The commute this morning was irritating.
I was planning on trying a new much longer route this morning but it was pooring rain at the new stop and I do not have all my rain gear yet.
The one day this week I want to try something new and it rains. argh!
Instead I took the bus to the same old place and biked my 1 mile to work. Strangely, taking a bus one half hour earlier resulted in empty streets. I changed my route to bike along a busy street, took a left hand turn lane at a major intersection, and made it to work even faster. Well, that backfired. I would rather have taken longer.

Just be sure to check the tire, too, to see if the pointy thing that holed it is still there.

Unless it's a pinch flat, that is...

Another beautiful sunrise today! It's supposed to snow tomorrow, so I should set up the mtn bike. The new pants are working quite well. It was only 2C when I left the house, and the extra length was just enough to keep me warm. I got a few looks from the couriers as I walked to my building.

Cool, calm, and overcast this morning. Perfect for riding to work, although on the ride home I may regret not installing the fenders. Doled out some big-brotherly advice to a teenager on a BMX this morning: Kid, stay off the sidewalk, it seems safer than the street but it's not. And wear a helmet. Peace out!

I'm sure it'll be ignored.

Check the inside of the tire for debris, check the sidewalls for a blow out and check the rim strips for protrusions. Good Luck!

My commute this morning was fine. My legs felt tired going up the two mini-hills a few blocks from home, but I warmed up as I rode on. As I got closer to work, a cab waved me to go ahead of him, which was a first for me, so I gave him a thumbs up. I need to stop at Starbucks before work cuz the coffee at work sucks.

One thing to do for future flats is something I learned from Mtn Biking. When you put the tire on the rim, always align the label on the tire sidewall to be centered above the valve stem. That way if you take the tire all the way off to inspect it, you can align the tube with the tire to find out where the hole or object in the tire is...
Option 2 is run your bare finger around. When it starts to bleed, you found the object.

I usually try to avoid option 2 :-)

Well, last night's rain turned all those beautiful crunchy autumn leaves to a slimmy, slippery mess. It wasn't raining when I started out this morning... in fact it was pretty nice. I could see the almost full moon glowing through the clouds. Things quickly changed as I rode to work.

First I caught my pant cuff in my sprocket and tore my pants.
Everyone who lives between me and work must have raked their yards last night and shoved them out into the street...in MY bike lane. I had to ride in the road most of the way. Light traffic made that not too bad.
Then, about a mile out, it started to rain. Not just a little light rain, but drops that stung when they hit. I had to take my glasses of to see.
Then as I was almost to work... about 1/2 mile...it happened.
I saw a car in the bike lane 100 yards ahead. It was just sitting there, motor running, lights on. I knew someone was in it so I used caution as I approched. There was no traffic so I pulled out wide to go around the "soccer mom van" (should have been my first clue) right across the street from the school bus stop (clue number two). As I got even with the back bummper of the car a kid stepped right out in front of me from in front of the car. I yelled "yo,yo,yo!!!" and at the same time his friend, from across the street yelled, "Dude, stop there's a bike!"
He stopped. Right in front of me...kind of like a deer in the headlights. I swerved left and just missed him. I was close enough that I could have reached out and smacked him on the side of the head...which is what I should have done....but then his mom would have run me over in her soccer mom van. Oh well, I made it to work in one piece.
You can't have adventures like this in a car! :)

The ride home was dry and uneventful.

raining like it only rains in rain forests today at 8:30 am. but warm, probably around 10C, so some of the best fun i've had so far. man, it rained so hard i could have showered on my way to work instead of once i got there, if i was coordinated enough to steer with one hand and shampoo with the other. fun :D i got so soaked that water could be poured out of the gutter-side shoe when i got there.

one of my i-swear-it-i-promise-i-swear-i'll-go-slow-today kind of days, but like usual it didn't make much difference in my speeds. i was at my usual checkpoints at the usual times, so coming up to the bridge i decided to try an alternate approach i've been curious about for some time, skipping the lower-level entrance that has the bike path beside it and just cutting over to ride with the cars till Class 1 kicks in. nah. it's got just as much, if not more, places where you have to get off and walk across an entrance or exit lane for safety's sake, and it doesn't have the helper of a bike path. not worth it at all, but glad i tried anyway. good day for doing it.

i'm spinning, but my knee's killing me all day at work in a different way (from all the extra rotations maybe?). and i want to ride every day this week, so i rode the whole way home saying 'go EASY' out loud to myself. trouble is, it's so very tempting and it doesn't feel like it hurts till i get off and try walking again. my 'easy' days are just when i focus on gears more closely to allow the same resistance from the pedals throughout the whole ride. then i get within shouting distance of home, where the hill is so mild for the last couple of kilometres, it just calls to me. around then i notice that i'm still in the same general ballpark for time, and i just can't help myself from saying 'oooo, let's try and boom up this one'. cause i'm not tired, see. sigh.

wasn't raining on the way home. clear and cool and overcast, with the roads all still wet. just lovely.

Went and got shoes, shirt, shorts, socks and had a strange noise in my drivetrain like that of baby birds. It was just dry...shame on me, yes, I know. Banana milkshakes are great after rides, but not before. The weather was beautiful but had many people try to overtake me on turns, some the wrong way even!

Relatively uneventful commute today, only one little issue (below). I've been riding with a cold the last few days and today was the first day-with-a-cold that I rode at a close-to-normal speed (I got lucky with lights and traffic, ha!). The only problem today was when rolling along on 45th right before Times Sq, a truck starts to pull out from a delivery, of course without seeing me coming up behind him. Fortunately, I had already taken the full lane which I try to do as often as possible on this street to avoid just this sort of thing. A quick look in my Take-A-Look mirror (love that thing) and I am all the way on the other side of the lane to fully dodge the truck. I think the driver did not appreciate my "WATCH IT!" scream, because at the intersection with 6th Ave the dude guns the engine to catch-up to me and honk, not two car lengths from stopping behind the line at the light. WTF? I had to laugh it was so stupid. :D

I was feeling those two little rises on Lexington as I started my commute so I figured I'd spin and take it easy. No rush, take it slow and give my legs a break. As I was easing on up to E67th St., a fire truck was blocking traffic from moving downtown as it made it's way west. Four lanes of traffic all open for at least 10 blocks and I'm the only one that can get through! Take it easy? I don't think so! Hammer hard and fly baby! So within 30 seconds, I was into the highest gear on my mtb standing up and stomping the pedals and grinning like the village idiot. That was fun.

When I was locking up at work, I met a fellow commuter riding a Giant that I assume he bought specifcally for commuting since it's got upright comfort written all over it. He told me to wear a helmet. When my new brain bucket arrives, I just might.

Bit chilly today, but no wind. A little fog in the low spots. Wore my rain gear in light of the forecast showers so I was a bit overdressed. A railroad crossing is closed on my route so I have to detour a couple of blocks. Traffic gave me no room so I had to ride in the lane and got stuck behind a dump trunk in the line waiting to get through a stop sign. Phew.

Bleagh! It was about 3C when I left the house, with sort of a pelting intermittent rain coming down. I actually had to zip my jacket all the way up. Nothing eventful on the way in. I made most of my lights and my new shoes are breaking in nicely. The walk to my office involved more rain, but it was refreshing rather than icky. People tend to scurry and/or huddle in the rain here. It started to snow after I got to work, but it's stopped already.

The first below 40F commute of the season for me this morning. There's a freeze warning (for crops/plants) tonight, so it will likely be cooler tomorrow. I doubt it will be below freezing on my commute though. Too close to Lake Champlain.

Lots of rain lately!

Crazy headwinds today! Or -- maybe I'm just finally too tired out to finish off my commute at the usual pace. Tomorrow's forcast calls for showers and saturday is a wash too. Time to take a rest!

The weather was amazingly beautiful in western Virginia today. But I got two thats right two freekin flats on the way in :(:(:(

still a nice day though :)

I never thought about it before, but I counted up the number of times I criss-crossed 3rd Ave. on the way home. I crossed 6 lanes of traffic (the 7th lane has parked cars) 7 times in less than 2 miles. Is that too much? I did it b/c of traffic. That includes riding in the middle of the avenue for about a block b/c of construction.

When I got home, my rain jacket and pants from J&G were waiting for me! And they fit! That's always a worry when you're short and fat like me. And it's gonna rain tomorrow! But I won't get to try it out tomorrow. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get a chance to use it.

Frustrating commute today. First this guy in an Escalade rides way too close to my back wheel for a little too long. This elderly couple nearly causes an accident while yelling at me to get off the road. I'm embarrassed to say my temper got the better of me and I yelled back.

I ride ten miles each way, going from the 5000 north block of Kedzie to California and 21st, Chicago. I teach art in a public elementary school. I used to ride only five miles each way, but I really enjoy ten. I'm not a fast rider, so it takes about an hour, going between 13 andf 15 mph.

On my way to school, I ride through parts of the ghetto, Chicago's infamous west side. This is the part of town that burned when Martin Luther King was shot in 1968 and has not been rebuilt. You would not go through this part of town unless you had a reason. Unless you lived there, were desperate/foolish or perhaps like me you were a teacher. I've been amazed at the number of empty lots, overgrown with weeds. And so many signs such as "This land for sale very cheaply". Or, "We buy land- cash". Or, more conclusively, realty signs of "The New West", with freshly built condos behind it. Without getting into the complex econo-politics of the good and evil of condos, I find myself amazed by this daily experience of mine.

Now, mornings are pretty early for me, and there is definitely a different atmosphere than in the afternoons/early evenings. One evening I left later than usual for my return trip home and noticed a definitely higher number of "baddies" hanging out. This was another teacher's term, not strictly PC, but accurate. This same teacher conveyed that I should be scaird to be doing what I'm doing, riding my bike through the ghetto everyday.

One morning I looked to long at a strange storefront building and a second later I heard a bottle braking on the street behind me. The storefront, I think it was a liquor store or a porn shop or something, seemed to have had a Lookout. From the far side of the street the bottle was launched. I sort of wanted to think the thrower was drunk, but a deeper part of me said it was an intentional warning.

Which leads me to the next part. Aside from art teacher, I do documentary type photography, and I can't help but see images as I ride through the ghetto. Not the typical patronizing ghetto shots, but something else. (another conversation). Anyway, I see these pictures that I'm compelled to record, more as a personal journal. But I'm deathly afraid. I've been thinking how I can do it without being shot or mugged. A good handlebar bag, etc.

What a strange experience, riding through the ghetto on my way to work. On one hand I'm scaird, but on the other, I am not. I feel granted a certain grace (knock on wood) because I'm not 'messing around', but I have a purpose. My current school is not in the ghetto, but my old one was. So if you work in the gheto, there's little way around getting there without going through the ghetto. You get used to it, but more so, when the kids start waving at you as you ride by, well, that changes things.

The whole thing's really pretty sad, but I don't necesarrily want to cry up a pity storm. A famous activist once said, "what you call the ghetto, we call home". Now, I have one student from the ghetto that's really tried my nerves to the utmost. But I also see them as a person. And this get's me beyond the armchair view that most people have about the ghetto and those that live in it.

So, that's about my daily commute. It's turning fall this week big time and the leaves are falling. I'm really looking forward to winter, to the snow, and then to spring. I will watch as some old buildings come down, and some new ones go up. I'll cross the 294 overpass with the Sears Tower and downtown shining in the background like the Emerald City is viewed from some podunk village. There will be snow, turning all bright blinding white, and old buildings vacant black, and the air a crackling sharp cold.

This is my ride.

Talk to a local community activist about what you want to do and what the aim is. Offer to show your photos at a local community center. He/she can accompany you and smooth over any misunderstandings and mistrust people might have.

hmm. cool and clear this morning, with just enough of just the right kind of cloud to keep the sun out of my eyes, or else maybe we're getting that accelerated shortening of the days or something. didn't notice much sun at all on my way south, but when i came off the bridge and turned west, it was like this impression that the sun had just broken through as i came into the clear, just for me. suddenly all this light around and ahead of me; it was great.

this week's focus is all about making it easy. how easy can it be? let's find out. something about this different approach is just killing that knee, and really i guess i 'should' have given it a day off. the trouble with 'easy' is that you can keep it up so much longer and you rest so much less. but i'd already done monday-tuesday-wednesday, so what's the point of taking a break so late in the week? just means i'd come back in time for a single ride before the weekend gives me a break anyway. it's frustrating, because everything else about it is going so well. this week i'm mixed up between wanting to go ahead anyway, and starting to worry about it a bit. pressure bandages in the weekend forecast, i think, then we'll see. i want this month to work out for me.

coming home also nice. the way things have been, i leave work around 7 pm. dark, sure, but the compensation is much less traffic, and the traffic there is is not the rush-hour kind. i did my last remaining piece of experimentation tonight. coming off the bridge on my side, instead of staying on the bridge road and walking across three separate exit/entrance lanes and then biking up the sidewalks for a couple of blocks to the crossover light, i followed the first curve around to under the bridge and then over to join the bike path at the same point where i leave it in the mornings. i think i'll keep doing that, actually. it's got one ugly bit, but just a different version of ugly from what i already had. the rest seems to be a much nicer way to go. roll on friday.

songs: the grey funnel line, june tabor, and navigator, the pogues.

No commute today. I stayed home with the kids to fill in a grandparent gap in our childcare schedule. I did use my time productively though: I cleaned and lubed each of my bikes while the kids had their afternoon nap.

Looking forward to the ride tomorrow.

Uneventful commute this morning. 53 degrees and almost no traffic. Finally got a light (Cateye EL300), which made a huge difference. The crescent trail here in DC is beautiful this time of year (even in the dark…Ha!) No flats today. Yippy!

GB

No commute today for me either. Have cold which I've ridden through until now, but I feel utterly lousy today. I'd like to skip work, but, well, I didn't. I know, I know, "if you're too sick to ride you must be too sick to work" but I could use a day off with how run-down I'm feeling. Bleah.

The commute home yesterday was lousy. After crossing 9th Ave I was forced out of the lane by a nasty van driver and then nobody let me back across to the right. Yes, the dude passed me on the right while I was in the middle of the lane -- he didn't even give me a chance to get out of the way, stupid POS. He was going fast enough that if I hadn't moved there was a good chance of a collision. I was so pissed I nearly made my arm bleed as I wrote his license plate, van company and van number down on my arm when I caught the SOB at the next light. (I need to start carryin "post-its" with my pen!) I made a show of looking at the side of the van (from the passenger side, I'm not stupid, heh) to get the info. When 9AM rolls around the driver's company will be getting an earful from me (assuming I can find their phone number).

My first sub-freezing commute of the season! Bike computer said 29F. I didn't think it would drop below freezing but the air is pretty calm so things cooled off last night. Bit of frost over a bike bridge.

If you're wondering: Full-length lycra tights on the legs, short-sleeve jersey and nylon jacket on top. Light gloves. Headband for the ears. I don't really need a lot of insulation.

A great morning for a ride, too. Nice clear skies for the first time in days (weeks?) and the sun was just coming up, lighting the Adirondacks across Lake Champlain. Pretty...

Time to see if KMart fired up their guns last night...