This morning's commute was good, it was our first <50° morning of the fall and I totally overdressed for it. Coming home seemed a bit cooler because the winds were acting up. I thought I would encounter rain by the weather reports this am, but I should've known better as they are ALWAYS wrong.

Anyway, this morning on the last road I take before getting on campus I saw a brand new shiny bike lane. The road that it's on is pretty highly trafficked by buses so I am very excited to have the space all to myself.

It was great all weekend!!! I worked Fri, Sat, Sun, and rode to the store with my son to pick up the makins for dinner tonight. I love my commute to work. I bought a rack today to get the sweaty pack off my back, seems to work great. I'm looking for excuses now to bike instead of drive. Now that my wife has realized riding is not as dangerous as she thought, and has seen my route, she's relaxed and not waiting out front for me to arrive home( but that was nice). The cold isn't a real issue here in Northern California for me, but rain is going to be a test. I'll try it and see.

Flat tire day.
That's right, had a flat tire on my bike ride into work today. The misfortune occured at the 5 mile mark. I realized it as I turned the corner, the back end had this squishy feel to it. I sensed there was a little bit of air left and there was a slight incline, so I gutted it out to a flat spot.
Took me forever to change the tube though (probably a good half hour). The tires are called Armadillos as they are supposed to be resistant to flats from things like glass slivers, etc.. But I discovered the tire met its match with a 1 inch screw that managed to make it all the way in (screw head was flush with the tire surface). I had all the tools I needed, but get flats so rarely anymore it took me a while to get the right leverage with the levers I had.
I got back on the road and it seemed like the rest of the day I was running late, or was rushed/not-prepared. I even forgot to shampoo/spray/etc work has shower facilities, but by the time I realized I forgot my toiletry bag at my desk I was too far along to turn around.

The ride back to the truck was uneventful (thank goodness), although I did screw up before I got my bike out of the bike locker. At work they have 4 or 5 bike lockers outside the building. These provide a covered area to store your bike, but you have to check-out a key everytime you use them. Tonight as I was getting ready to leave, the security guard stopped by my desk to let me know that I could just leave the locker key in the locked box at the security desk as he was doing one of his "rounds". Usually, I go out, unlock the bike locker, go back in the building and return the key to the guard or the lock box. Tonight, I dropped the key in the lock box before realizing I hadn't retrieved my bike yet! So, I had to run around the building looking for the security guard so that he could fish my locker key out of the box! I thanked him, but told him it was his fault for telling me to just put the key in the box (like my subconscience could think about nothing else but dropping the key in the box).

Oh well, I work from home tomorrow, maybe Wednesday will be better.

Great ride to work but it rained most of the day. The gortex jacket I picked up really works well in the cold rain. The weather man said it will rain most of the week. So my rain gear will get a good workout. I just have to find a way to keep my head dry. Everything else was dry by the time I got to work. Have a good night.

I am sitting in a cage every day now after a fall 4 weeks ago broke my collar bone, but will be back soon!!!

a

made my own bagels yesterday :D

forgot to take them to work today. so tomorrow's are already out of the freezer and packed as we type.

really nice rides both ways. late leaving this morning - past 9 am. it was cool and cloudy on the way in, and nothing eventful happened at all. coming home was neat too. i am slowly, slowly, getting the better of that Horrible Hill. one of these days it really does now seem possible that i'll ride up the whole thing without thinking about it. the less-steep sections already feel that way to me. i love to see them coming at me because i know that this part is going to be fun. gee, i love that feeling of noticing change.

checked my email records today. i made my first experimental ride on this route on september 6th. it seems longer ago than that, somehow, especially considering that i went and got sick for two weeks just as i was getting started. when i started doing this i had a bit more than four months left on this contract, and i figured that if i just put my head down and rode to work until it was done, it would keep me entertained for the duration and something would be better by the time we wrapped up. hmm. i could be ahead of my mental schedule with this. i may have to quit.

the thing i have to make sure i do this week is eat. last week was kind of hairy. i kept forgetting to do it, or not being interested, and then by the time i was heading for home i'd be unravelling but it seemed easier to just keep on going anyway. basket case by friday, and that's not too smart.

world series night at a friend's tomorrow. better make sure i get to work early for it.

songs today: donald and lydia, john prine. frida kahlo's visit to the tay bridge bar, michael marra. the bits i remember from the third movement of gorecki's sorrowful songs.

40F again today, and raining. I left at 6:45AM which was before twilight even. Had my blinkies and the little Cateye microhalogen that works fine on the rail trail.

Was riding on the trail (still dark out) and I saw light ahead of me. Realized it was a reflector. Some roadie going the other way. No blinkies. No headlight. I always wonder what happens when two people like this encounter one another. Do they almost collide? Do they yell at each other?

Might snow later today, but it won't stick yet.

Raining when I rode home yesterday, 40 and raining again this morning, stiff 20+ headwind, I feel like I should be talking in my Eeyore voice.

Hey guys and gals!

I've been absent from this thread (and the commuting world) for quite some time. I'm not going to dig into the archives of this thread to find my last post, but it was a while ago!

I stared a new job last week, and began commuting the second day. It's great! There are shower/change facilities in the washroom just steps from my desk, and we have a nice warehouse to park the bike in to keep it dry and thawed out!

Today was a bit chilly (3 degrees Celcius) and fairly dark at 7:20am. My commute is a short 5.5 kms one way, and is through a mixture of residential and industrial-type roads. So far I've had no problems with traffic or anything of that nature! I hope to be posting here frequently again!

Tonite I have to ride to the rad shop to pick up my car (booo.. stupid money pit) and then take the bike home in the back seat. But even with the car fixed, I'll be back on the bike tomorrow!

Cheers!

Darren

At least is was warmer this morning.

However, it was one of those mornings. :(
-running late
-stomach gets upset right before I was ready to leave
-running even later
-problem with bike light
-at this point I had lost 1/2 the time it takes me to get to the bus
-rush and make this bus
-can't find my lower fare tickets
-pay with a higher fare ticket
-give up and ride the bus all the way into work instead of riding 15 miles from a midway point. Give up when you are behind was this morning's motto.

I sure hope my 35 mile commute home is much better. It should be since I am stopping at REI. Otherwise, I am driving in tomorrow to take a break.

First ride in over a week this morning. It was very cool (40) and windy. I didn't wear full gloves and my fingers got cold along with my toes. I will have to wear full gloves tomorrow and thicker socks. It was a nice ride in though. Should be near 60 on the way home and sunny :)

http://www.jackedinger.net/DURd_bike...s/DSC00369.jpg

Yep, these new lanes have made lots of Durham's campus commuters very happy. :beer:

Nor'easter + oversleeping = working from home. And I was still late for work. Rode my bike on errands yesterday and the 2 day break I gave my legs made a big difference. Also got my new, heavier and less ugly Pro Tec helmet and floor pump yesterday. Now I may actually wear a helmet when I ride! Or maybe not. Old habits die hard.

A lot has changed since I last commuted by bike, (Sept. 21): It’s really dark! The temp has dropped 30*F. I’ve gained 5 pounds, and my average speed has dropped 16%! Thanks to my supportive wife (“You need to start riding again… Your belly is getting big!”), she helped push me out the door this morning.

I fell off the commuting wagon a month ago when I cut my finger at work and needed stitches. The Dr. told me take it easy for the remainder of the day. Since then, because of husband, father, student, and career search (interviews) duties, along with clumsiness (smashed my big toe), and a two week cold, I’ve neglected my bike for the past month.

It felt good to get back on it again.

Welcome back, madhouse!

I'm another "Nor'easter ==> no bike" person. I really don't mind as I rode the Tour de Bronx on Sunday (rode around 60 miles).

My legs were really heavy this morning. I think I'm having a reaction to my flu shot yesterday. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Getting back to beuatiful sunrises again. Daylight Savings Time finishes on the weekend, so I'll be heading to work in the dark next week. Oh well. Brisk and dry this morning.

The ride home last night was wet, wet, chilly, wet, a bit breezy. Never seen "flooding" on the Manhattan bridge before, but there it was. Everything soaked thru 'til this morning, but I was whooping shouting and giggling my ass off the whole way back.

Coming back in today was just damn windy, esp. on the Brooklyn bridge. Spare clothes waiting for me at work. I gotta go out and get those waterproof booties, though...

I too suffered from heavy legs this morning. The ride home however was great!!

First ride in falling heavy snow of the season. Could hardly see going down hill so had to brake all the way down. Was really wet by the time I got to work but all equipment kept me warm. Clothing all dried nicely just to ride home in the rain.

Still a great ride overall.

A nice thing happened today.

My usual commuting route overlaps with several bus routes. This morning I turned onto a street simultaneously with a bus. For about 3 or so kilometres the bus and I have been going at more or less the same speed - I've been hanging behind but only because I knew there was no point in passing a stationary bus as it would pass me again a few seconds later and it would be annoying for both me and the bus driver. Anyway, after about 3 km we come at a stop at a major intersection with a long red light; the bus goes into the right turn lane and I am in the "go straight" lane, so we are standing there side by side, waiting for the light to change. Suddenly the bus driver sticks his head out of the window and exclaims, with a grin on his face, "Hey, you beat me!" We smile, and laugh, and exchange a few more remarks. I wave at him and the passengers and tell them they should bike cause biking is faster, the passengers wave back... Then the light turns green and we part ways...

Why can't all drivers be like that?..

Great ride to work and home , but really wet all day & cold . But still a great ride . Because hardly any cars or people out . Have a goog nite .

no ride today to rest myself and because of the world series date this evening. i didn't miss the ride at all actually, which probably means i was tired and it was a Good Thing i skipped. and how bout them white sox, although lord i would rather have seen houston win. hope it goes more than four games this year. i want seven.

ride tomorrow if i can get enough sleep and figure out where my towel is in the morning. still trying to make it for one of those 7 am starts. the weather's turned very prematurely-novembery.

I had a great ride home on Monday. (yea, I'm late :rolleyes: ) I pass a couple of schools on my route. The first one had a speed trap. They are the small trailers that display how fast a vehicle is going. It was slightly out of my way but when I saw it I had a huge grin. :) Unfortunately the it was against the wind. So I can't even get into the big ring but still manage 20 mph. :sigh: I continue my ride.

So I am recovering from my speed attempt and just crusing along. Out of no where I see a squirrel running at my front tire! :eek: No time to hit the brakes. The squirrel makes a last second direction change and scrambles at a 45 degree angle in front of me and I don't hit it. :eek: That got the heart pumping faster.

YES, another speed trap at the second school. :) :) Now with the wind not against me I get up to 25 mph. Sweet. :D Much better, but I didn't get into top gear. I was in the big ring though.


This morning was uneventfull. Bit chilly though at 38 degrees. However, I overdressed. So I was a little too warm. It rained last night but no ice so I was happy. Forcast was for 34 temps. I had a south east wind and my route is south west. I was going up and down 2 gears when I turned south and west respectively.

This morning was the coldest of the season so far for me --- 35 degrees not including any ride generated wind chill. For the first time in my two to three years of bike commuting, I used a balaclava, and I've got to admit, it's the most useful and appreciated bicycle purchase I've made in awhile. Between it and a set of tights, climate control during the ride was a non-issue. Heck, what with being so uncharacteristically
prepared, I'm thoroughly stoked for the upcoming winter season!