I had a great commute this morning, sunny, blue skies, and a cool breeze. It felt great riding in this morning after being off the bike for three days.

My car is now sold so I'll be commuting via my bike 100% of the time!!!

Almost a great commute today. Everything was beautiful (except a little sluggish due to running last night) until I was buzzed going up a hill. I ended up pulling next to the dude at the next light, and, lo and behold, it's an unmarked police car. Undaunted, I knocked on his window, and politely told him to pass with some more room next time, and to drive a little more safely. He just deadpanned, and said, "You need to stay over to the right as far as you can."

Was this jerk trying to teach me a lesson by almost causing an accident? Last I checked, it was the responsibility of the overtaking vehicle to pass in a safe manner.

It was only 46 degrees Fahrenheit when I left the house this morning. And I've noticed that it's starting to get darker now too. Great commute and it'll be even better on the way home because it has warmed up to over 70 degrees throughout the day. But winter is coming. Time to get the lights and warm riding cloths out.

...forgot my sunglasses today, and my 5 EAST Miles were murder today. Brisk 55 degrees.

yes! i love it at 55 degrees in the morning. nice change from 65-70 lately.

the high school i go by every day started last week started up - and i've been noticing tons of GARBAGE!! foam take out containers, wendy's, BK cups, etc.

on the way home at 4pm i walked in the high school with my bike and wandered around til i found the office (no one seemed to care - i guess at 30 i still look like student, or maybe the hip student teacher)

anyway i told the principal and some others mingling about my dissapointment, she was very friendly and said she even asked a cop to hang out after lunch break and ticket kids, and brought it up in some assemblys

i'll i can do -- so we'll see!!

Wonderful, Fall-like temps in the upper 60's this morning. Had to baby my sore left knee so I relaxed and spun in passing only two other riders. I'm noticing that not only do I need my headlight now, but it's now staying on for the entire ride-a sure sign that Summer is nearing an end. I'll probably ride into November/December, then switch to swimming for a couple of months to rehab my knee. I'm also debating the reasonableness of a century ride in October.

"My car is now sold so I'll be commuting via my bike 100% of the time!!!"--good for you. Give the bird to the oil companies and SUV hogs. I'm a 99% commuter and daily grocery getter, limiting my driving to the bear minimum. I drive a compact car and am still resentfull when I have to fill up.

Had a nice ride in this morning. Pretty dark with the cloud cover and the rain that came through, so I stuck on my front light. Roads were wet but I didn't hit any rain. Sunny and mid 80's for the ride home this afternoon will be nice.

Today's commute was very nice. Loving this weather. My trip to work included a stop for a healthy breakfast (see pix). Trail pic is my rig on Illinois' Great Western Trail.

Will be back on the bike tomorrow. I caught a bad summer bug, and today feels like the last day of it. Interesting tidbit: last time I filled the tank in the car was on July 30th, and still have a half tank. Only 180 miles driven since then. That's pretty good...Can't wait to ride again...last day riding was Friday!

It was 102! yesterday… not quite acclimated to the heat yet. I'll hit it again tomorrow.

Be safe,
W.J.

Totally forgot… yesterday on the way home I was riding and thinking "I'm so glad to be back on fat tires. It will be less likely that I will get a flat!" Just as I thought it… my back tire went flat as a pancake!

Right around 60F. Great tailwind. I had my fastest time yet (in either direction), and that includes a hill climb. When I pulled up to my building I looked down at my computer, saw the elapsed time, and went

Yep. Thinking will get you every time. I was riding and thinking one day about how few incidents I had had with motorists -- how friendly and supportive drivers around me had been in the couple of months I'd been commuting. Just at that moment, a car goes by the other direction and the driver yells, "A**hole!" at me. That's what I get for thinking.

I can't ride in this heat. I'm also between semesters. I sure hope it cools down by next week when I start back up again! Where in Texas are you? I'm outside of Austin.

I'm really starting to get the timing of lights down on my route to work. The problem is that it means I have to sprint after going all of one block into my commute to get it started. Not exactly a great warmup. Then when I turn left to go into Midtown I have to dodge a mini village of taxis (44th St on the far West Side). Today I made the light I wanted but encountered too much traffic to safely reach the next one after it before it turned red. That light is the holy grail of getting across town without waiting.

I did have a number of other idiots honk at me / zoom around to get to red lights. It's amazing how stupid people are. In one case, a guy passed me on the right (!) because a parking lane had just opened up, and I was quickly honked at and passed on the left by the guy behind him. WTF? I still beat them to the intersection (there were cars stopped not 30m ahead) and let them know with a good "And the light is STILL RED" holler. Doubt they heard it.

Well, I got my new rear wheel. A double-wall, 36 spoke 700C wheel with 2.0 spokes on it. To ensure I don't break another spoke, I altered my route a bit to avoid a concrete bridge that has several 2-4 inch wide gaps on either side of the bridge. Now, my commute is 7.5 miles each way. I am loving the extra mileage!

Today was HOT! 76 degrees with 92% relative humidity. Yesterday was a scorcher too. 97 Degrees with a heat index around 105. Man was that hot!

This is my fourth week commuting. I have only taken my car one day (had to pick up my kids from school). My boss has mentioned he might consider commuting as well. We are thinking about moving and one thing he assured me is that our new building would have a locker room and showers to encourage commuters. Not bad, huh?

I have had more people come up to me in the parking lot saying how much they wish they could do it. I plan to go to each one and help them to see just how easy it is. Who knows...might convert another commuter!

Chris
Houston

I've altered my route too to avoid a spoke-munching section of the Hudson Greenway.

Very cool!

Great weather again, perfect for the morning commute. However, I did get a flat right as I got to work.

My commute to work was awesome actually. I felt lighter and faster than usual. There was a nice cool breeze. I took my time and it made no difference. It took me 3 minutes more to get to work.

This has to be one of my better commutes. I've been only commuting for three weeks though. There may be better days ahead.

neopipil

Big headwind home yesterday. I think I was just on the edge of a stormcell - got a bit of rain just after I closed the garage door when I got home.

This morning didn't feel quite as cool as it has for the last week or so. Made it to work quite quickly today - legs are feeling strong, and I was able to pedal a gear or two higher most of the way.

A guy who's been talking about bike commuting for a while finally rode in for the first time yesterday. He backed up and rode in again today - I think he's hooked!

yesterday's rides were great. left half hour late to get to work so had to haul ass and made it in good time with a few minutes to de-sweat myself. but cause i worked so hard my legs were sore at work - im a waiter - and so i took it easy on the way home, very little spinning, nice and easy climbs for the hills. and i left later than usual and on the way home two people asked me for directions - quite odd - then i found a red LED blinker in the woods still blinking. not bad for a slow night and i pulled two bagels out of the garbage for a light snack towards the end of the ride. im still sore today, so not working is quite a pleasure right now.

but tomorrow im all about it.

neopipil, where in nj are you?

On Monday I had a guy use his van to try to persuade me to use the bike path. Pass by me with about six inches between elbow and fenders. I flick him off (my bad, but when you threaten my life it happens) and he slows down and yells and points to the bike path. He's going so slow that i pass around him on the left and we are headed towards a nice curve and so I take the middle of the lane and go my speed. No slower than usual and no faster.

We have a verbal altercation about how there is a bike lane and I tell him that as a proffesional driver he should know that I have equal rights to the roads. He says he's got a person in a wheelchair in the back of the van; which isn't news to me. I'm wondering how I put that person in danger and how they must be feeling riding in a van with this guy. Also if this guy is just trying to drum up more business for himself by running over cyclists that he can haul around after he breaks they're legs.

later in the ride I gave props to striking airline mechanics and talked to some road construction flagmen who were real cool.

Didn't get the van driver's company name or number (printed right on the side of the damn thing!), but I'll keep an eye out for it.

I wonder if his passenger complained?

in leui of my silly suit (oh corporate america, even in a non-profit!) that my job has suggested i wear, i opted for a pair of pants, tank and a new set of saucony's. after about a mile, i realized that the shoes gave me about an inch and that my saddle was now way too low. raised it an inch and a half and had the best ride ever. 8 miles from one job the the next usually takes 30 to 35 minutes... yesterday, it took me 22!

Today was the third day of my bike commute. It is about 1.5 miles (one way). As we say in south Louisiana, "fait chaud!" (That is Cajun French meaning, "It was really hot!") I am loving my commute.

Great ride in this morning. Then my buddy called to tell me he was getting his broken down car towed to my house...I had to ride back home to move my car into the garage to make room for his junk....then I rode back to work. He got his car towed over, and rode my spare commuter bike to his work. LOL, he should've just taken a bike to work in the first place.

Had a nice ride in this morning. It was very cool for this time of year, upper 60's. I am now leaving when the sun starts to rise, and I ride to the east, so it's nice to see the sunrise.