody :beer:

As I was changing into my riding clothes, I was hoping for a nice ride home. Then I heard what sounded like thunder. Holy crap. It was thunder. Oh well, that's why I have fenders, right?
I got 3 blocks from work and the rain started. Another mile and the road was blocked because a tree fell across the road this afternoon (it wasn't there this morning). Some city workers were clearing it out of the road and taking way too long. All the cars were turning around to get home another way. Not me. I got on the sidewalk and walked the bike around the tree. Then got back in the street and headed down the road with NO CARS behind me. :beer: The rain continued until I was about a mile from home.
This is getting to be too regular of an occurance. I've been rained on once a week for the past month. Don't the weather gods know that Atlanta is supposed to be dry in mid-summer? :rolleyes:

djgonzo congrats on your commute, it sounds very pleasant.


i had good rides all week. i drove Weds because I had some errands to run and wasn't feeling 100%, but that's one work-day out of the last 15 (3 weeks) that I've not ridden.

I went to LBS and splurged on 2 new pairs of 8-panel chronos and 2 jerseys yesterday. I only had two sets of clothes and it was just getting too nasty to re-use the same shorts 3 days a week.

Sixth day in a row of riding. Fifth day in a row of commuting. Pretty long work week though. Good ride to work and home tonight. Saw two other commuters at work today, very unusual to see two other people that commute at work, hopefully next week will be as good commuting as this week was. Have a good night.

Thanks, it was. And just as I thought the ride home was a great workout with some signifigant hills. I can't wait until I can start doing this everyday.

Tired legs today...Saw a Belted Kingfisher today near Lime Kiln road, and yesterday I *believe* I saw a willet just off Spear Street. My Sibley book research was inconclusive. It is said that willets sometimes are seen near freshwater marshes/creeks...

Kingfishers are neat birds.

Excellent morning for a commute! 60s and sunny. Looks like it's going to be a hot ride home though.

I let another roadbike rider set pace for me. He was slower than me but it's Monday so I was relaxed.

Light rain, cool for August in Atlanta.

Peaceful.

I can't figure why folks want to "time" their morning commute - shaving seconds off the pleasure. Do they WANT to get to work faster?

I just want to get to work with plenty of time to clean up but also without having to leave any earlier than I have to since I'm not a morning person. Going home, I've always been trying to beat the sunset, but this fall, I'll have more time in both directions because I'll be doing a one-way commute and my hours are different each day.

Awesome weather this morning. Slight headwind, but nothing over the top. It's meant to get up to the low 90s today (low 30s C), with no sign of storms. Can't wait for the ride home!

Nice cool ride this morning. A bit of smoke in the air from the wild fires burning a 150 miles sw of here, but not as bad as yesterday morning.

Truely? I had a great day Friday after my commute. Can't wait to do it again this Friday.

I was looking forward to another Monday at the office because I get to ride my bike,
and was rewarded with great temperatures, no traffic, a fast commute time,
green lights the whole way... the perfect commute!

My lunch ride was excellent as well, paid a trip to the LBS, and even though the wind
from the storm rolling in made the flats seem like hills, that was OK, too.

I'll probably be getting wet on my return trip home, felt a few sprinkles when I
returned to campus, and the sky is getting darker by the minute as the clouds build.
But, hey - nothing bad about a bike ride through a warm summer shower, either.

Why the hell am I in such a good mood? Freaky...

I'm not (historically) a morning person, but since I started cycling to work I get to my desk about 45min earlier then when I drove. I go early because I then miss the worst of rush hour, high school cars and school bus traffic, its a bit cooler and just simply enjoy the slightly more quietness of it.

Al

This morning I rode Super Fred to work. He's my 80s-something GT mountain bike that I rescued to use as a baby trailer hauler. I've been doing a little tuning up on Super Fred. Last night I tightened up his head set and adjusted his brakes, and installed both new bar ends and an old aero bar that I had in a box, for lots of hand position options.

He still needs some bottom bracket work, but I'm going to keep the old 6-speed friction shifters. Eventually, I'll put fenders and a rack and a milk crate on the back. I'll try to get a picture of Super Fred on the commuter bike pix thread.

Anyway, he did great on the ride in this morning and I think I may use him as a commuter during the rainy season.

Great ride into work this morning. This is my sixth straight day of commuting to work (sans the weekend and its share of riding for fun!). So far, it has been incident free. However, with a 50% chance of rain heading in, I knew my luck would change. Here, in a bit of exagerated theatrics is my experience:

At 4:50 pm, the promised clouds approached my office giving ample evidence of its arrival. Thunder shook the office, causing the lights to flicker (along with a slight waivering of desire to return my ride home). I could barely look out my window. Sheets of rain disfigured the view I had enjoyed only minutes before. I called my house to muster up some courage and see how conditions faired just six miles away - all dry!. Hmmmm.

Reluctantly, I geared up and headed towards the door. Like an athlete I had to outmaneuver and outwit coworkers with well intentioned roadblocks. "Here, let me take you home," or "Are you really going to ride home in this?" Each statement sought to deplete my confidnece yet nourish any reservations. Once outside, I saddled up and begun my treck. Suprisingly, the ride home was more pleasant than the ride I had enjoyed some nine hours earlier. Instant of sapping me of energy, the rain cooled me down, encouraged a stronger and steady cadence and increased my overall speed. In shock, I was taken back when I got halfway home and out of the rain's path. Though the rain had stopped, my intensity and stamina maintained its course.

....and scene.....

One interesting note, with only one full week under my belt, I reach for my bike every morning as if it has always been my source of transportation. I love riding into work. I can't believe I possessed a capable commuter bike resting in my garage, a great route waiting to be traversed, and the energy within myself to pedal to work!

As always, this forum is great and continues to help me as I plan my commute each morning.

Had a good ride to work and home, but work was really hard today. No help, I still have my ride though. Have a good night.

test rode half of the ride to the new job today. fine fine fine. i am going to give 3/4 of the ride a go tomorrow after doing some work on my fixie, hopefully, i wont die. but this is new jersey.