Morning commute is getting chilly, I think it's time to get some arm warmers.

That's insane! I wonder if the guy was drunk and/or running fromt he police or something? You're lucky to have made it through that one without serious incedent! Well... not just lucky, I'm sure your alertness, awareness, and quick reactions had something to do with it too! Glad to hear you weren't hurt. These kinds of stories should remind all of us that we can't be sleeping while riding!

Having moved to the left on the Hudson Greenway (MUP) to avoid a wrong-way ped, I was buzzed by a roadie. Practically touched bars. I called the dumba55 on it and he did the Stoic Arrongant Roadie(TM) routine. WTF? By the time I decided to get on his wheel and chew him out some more, fortunately I was too far back. Meh, better that way, I guess. Otherwise a fine commute.

This afternoon I'm headed away from home to borrow the family car for the weekend. First driving in months!

Freaky indeed! Good thing you were out of harm's way...



Hope they filled up the tank for you! ;)

When they first hit the curb I was thinking they over did trying to buzz and scare me. But after they took off continuing to swerve all over road it seemed more like they were intoxicated/hopped up on something.

As to sleeping, not paying attention... Really some luck was in play, nothing I could have done if they had swerved closer to me. They were clearly out of control so its not like they meant to miss me by 2ft. Sure I reacted quick to the result of them hitting curb and debris flying, but that was to prevent me from falling and getting hit by car behind me, not to avoid the OOC driver/car in the first place.

Al

Noisebeam, looks like your guardian angel's work'n OT :D Glad you're OK.

At $6.98/gallon news headline, spouse decided maybe my cycling isn't so stupid after all and we should carpool. :o Instead of his guzzler, he drove mine and dropped me off part of the way and I cycled on a new route through Kirkand. Will cycle the entire way home tonight.

TL miles 26....with enough bandwidth to cycle to another location if a meeting (additonal 10miles).
No compaints about dumb bikes on the way in.

First commute in weeks today. It felt incredible to be back on the bike. Took a quick spin at lunch and enjoyed the perfect weather. Yeah the world looks better when viewed from a bicycle.

Last week I turned in to the parking lot of my workplace. I was in the center of a two-way, striped travel aisle, signaling, and preparing to turn left. From out of nowhere a car raced around me on the left. I swerved out of his way but just barely. Mind you, we're in a parking lot so his stunt saved him maybe 10 seconds in getting to a parking space. I pulled up beside him and confronted him about his behavior.

Turns out he's a roadie, rides all over creation, and tells me in an arrogantly dismissive tone that it's my responsibility to watch for cars (which is true), as if that excused his irresponsible, not to mention illegal, driving.

I think the real division may not be between cars and bikes, but between people who use their vehicles (whether bikes or cars) as instruments of intimidation and those who do not.

Good ride today to work and home . I hope the weather holds on the nice side for the long weekend . Have a good nite .

Going to be riding all the long weekend so I took a day off the bike today. Too bad, because the weather is perfect for riding to work. Back in action next week!

I woke up at six today and took the long route today through the country-side. I got to see a beautiful sunrise and see many picture-esqe farmlands covered in fog. The only downside was having to ride on highway burm for most of the ride, while cars whizzed by me at 50+mph (I did have lights on my bike, though). I got to work a half an hour early and felt so elated after my ride that I was tempted to jump back on my bike and just keep going!

Had a nice ride to work after picking my gf's mom up at the airport. A little warmer and sunnier than I am used to, but it was nice since there was less traffic.

That feeling never seems to pass, even when I've had a week where I don't even hate my job.

I caught a nice sunrise as well this morning. I had several uniforms to carry in this morning. Instead of riding the hybrid (with the rack), I just used the stabilizer strap on my messenger bag to hang all my pants like a clothes line (my MB is small, it's all I usually need). It worked great.

Ride in was a bit tougher this morning, but I just checked and I averaged a slightly higher avg speed, so maybe I was just working harder.

There was a squeak on the bike for most of the ride, which was annoying and a little disconcerting. I'm guessing it's the rear fender, so I'll take it off and see if I still hear it this afternoon.

I weighed the bike for the first time this morning and w/my backpack on it's 48 lbs. Seems like a bit of a load -- is that typical? (aluminum 17" frame, just carrying a set of clothes, wallet, etc. no shoes)

An early start was in order this morning to make the most of the beautiful late summer weather. I tried a totally different indirect and very quiet route to work along the country lanes. 17.5 miles of bliss, about 10 miles longer than the most direct route.

...Fantastic! How many other people (present company excluded) these days have desire to lengthen their commute?
Have a good weekend.
Cheers,

Ed

10ch,

Weigh it without the wheels - you might be surprised at how much they weigh. My bike prolly weighs about that much without the load which adds another 10lbs (not to mention my fat arse). I just look at it as "that which will buff me up". Though I may switch to a lighter bike with multiple gears in the cold months.

Best,
e.

Great ride this morning. It was in the 70s, but seemed more pleasant than usual. With five weeks of commuting everyday under my belt, my average speed and cadence is going through the roof. I started averaging around 13.0 mph. Today.....15.7.

I am hoping enough folks in my office building keep asking about my commute to schedule a commuter awareness class one evening. Since we are in the 'burbs, I am confident most people live near the office building.

Chris

A crazy ride home yesterday. A dust storm was approaching, as I was ready to get on bike, rain fell hard. So I waited a bit and it let up (these cells are small and isolated) so I headed out, 76 F. Hit completely dry road and 85 F in two miles. This lasted about 4, then another storm cell hit, and hard. Rain hurt, even with me at a stand still, visibility dropped massively, ~2" of water on the street. Then I turned east and hit an incredible headwind, struggled to go over 10mph, trees were bent over, water was now well over 6" deep and being blown up by wind, temp now at 70 F. Very intense last mile home. Just as I pulled into my driveway, it let up and sun came out. Turns out several telephone poles and trees were blown over only a couple miles from my route home.

Al

Great rides today, legs were a little wobbly after the long layoff but I springing back nicely.

This morning was actually cool. I would bet high 50's. It felt so nice. There was fog along with the cool. It was a thicker, moister fog, than our typical on-shore flow stuff. The ride itself was good. I was able to ride a bit quicker as it was much cooler, and I was to be out of the office for the morning. I also hit the one light and the school area was much less SUVed up than yesterday. Total ride time, a bit less than 10 minutes.

5 of 5 for bike commuting this week, it don't get much better than that.

Another 5 for 5 week of commuting. Next week is only a 4 day week then a couple of weeks of vacation. Hopefully will get some extra riding in during the vacation. Was concerned that the remains of Katrina would interfer but only had rain and no storms so really lucked out.

I spent a lot of time on my commute home thinking of my commute to work, because my commute home was absolutely miserable. The sun was right in my eye, and I had to work twice as hard to peddle because the wind was really blowing directly against me. I really loathe strong winds. Do you remember when you were a kid, your older brother would pull on the back of your shirt when you were trying to run or race him (well, I kind of do)? That is exactly how a strong wind feels to me: annoying, because you can't do a damn thing about it.

Since my commute is only about 3.5 miles, I'm always looking to add more miles. Unfortunately, the town is configured so that its not easy to find continous routes -- but I'm sure I can find some mileage. Since I've only been commuting a couple of weeks, I'm always thinking of the ride when in the car. Scoping the scene, so to speak.

Six days of riding and 5 days of commuting .Came out to my bike to nite and had a flat tire . So I change it and rode home . Still agood ride . Have a good nite .

That was me on Aug 5, and that Wednesday (Aug 3) was the only day all month that I didn't ride. Aww yeah.