"You shouldn't grab me, Johnny. My mother grabbed me once... ONCE!"

And the quote that closes out my PC -- "You fargin sneaky bastage. I'm gonna take your dwork. I'm gonna nail it to the wall. I'm gonna crush your boils in a meat grinder. I'm gonna cut off your arms. I'm gonna shove 'em up your icehole. Dirty son-a-ma-batches. My own club!"

Many of my curses at motorists, etc. during my commute are in Moroni language!

I just hope the moderators don't start censoring Moroni language!

Good ride to work and home . It look like it is getting cooler out . But still a good ride . Have good nite .

"mine enemy's dog, though he had bit me, should have stood that night against my fire" - cordelia, in shakespeare's king lear.

wish i was cordelia's enemy's dog. it RAINED on my way home this evening. rained a week ago too, but this time i didn't have my famous waterproof jacket with me. but i did have a headwind. uphill. both ways. and from both sides. on my bleeding knees through the . . . oh, wait. wasn't quite that bad.

pretty wet, anyway. still being nice to my knees, and so far, touch wood, they're feeling okay. coming home wasn't actually that hard physically - not in terms of effort, because i had to keep stopping to grovel around for a kleenex and wipe my glasses, and even then never really got clear enough to feel safe going fast. not that i would have been able to anyway, i don't think. there seems to be more drag when the road and the air and the bike are all wet, and the rider is wettest of all.

actually, it was kind of fun. colder than last time, so not as fun as last time, but it still had moments. there's something i don't know how to describe when my chain is so wet: sort of a different texture to the pedalstrokes. i liked it, but i was glad to get home. toes getting cold by the end.

the morning ride in was good. i don't remember much about it, but i remember that it was good. home now, dry, changed into pjs, eating marshmallows and raw broccoli.

songs: apple cider reconstitution, al stewart, and good king wensceslas, just can't imagine why.

Left home completely unprepared for the low temps and rain this morning. They were calling for "patchy drizzle" which was a steady rain at around 5:40 and temps in the 60's, which were more like mid 50's. Having left my rain gear at work yesterday, I rode through the slop in just my riding shorts and shirt. As you can imagine, everything from my shoes up was soaked within the first 100 yards. I just put my head down and hammered, hoping to generate heat and get in quickly. I ran into several other riders and chatted with one as we approached the 14th street bridge. Things are now hanging in my cubicle with a fan pointed at them so as to (hopefully) dry out by the time I head for home and do it all over again.

Finally a dry morning :) Saw the sun rising for the first time in over a week so I took the long way to work. Had a nice ride, but a pretty good headwind most of the way. Should be a great ride home this afternoon, sunny and 78. Last night I doubled my ride home doing some errands. I didn't mind at all except that it seemed whatever direction I went it was into the wind. I still managed a pretty good time home though.

For the first time on my ride to work I actually saw more bikes than cars. Well, maybe not, but I did see alot more rider than usual. I've been passing one lady about twice a week going up a little hill. Each time I pass her she seems to be doing better. I try to encourage her as I go by.
Good day both ways...it's getting cooler. Today I acctually had to suit up coming home and got rained on just a tad. Not enough to really matter just a few drops.

France Surrendered again, today.
My Maillard rear hub threw down its Moisin Nagant and threw up its hands at about mile 4 of the ride in, this morning.

After a couple of random *kunk*s, spaced a mile or so apart, it went *kunk-kaKUNKkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk* and gave up the cheese-eating, Helicomatic ghost.

Checked it out and the wobble in the rim was only hindered by the interference of the brake shoes.

Total mileage on this lightly used hub, since I built up the roadie-commie: about 65.

Lesson learned: I can walk/push (in bike shoes) in 55 minutes, what I can ride in 10.
Lesson learned 2: Don't cheap out on wheels, even if you're trying to build a ride on a budget.

On the positive side, my new helmet light made it really easy to see the chewed-up dust cap and leaking grease, out there on the dark, dark trail.

Its been a while since I've posted, but I have been biking to work regularly. This week I've been riding a recumbent (Rans Tailwind) on in. The first day was a bit different, but now I really like it allot. The temps this morning were in the high 30s and there was no wind to speak of. The numbers of bikers is down from a month ago, but there is still about 5-10 that I see each morning. It is a great time of the year to be riding.

I still think this thread should be locked and another one started. It's just too darn big.

>>> go here to vote: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=145901

Rain in Baltimore... more like a slight drizzle, but wet out nevertheless.

The ride went ok, ...until I flatted. I knew it right away. That unmistakable doppler hissing sound coming from one of the tires. It was too dark to know which one until I dismounted.

I'm no stranger to changing a flat. I have all of the appropriate tools, some of which were new and the bike is new. So, ...I had to analyze the following:

Anyway, I lost about 15 minutes performing the change including all of the on-the-spot revelations. Fifteen minutes is my 'buffer' time, so I made it to work on time, but had to use some 'work time' to change into 'work clothes'.

Side note: I'm glad that I bought a helmet-mounted headlight. It made it very easy to put light exactly where I needed it without having to tie up one hand (or a chin or mouth or armpit).

Nice ride in, but quite foggy. About 100 yards vis. in spots. I had the blinkies going (LD-500+LD1000), and most of the traffic gave me plenty of room. My glasses and mirror would fog over completely at every stop though.

Getting darker. sun just rising as I start my ride.

The "Data Loading Guy" is back from vacation now, so I was able to ride in at 6:15 instead of the 4:45 I have been doing for the last couple of weeks. Wow what a difference! Fargin cars everywhere... and none of them have had enough coffee to be driving well. It was really nice on the earlier commute because the roads were pretty much abandoned. Oh well, catching the sunrise and having some ambient light was almost a good trade off.
Temp was a brisk 34F again, so today I added a long sleeve base layer under my hooded sweatshirt. I also used a neck gaiter. The addition of these 2 pieces made a huge difference although somewhat too warm on the uphill. Performance Triflex tights are on the shopping list for this weekend so I can ditch the floppy nylon pants. Time is short for getting the cold weather gear sorted out.

Don

My commute is getting quicker and quicker. Next week I will be trying a different route. It should double the distance I bike. Hopefully, it will enable me to get home quicker. Consequently allowing me to ride daily.

I also decided I was being an idiot and picked up a pair of cycling tights. These things are awesome. Stupid idiotic modesty.

Word, luck. WORD.

I feel a TON better just b/c the freakin' SUN is out. Sheesh! I spent the better part of a Sunday a few weekends ago working a rusted handle out of my woodstove. This morning I biked to a local welder w/the door to the stove in my chrome bag.

I must say... I am a fan of the chrome bag. HOLY! That was a heavy load for a decent distance (6 mi.), but I survived it and I don't know if I could've said the same with my other bags.

The welder, a man who's owned the shop for 82 years, looks at me on my bike and says "Where the hell's the door?" He had a nice laugh when he realized it was on my back.

Rainy. Had to ride through 8 inches of salty flood water for about 100 feet. Then later got a flat from a glass shard. Replaced tube with spare & got filthy from road grime.

I decided to patch the punctured tube when I got to work only to find the glue in my patch kit was completely dried up. Great.

From now on, I'm carrying two spares & checking my patch kit more frequently.

The ride in was great even though it was a little on the cool side. I didn't even break into a sweat today. :(

The 7 day forecast says that the morning temps will be in the 50s next week. :eek: I guess I'll break out the base layer stuff and arm warmers soon. :crash:

How many weeks till April? :o

It has been somewhat snowy and icey the past few days. Good thing I got my
studded tires on.

hard rain this morning, so I drove...beautiful fall day this afternoon, so I wish I had riden.

I drove to the NJ office today to pick up the MS donations from my co-workers for Sunday's MS Ride. It was raining all day, but I still saw bike commuters on the Hudson River Greenway (oboeguy's MUP) this morning and this afternoon. I notice I get more frustrated at drivers when I'm driving than when I'm cycling.

the woman in the cube beside me is an hr contractor. all day long i get to hear her say 'what are your long-term goals; where do you see yourself two years down the road?' into her phone. i can answer that one in my sleep now. 'getting up and out of the house by 7 am, so i can be at work before 9'. good thing she's not asking me, i suppose.

nothing much to report either way. fell down in the last 300 yards of the morning ride; my own silly fault, not harmful, and i was just glad nobody was around to see me do it. then fell down in the shower; don't ask. managed to get home without falling down, but instead i had something strange come to pass with my chain so i had to get off and muck around with it for a while. still, i rode all the way there and all the way back, and i think i can do tomorrow as well.

oh. and i put air in my tyres on the way home. haven't been checking them for softness this week, because imagine how disappointed i would have been if i hadn't had that explanation for how tired my legs have been getting this week. but they were, actually. i should do something about that inverted protestant self-obstruction ethic sometime. it's probably a sign that i'm bored with my job.

songs: me and julio down by the schoolyard, paul simon, and soldier's joy, michelle shocked.

Broke a rib nearly two weeks ago......can't cycle......major bummer. This thread makes it worse !

Lorcán.

Cool morning, mid to upper fifties, cold rain, wind 12 mph from the north. Lost a couple of hours of sleep to my little one who was feeling unwell, so I was a bit tired and running late. Saw another rider in full kit a couple of blocks ahead of me drafting a garbage truck, was jealous. Of the draft, not the kit, that is. Upon arriving to work, I was surprised to find out I'd made excellent time despite the lack of sleep and motivation. In summary, coffee good, fire bad.

I get a deja vue ride fairly regularly in the mornings. I hit a STEEP short hill almost right away, gets things pumping. Then a long downhill. At the right time of morning, like earlier this week, there's a slight fog towards the bottom. I can feel myself hit the chill, a taste of the lake to my right. Then I hit the woods, with the trees joining overhead, and a sharp relatively high-G turn to the left, the low point. That particular stretch always feels calm and graceful, dropping into the air off the lake. But when that little bit of mist is there it is really magical.

My ex-wife smashed up her new blue SAAB on that corner years ago, driving badly as usual. I think that was about the last straw - one of those passive aggressive things. She did in lots of cars and did other bizarre things. So the turn at the bottom is my friend.

There's the 1/4 mile of gentle riding by the dairy farm. Often birds of prey zoom over. Far away, across the fields and woods, generally with a bit of Tennessee mist in low spots, the Smoky Mountains rise against the morning glow in the east, just the outlines, with fence posts and cedar trees flashing by in front of them, the old and broken road chattering under the Paramount's tires. This can be a really dreamlike experience. I never get tired of that little section, and Lulu at the end of it. She's old and a bassett so I have to slow down to give her a chance at me. I often laugh making the next left, whipping through the countryside with a hound baying at my heels.

Now this week I had a call come in late, and I was already late to be leaving work. So I left at dusk, turned on my flashy taillight and was glad for the reflective panels on my messenger bag. But there was plenty of light really. I climbed quickly up to the stretch by the dairy farm. To my right were the cattle, and fields, and woods, purple tinged and dim, the perspective mainly provided by my movement. And in the distance, purple mountains with the tops crowned in hot pink. And to my left, crimson and pink clouds in the distance, probably over the plateau. When I think of moving somewhere more sensible, memories of scenes like this let me know I'm already home. No point in looking elsewhere.

Mist on the river
Golden eyes peer from tall grass
mtb tires hum