I rode the craptastic MTB this morning because it may rain this afternoon. I'd installed a rack and bungied my backpack to it. I had to stop 2 or 3 times to readjust the bungie or pull the straps out of the spokes. I may as well go to Full Commuter Dork Mode and ziptie a milk crate to the rack so I can just throw my backpack in there.

I rode for awhile behind a very tall 20-something girl on an ancient yellow Schwinn Collegiate. Very Midtown: dark 501s, lowtop Chuck Taylors, ratty old sweater. Hey! Now that I think about it, that's how I used to dress when I was in college. Next thing you know people will be wearing polo shirts with the collars turned up....

This hurricane business is a bit confusing, like if it's high winds and lashing rain then we've hurricanes every other day but unless it blows the stickers off your bike it can be just described as 'a bit blustery' or even 'soft' ;-)

The Atlantic takes much of the sting out of the baddies anyway,

Lorcán.

Ah, we got rid of that Garda ! That stretch is brutal for traffic, I came from Dún Laoghaire to BBridge the other day - it's fine going through Blackrock Park but I had to cycle on the path after that. There's a lot more cycle lanes now and they work well on many routes but you get the odd car parked or truck delivering on them. I lived in Amsterdam and that was fantastic for real (dedicated) cycle lanes (outside the centre). I think the trouble lies with the age of the cities. Amsterdam's suburbs are quite new and so were well planned, Dublin's are much older so space is limited. I commute out west and it's fine...

Lorcán.

Pretty wet and wild in so cal this am. My first ride in the rain. It's amazing how everything gets wet. Kind of had an unusual thunderstorm pass through last night - lots of lightning and thunder - which is pretty uncommon here. Just like being back in the midwest. Got caught in a lingering shower for about 10 minutes. There was also a fair amount of lightning still around. Although it wasn't the kind that was hitting the ground. Also had my headlight go out (hopefully battery) and had to stop and reset my rear wheel which started to rub after going over a bump. One of more eventful trips to date.

Yesterday's commute home was one of note. My legs are still sore from fighting the wind. Its funny how you appreciate 12MPH when the head wind gusts so hard that you feel like you've been stopped dead in your tracks.

The ride in this morning was nice and warm. 58F when I left home and a stiff SW breeze. The geese are headed south in every increasing numbers. Had a Hawk hanging out in a tree next to the river the past week. The shrieks make me feel like I'm in an old west movie as I ride by.

Well...after my ride yesterday and the yellow jacket sting, I woke up this morning and the whole side of my neck was swollen; looked like I had a nerf size football hanging off my neck. The swelling went down pretty fast after I got up and started moving around but now it itches like a son-of-a-gun. I hope I don't get many more of them.

>Faster than the Speed of Dark<

great trip today but too dang hot here in OKC

Good ride today...
No dogs or old ladies to get in my way. Just some knott headed woman in a car who almost ran me over because I was crossing in front of her at the intersection and I slowed her down maybe two seconds. Funny thing was I had the light in my favor...she was making a right turn. She stopped and said something to me through her windsheild/forcefield and then honked at me when I was out of her way.
I couldn't hear what she said, but I read her lips...I think she said I was a funny turk...but I may be wrong. Sad thing was she had her little girl in the seat next to her who did hear her...nice example to set, Mom!
Oh well, ub-la-dee, ub-la-da...

It was an interesting commute today. Didn't have to rush as much as yesterday, but also went half the way from the grocery store with almost thirty pounds on my spine. I did, however, get to sprint some when I ran out of small bills at work and went to the bank. I rod the half mile their, had a full conversation with the teller, and made it back in less than five minutes. And I actually passed several cars...that was cool. Of course, our speed limit is only 35, but still, it's something.

Tomorrow I actually get to go for a REAL commute after work and meet up with some other people downtown who are working on car free day. That'll be fun.

I just finished a 6-week rotation of 12-hour day/nights at work. During the past 6 weeks I drove 3-days, I rode m bike the rest. I still have gasonline in my truck (2002 F150, V-6, 4x2) that I paid less than $1.75 per gallon. I love my bike. I love my truck. I will sell my truck well before I give up my bike. I will never sell my truck.

Transportation is esential. I wish, as a society, we were more practical. We as a people should ride bicycles more.

Wish I had stayed home today, work was really bad today .
But the ride to work was good . The ride home was fast .
I also saw to other people riding to nite . At least I got to ride today. Have a good nite .

i'll never rest until i hear why. the only thing i can think of is that it chased you.

such a great ride this morning. clear and colder than yesterday, but still not so cold anything hurts. i'm getting so hooked on the feeling of being warm and sweaty, but with cool/cold air on my skin. coming home also lovely - i think clear, but it was heading for dusk again so i'm not sure.

bunch of things:

- stopped on the bridge approach to clear away a huge old half-a-six-gallon plastic jug or something that was half over the path. i saw it yesterday on my way home and remembered thinking i was sure glad not to have got caught up in it.

- two very-nice driver-interactions this morning: people who stopped to give me my right of way and looked like doing it made their own mornings happier for them. out here it seems like anyone in a car could just as easily be on a bike; we don't have quite the same degree of divide other people are suffering from. makes me all chirpy and pollyanna-ish. then to make up for it i got my first honker, on one of the nice quiet roads . . . go know.

- slightly surreal interaction with someone else at my work as i ambled over from the shower. he was draped over the balcony with his coffee mug, and it turned out he was having an 'awesome' day because his morning drive had only taken x long today. i'm not ready to come on all 'i am bike' yet, so i was somewhat at a loss for words to add to the conversation. hmm.

- kid at the approach to my lovely-green-stretch this afternoon; the stretch happens just behind a housing/condo complex. he was on a bike too, and it was all 'i'll race you! wanna race?' as soon as he saw me. i felt like a meany, but i said no. on that skinny little track i wasn't sure i could trust myself to safely react to a 10-year-old crossing suddenly in front of me or something.

- still trying to get up and get out earlier than i have been. it's not significantly interfering with my life, but i just like the ahead-of-the-game feeling i get from starting work sometime before the prescribed 9 o'clock. doesn't seem like fast showers are in my repertoire, so it will have to come from the other side.

- just taking it as it comes this week. end of the week i'll see how i feel and see if i want to set something to try and aim for.

songs of the day for most of the day: navigator (pogues), and tie me at the crossroads (bruce cockburn). yee-hah.

Nice fast downhill clip into town this AM..listening to 'Blue Merle. neighbor's dog ran out to threaten me..forgot the mace. Bike lane was clear along hwy. 191..traffic was courteous. beautiful light along the Moab Rim. Cruised around and did errands over the lunch hour. have to lock up bikes in Moab now..lots of tourists..crowded scene for another month or so.

Headed home via bike path and backroad. Mellow ride. Sky darkening..wind kicked up. Decided not to do the usual MTB techskill practice ride after 5. Too tired.

Spidercyclist you are my hero. I love that you almost always post last on this thread, I guess cause you work late. You are always out there and you never b!tch about stuff (unlike me). It's inspirational, man. Keep it up.

Bleah, lousy commute home last night. Traffic around Times Square was nightmarish. Add to that the following: an obvious commuter (by dress and such) was going the wrong way through some of the most crowded traffic I've ever encountered on 45th St (so bad I hopped off the bike twice to walk!). I mutterred as the guy went buy "Dude, plenty of other streets that go the right way." Man did he get PISSED. I heard this whiny, angry voice behind me call out something along the lines of "Keep your opinions to yerself!". All I could think (but didn't say) was "Up yours, loser." Seriously, WTF? The guy created a situation that was dangerous to me.

The bad commute continued when I was nearly left crossed on Riverside Drive. I was going at a moderate pace, say between 15-20mph with a good, solid green light and this drive who is slowing down her car decides it's a good idea to make a left turn in front of me. Fortunately, years ago, I learend never to trust cars going slow enough to make a turn, so I was able to safely brake and yell out a surprised "Hey!". The #%@%er started cursing me out throug her sunroof (no kidding, she turned her head up toward it so I could hear). Another "WTF" for me. I am glad I get to ride my bike to and from work, but I was sorely disappointed by my (questionably?) fellow humans.

Ah, but this morning made up for it. Perfect weather, excellent light timings for the most part, polite and intelligent driving around me, and I felt GOOD and FAST. What more can I say? [Edit: I was buzzed once but the rest was so good I almost forgot!]

Polite and intelligent drivers do exist, and when we encounter them, doesn't it just brighten your whole mood? This morning, as I approached a left-turn at a four-way stop, the driver behind me stayed well behind me in anticipation of my move. I looked back, and signaled. In a nice response, the driver blinked his/her headlights. Aww! Such a little thing, but it made me smile. I wish there was a universal hand signal for "Thank you!", because I wanted to reinforce this good behavior. Anyone know one?

After some strong storms last night it was cloudy and a little foggy this morning. Had a pretty fast ride in, summer is still hanging on for all it's worth, another almost 90 day here.

I like to point at him, then segue to a thumbs-up. Or mime blowing her a kiss, if I think I can get away with it...

My commute this morning was crappy. Literally crappy. There's this one point in my commute where a couple of days ago I noticed a large pile of what looked like... well... poo. I did NOT take a good look at it, just thought someone has a large dog and no manners.

Turns out it's no dog after all. This morning there were several piles. It looked almost surreal. What's more, there was this guy standing next to one pile, pulling up his trousers. I was concentrating on avoiding the piles but after I had passed them I looked back. The guy did not even seem like a hobo, but either he had just taken a dump in the middle of the street or I was on Candid Camera. Like I said, it was surreal.

I am contacting my local police deparment today. If it turns out NOT to be a candid camera gag, the next thing I do is call my representative in the parliament to ask for increased funding for mental hospitals.

--J

Blah! Just got back from a short camping trip where I brought my bike with me and only rode it back and forth to the bathroom and around the campsite. No bike trails where we were.

I must not have eaten enough yesterday b/c today, I felt like crap. Couldn't get into a rhyhm, breathing was labored and traffic sucked. Got honked at on 42nd St. by a TLC limo. But the weather's beautiful and I finally knocked back some coffee so I'm starting to feel human again. Noticed a couple more bikes locked up out front which makes a total of 5 commuters in my building, including me.

How was my commute today?

Froze my arse off, but otherwise good.

Heh, I do the kiss blowing thing too (never admitted to it before ). I've used it sarcastically too with a "Who loves ya baby?!?" to with it. I like to give the peace symbol too, but only positively (i.e. not sarcastically)

...Got out of bed at 4:30am... it was 63 degrees (F) outside!!!

Holy Crap! I still wore a sweatshirt and shorts... was a great ride this morn

I had a similar situation to Oboeguy's last night. I was in Midtown, trying to take a left turn. I was taking the center of the lane like a good VC'er and trackstanding, waiting for a gap in oncoming traffic. Then my spidey sense starts tingling and I notice that on the right there's a car inching out into the middle of the intersection, just about to occupy the space I'm in. The driver is looking to her left, to the traffic behind me. I give her the look and yell out a sharp "Stop!" She looks up and shoots me the finger.

WTF, indeed.

I had a good commute, nice cool weather, lower 60's, maybe even higher 50's. I caught the stop light pretty good and the wait at the stop sign was much better than yesterday. And still the ride came in right around 10 minutes.