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

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 ) 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! 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. 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. 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!

Tried out a new pair of tights today: Performance "Triflex". They are, without question, da bomb! I was very comfortably warm in them (temp around 40, windchill bringing it down to nearly freezing). Nice ride in.

Hi, this is my first BF post... On my way in to work tuesday I broke another spoke, having just broke my first last thursday. Fortunately, there is a shop right next to the university campus where I work and they were able to rebuild the wheel with a new rim/spokes before the end of the day. They were even nice enough to throw in a new tube since my old one had been patched quite a bit. Otherwise, the commute was great.

I made my first commute to work today, I'm looking forward to the ride home. It went very well, the only negatives were my face got really cold (any solutions to that?) and I forgot my lunch... but there is plenty of choices near where I work.

To paraphrase the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "...if you know where your towel is, you must be one happening, together dude who'll also have spare underwear, lip balm, etc. and people will buy you drinks for having your towel..." or something like that.


Duanekeys, it would seem a balaclava would be the solution to a frozen face. And baklava would be a nice choice for lunch.

My commute in was fine. It was 42F when I left so I wore a jacket and a helmet on my commute for the first time this season and arrived at work sweatier than if I hadn't worn the helmet. Still debating on whether I should wear the helmet all the time or just in rainy/wintry weather. Or maybe a combination of the lighter, ventier helmet on nice days and the less venty helmet on really cold, rainy, wintry days. Yelled at a jaywalking ped who couldn't decide which way to go eventhough I already made up my mind to pass behind him. He yelled something like, "You EEDJIT!", to which I responded, "You tawkin' ta me STUPID?!?", while staring at him like you would stare at a particularly ugly child.

Another chilly ride to work this morning. Not as windy as yesterday, but cold enough (40). I layered up and was very warm by the time I arrived at work. Should be a nice ride home this afternoon.

32 this morning. Another ride into the sunrise. The old Bell Weather mittens felt real good.

Monday night on the ride home I was in the middle of what turns into a right turn lane. A pickup behind me followed me for about half a block. As we came up to the light, I was on the right side of the lane, I expected a few words to be exchanged. Instead he rolled down his window and said "nice bike!"

HEY!

I was going to post about the first ride in my new Triflex tights today. Way to steal the thunder .
But alas, they are the bomb. Beat the heck out of the nylon sweats I was wearing. It was fairly warm [39F] this morning so they may have been a bit overkill, but shiny new bike stuff must be used as soon as possible. Wore the new Performance balaclava today too...kept my face toasty warm on the 30mph downhill. But had to peel that baby off before the uphill grind.

Passed the most antisocial biker again this am. I cross paths with her almost every day since she goes the other direction. I always say "morning", wave, or tip my helmet, depending where we cross. She always makes a point to stare directly ahead, not even flinching. Some day, I swear, I will get her to wave... or at least generate a tiny nod.

Don

Super warm ride in today. It was 10C at the house and even warmer on the road. Fairly overcast this morning, but there was still a flush of colour on the horizon. It was a little slow today - cars, trucks, buses and peds all seemed to be in front of me every step of the way. Still, there's something to be said for slowing down.

Heh, sorry 'bout that. Actually, someone did a write-up on those tights already, maybe somewhere over in "Winter Cycling" (whatever it's called) so I'm merely adding a thumbs up myself.

I buy long-sleeved jerseys with hoods and have a balaclava for the seriously hardcore cold. Hood + helmet liner / cycling cap works pretty well otherwise. The hood is also easy to slip off if it gets too warm.

The "antisocial" biker might think your a CreepyGuy(TM) ("Don" means guy to me, correct me if I'm wrong!). Wipe that drool off your face and you'll get a better response.

No commute today. It's the first rain of the season and that always brings up seeping oil at the intersections and California drivers absolutely lose their minds during the first rain. Plus I forgot to install my fenders last night.

Discretion being the better part of valor, I hitched a ride with my wife.

Ahhh, great ride in this morning, I took the long way. It's still dark all the way in, that will change next week (remember to change your clocks this weekend). It was 34F/1C this morning but it might get up near 50F/10C this afternoon. I'll have to explore a little on my lunch ride and take the long way home after work. Man, what a great fall we are having.