Another chilly morning here, it was 32F when I left the house. I added light gloves and wore one less hood, I think I finally found my cold weather attire.

The ride itself was very nice, I was looking for things to mention here but the wildlife has been scarce lately. I haven't seen a coyote in the last three weeks. It was trashday along part of my route so there were people scavenging deposit bottles and whatever else from the bins. They were not exactly dressed to be seen so I had to be aware of people sharing the shoulder.

Online poll, how many days, miles per day, total miles have you commuted this year?


Today was #58 or 59 for me at 26 miles per round trip. 58X26 = 1508 miles plus another few hundred for errands and such

Hey Ron - When did you start commuting this year? I started b/c of SmartCommute (Aug. 18) and I'm at the same number, 58.

I faced my autumn nemesis this morning: wet, wet leaves. I didn't lose traction, but I also didn't get to cycle as fast as I would like to have. Grr.

This morning is a two cups of coffee morning for me, just can't get goin. I adjusted my saddle according to the 'elbow, middle finger on the headset rule' last night and it was a horrible ride. When I got to my office I noticed that the saddle was as loose as a goose in the brackets, so I'll retighten and give the elbow rule one more try before repositioning. Nice weather though.

Didn't ride in this morning since I had a soccer game last night and didn't get home till midnight or so and my legs said no this morning. Last night on my ride home though I rode through a golf course to add a couple of miles to my ride home. As I was turning into my apartment complex there was a boy riding a bike on the sidewalk and he waved to me so I waved back :)

Ummm...I caught up w/ a dude on a FS MTB that had passed me earlier in my ride to work. I guess he got tired. Saw a brand new Birdy folder complete w/ rack and rack bag. Dude pedaled hard to get ahead of me, then turned when he saw traffic jammed up on Lex. Bought two shirts at the GAP for $10 ea. Now I got some clothes to leave at work. Packed my rain pants and jacket for the ride home if it rains. Other than that, nothing to report.

:D He might not've gone for that. He did commute by bike once this summer though! I must've inspired him to give it a try. He said he'd like to ride more often but that he normally has to drop his daughter off at daycare.

Had a good commute both ways yesterday. It was 55 degrees Fahrenheit on the way home yesterday, which is really warm for November in Minnesota! I have to admit to wimping out again today though. :( That's twice this week that I drove! There were was a "wind advisory" for my area with winds supposedly gusting up to 40 mph so I drove again. It is really windy but it doesn't seem that bad. I'll be back on the bike tomorrow.

Hey 10ch...Tench? Beck? 58 is a pretty impressive number since Aug 18!! I guess you must be riding just about every day. I've been commuting from Cary to RTP for 8 years. Most years I end up with around 50 plus commutes-My goal being to bike commute once per week. Its tough for me to ride more than a few time per week because of the 26 mile round trip and also the variability of my work schedule. My first commute this year was January 3rd....hoping my last commute will be December 23rd.

There's enough ice off of the streets to allow for me to switch back to the skinny-tire bike tomorrow. The wife rode in today on her road bike, and made it in fine. No more spike tires until it snows again. Traffic was tolerable, but there are more and more people driving in every day. I'm doing my best not to get hit...

Beautiful morning on the American River! Cool and breezy but a brilliant blue sky after a few days of gray. These are the days to remember (thanks, Natalie Merchant).

Boy, it's a windy one out there today. They say we have steady winds up to 30mph and gusts up to 45. I practically flew in this morning, even taking the long way. Going home today will be another story. It will probably be like a scene out of the Wizard Of Oz.... doo to doo to doo doo....

Online poll, how many days, miles per day, total miles have you commuted this year?

So far I've got a little over 3300 miles on the year.

I am a traitor. I bought a car last weekend and haven't touched the bike since Sunday. It's nice to have the car as an option when I'm tired, but BOY it feels strange to drive to work.

It's Wednesday afternoon and you haven't ridden once? You MUST be tired! :(

Quick! Get back on the bike before the dark side clouds your mind and it's too late. :eek:

No ride today. My bike is at the shop receiving its free tuneup.
Yesterday coming to work was nice and uneventful. I rode the whole way home (35 miles) and made good time despite the annoying crosswind that periodically turned into a headwind.
The odd thing was being laughed at by an older man on a bike. I was sitting at a light behind two cars when he pulled up beside me. Anyhow, the light turns green and the car in front of my starts to go. Then I start to go. Then the car stops since the car in front of it is turning left. Then I stop almost loosing my balance. Repeat this for a second time before I realized what is happening. Other biker has a nice laugh. I become irritated with him and leave him in the dust. Yet another no good reason to become irritated. I'm turning into my avatar :(
Need to change my title to "easily irritated"

Great ride today. God it feels good to be on a bike.

LOL...yeah, I can feel the dark side and it's very scary. On top of that, the guy who has the office directly behind me has a big bucket of candy out for everyone. I already need to get back on the bike. I don't want to be relegated to the rollers when it's only November. The trainer usually doesn't come out until January or February.

I felt those winds...man it was the wrong day to take the first ride on my converted Huffy mountain bike single speed. The ride south was fine, but with the gusts coming from the north on the way home I found my self pedaling hard on the downhills. My legs are jello tonight, but it feels good :D

How far have I commuted...

I started about a month ago, and ride 16.5 miles per day round trip. Must be about 300 or so miles so far, I don't ride every day, but at least 3 or more times per week. Best decision I have ever made.

So I bring my brand new, never used waterproof breathable jacket and pants cuz the forecast is for showers and t-storms starting at noon. Noon comes and I'm out skating w/ a friend at Bryant Park. After I return to the office and work a few more hours, I look outside and see that it rained enough to wet the streets, but it's not raining anymore. So I put on my waterproof jacket, but leave the pants in the bag and ride home. I go past a fender bender on 1st and 59th and get on the FDR MUP. As I was ascending the ramp, something slipped. Dunno if it was the crank, cogs or wheel (I'm hoping wheel). Got home sweaty and now I know that breathable means the pit zips let air in, but the rest of me gets sweaty.

the ride in this morning was good... mid-to-upper 60's, some headwinds... I slept in a little bit so I was late as hell but went along at a pretty relaxed pace anyway... my chain slipped off AGAIN, this time while I was going up the road toward my building, had to pull over and put it back on... that's becoming way too much of a regular occurrence

the ride back was awesome... slightly cooler temperatures but not even cool enough for me to have to break out the longsleeve, no winds at all and I was able to keep a better pace most of the way back... a lot more people passed with 3 feet or more too, that was a welcome change of pace

Same here, dropped mine off on the way home last night, pick it up tomorrow night. Two days without riding...but considering the wind, rain and big temp drop tonight, I figure it's good timing for a tuneup for the bike and rest days for me. Bike is just over a month old, when I brought the bike in, my LBS wrench, who tore down and rebuilt the bike for me when I bought it, asked me 'ready for your 100 mile tune up?' I just grinned and showed him the computer...'nope 732'. ;)

sigh. i heard yesterday that these people have been approved - and are cheerfully, guilelessly planning - to renew my contract for another six months when this current one expires. lord, talk about failures to communicate. i've barely hung on for the past four months as it is, and i was barely expecting to be able to hang on for the next two. and no, riding my bike a nice meaty distance doesn't cut it for me as an incentive - no way. the only interest was in seeing how much better shape i could get myself in while it lasted. but i'd never have planned to be riding out there for the rest of my life, or even one day longer than i had to. it ain't the ride, it's the work. they're adorable out there, to the very last one. and i can't stand them.

today i drove to work, and it really brought it home to me how much of a factor the bike commute has been these past months: how crazy i was getting before i started, how much more cheerful it's made me feel, and how cheerfully it's kept me able to keep ticking off days and feel okay about the time that's still left. clearly it's not just about getting to do a ride, because i tried it on in my mind, thinking "you could renew, and have this distance nailed down as a certainty for another six months". nah. not even tempted. still want to tear my skin off and mail it to moscow at the mere thought - and that's not even thinking about the sheer dread and despair of trying to handle baseball season next year if i was working out there. i planned to finish this contract, with the incentive of riding out there keeping me sane and motivated while it lasted, and then take my marbles and my shiny new legs and ride them to work at some other place where the work itself could make me happy again. that was my plan for next year. bleah. woe is me.

sigh. got an appointment with the recruiter next week - who is real shocked and depressed that i'm not all happy about renewing, but he'd better adjust. in the meantime i took advantage of having driven today to rack up the hours i'll be spending chewing the scenery at him next week. planning to ride again tomorrow, as far as i know.

No riding for me this week ... too many things to do. Really appreciate having a car to run around when needed. But I could have rented one for a fraction of the price of my car. Damn it .... then the snow will come and I will not be regretful. Then the new transmission and clutch will come and I will be crying. Then I will have a soft clutch and a reverse that does cooperate and I will be happy. Then the snow will go away and I will be riding again, and cursing to my car. Then I will be busy again and I will be loving it ...

Happiness is a transitory state of mind, isn't it?