a van morrison morning for sure.

oh, the water
oh the water
oh the water
hope it don't rain all day

well, it didn't, but definitely the song to have in my head all day long. think this morning's weather was worse than a week ago, but for other reasons. wind was not as strong, but steadier - and it seemed to be plenty strong just as it was. i was getting a waver effect on the bridge whenever a big truck went by and cut it for a couple seconds, and about 20% of those raindrops stung like standing over an open deep-fryer and catching splatter. i don't know why the little tiny drops sting worse than the big heavy ones, but they do. today's rain was a really rich, varied mix of all the different kinds, falling from all different heights at once with different closenesses to terminal velocity. something for everyone, and all at the same time. and i'm pretty sure it was colder. i think i'm going to have to use those silk jumpsuits, no matter how dorky they look. got cold enough earlier this week that i used one of my silk shirts today, left over from the odd time i've had to dress up for work, and that part of me was just fine. i tell you, silk rocks. amazing stuff.

crazy, but being more or less defended against the weather, i liked the morning ride. it was raining hard enough this morning that you got that visibility thing - where there's no fog, but you can't really tell what kind of geography you're living in because everything except the near foreground is just a wash of the same grey colour - such a neat visual trick, and if you looked at the greyness it was actually full of plenty of light. went through the giant lake on the pre-bridge bike path again, and found out my hikers are only for show. they have a padded tongue that's just made for sponging up half a gallon, and lord i was glad i hadn't put on the open-mesh runners today. the very next morning i get where it's clear, i'm going to find that storm drain and stop to drag the leaves out of it.

coming home it had cleared again, enough to kind of see a moon through the haze, and be getting colder. my stuff was still all sodden-wet from this morning, so i was glad not to have to put it all back on. rode home in my work clothes with snowboarder's gloves and a fuzzy to keep me warm. the only worrying thing is my hands. i couldn't close the brake levers on the way home, it just hurt too much to hold that kind of pressure for long. if i go get more pads this weekend it should get easier again and i should be able to manage it.

the senior dev lead on this project bikes to work too! not only that, but if i hadn't met him down by the bike racks and got into a discussion about how soggy each of us still was from the morning that led to introductions and handshakes, we'd still neither of us have a clue that we're in the same handbasket here. i don't know if that testifies how weird this company's team layout is or how unifying bike commuting can be, but at least it means i can hold conspiracies with him down in the dungeons if necessary. heh heh. senior management don't ride their bikes.

remembrance day tomorrow. going to the cenotaph. not going to work.

Ride in this morning was great. I didn't time it but I got to work earlier than usual. Hit every light on the green, had a break in traffic at every intersection. Somedays I think there's an S on my chest. Coming home I naturally hit every light on red, and even saw a knucklehead watching TV while he drove. None the less, the ride home was great as well. I'm off tomorrow, so I can get some mileage in. Stupid toeclips had nonlocking nuts as I discovered on the way home. Fixed it, but what the heck? Poor design.

Nice ride in this morning! 32F, no wind. My feet got a bit chilly, but by mile 8 or 9, I was unzipping my windvest as I was starting to sweat a bit (feet still cold though). Traffic was lighter than usual, I assume due to Veterans day holiday. Looking forward to a 60F ride home with a good tailwind.

Think smartwool socks and toe warmers. :)

No ride this morning. I need to adjust my rear cantilever brake.

I had an accident 1 week after purchasing my bike (a month or 2 ago). Bike vs car while towing my child in the trailer. Anyhow, I avoided the car but smacked the rear wheel very hard with the tow bar of the trailer. The wheel was nice and bent. The bike techs at REI are wonderful but after 2 attempts at fixing this wheel I am about ready to replace it.
Yesterday, after picking it up at REI it worked fine. 20 miles into my 45 mile ride home, it started bumping the rear brake a bit. I decided to stop and adjust the brake out. Somehow, I managed to make it worse. For one thing, I am mechanically inempt. Plus, I should never work on anything when I am tired.

As a temporary solution I plan on adjusting the brake out and then deciding what to replace my 700x35 rim with.

The long commute home yesterday went very well. I added 10 more miles of hills. Took them nicely. Later I blew past quite a few other cyclists. It was nice and warm with no wind. I wish every day was like that (but without the rear wheel issue).

This morning was the best ride in the last two weeks. The temperature was in the upper forties after two days of low thirties. The forcast called for rain but I had a clear star filled sky above me and only wet roads to contend with. I saw one jogger, we're getting used to each other now. I'm not startled by him appearing out of the dark but I do wish he'd get some sort of light or reflector.

The only downside was having to share one of my quiet roads with a newspaper delivery car, I rode into the beams of his headlights for half a mile as he zigzaged back and forth across the street servicing boxes. That kills my night vision for the next part of the ride.

(sigh of relief) Aaah... Good, the server is back. :)

Wicked headwind yesterday afternoon. I decided to relax and just meandered along at 12MPH for a while.

It turned into a tailwind this morning but I was up kind of late last night and feeling pretty rough so I had another slow ride. :o I rode behind another commuter on an MTB for about 2 miles before he turned onto a street. I wasn't sucking his wheel. He kept turning around to see where I was. Probably wondering why I wasn't dropping him like a hot rock. I kept tasting Jager. :rolleyes: :p

Temps in the high 20Fs.

Where do you commute in Raleigh? I commute from Morrisville to the Cary/Raleigh border (on 54/Chapel Hill Rd), which is about a 6-7 mile ride. It was a lot colder this morning than the rest of the week and my feet got cold as well. Should be a very nice ride home this evening.

Yesterday on my ride in I was riding along a road which has a center turning lane in a 45mph zone. I was approaching my turn to the left so I checked behind me to make sure I could cross the lane to the center turning lane. There was a car a few hundred feet back so I signaled and moved into the center lane. As I was crossing the lane the lady in the car a few hundred feet back beeps at me. I even signaled and had plenty of room to cross the lane. She proceeded to pass me before I turned and she looked at me like she was pissed and I had done something wrong. I turned and went on my merry way, damn cagers.

Good thing the server was down yesterday cuz I drove to NJ and all I would've done was rant about how much traffic sucks!

Ride in this morning was uneventful. Uneventful means the usual zig-zagging, splitting lanes, running reds, scattering peds, and getting buzzed by taxis, vans and expensive luxury cars. Was a little chilly so I had to put on my busted jacket which works out well for keeping me warm and cool at the same time. Fleece vest inside, but the front zipper's busted so I can't close it so my stomach's chilly, but my back's sweaty. The sides are perfect.

No haiku today cuz I rode in. ;)

A bit chilly in far West Kentucky, near freezing. I altered the loop I ride to work (1 mi direct, 10-15 mi with loop) after seeing several folks scraping frost off car windshields to one with less, and slower traffic. Adding vision restricted to a tiny, frosted over, scraped "hole" in the windscreen to the folks driving with a cell phone in one hand, coffee in the other (surely they're not steering with their knees, then again, maybe I'd best hope they are steering with something :-( ) and prudence becomes the better part of valor

Gorgeous day, most colored leaves down, though. Beautiful sunrise. Some rain forecast for AM Sunday but a pretty week next week. Too dry, though. We're going to have major wildfire problems without significant rainfall.

Sincerely,

Bill

I love smartwool socks. I wear leather CATs w/smart wools and my feet are nice and toasty. The slip resistant soles also work really well with bearclaw pedals.

This morning's ride was great, I think this temp - low to mid 30s - is my favorite to ride in so far.

The last couple of days have been pretty nice. Thursday it was above 0C going in and riding home. Not much ice left, which was good, as I rode the skinnies in. Today, there was NO traffic to deal with, and the ice is completely absent. Easy cruising through Mt. Royal and down through the Beltline.

First snow showers in Montréal yesterday! It melted right away though. And first sub-freezing commute this year! Well, barely... it was -0.3°C when I left work last night. Same temperature when I left home this morning. Sunny but very windy. My toes are quite cold by the end of my commute... damn ventilated bike shoes. Soon I'll have to include putting on the shoe covers in the routine.

I tried on shoe covers at MEC last week. Couldn't bring myself to buy them though cuz they're too geeky, even for me. Maybe after I ride around w/ frozen wet feet a few times, I'll break down and buy some. Also cumbersome to put on.

Just some toe warmers and wool socks will do you just fine down below freezing.

I'm thinking more for rain than for freezing weather. But when it rains, I can always telecommute.

38 F / 3 C this morning, and there was frost on some of the cars. This was also my first trip of the season during which I kept my gloves on all the way to work. Yesterday, I had to pick up my daughter from school, so the Trail-a-Bike had to be attached. Today, with the Trail-a-Bike left at home, I felt like I was flying.

Paul

no biking today. i'll
take a remembrance day bus
to the cenotaph :D

same thing for rain, though you want to make sure the toe warmers are water proof/resistant too, rather than just wind resistant. The wool socks will keep your feet warm, even when wet. I wear thin smartwools all summer, thicker smartwool crews this time of year. If you have clipless shoes, some Saran Wrap under the liner really helps to keep the wet and cold from coming up from the cleats.

Finally, BF is back. :beer:

Nice ride today. First morning of the season in the low 30s (1C). Saw frost on several cars parked on some of the side streets I take, but I was nice and toasty. :)

No commute for me since it's a state holiday.

I'm not strictly commuting anymore (*sniff*) but my refound full-time student status does have me going places. I rode to see family in Brooklyn yesterday, and went by my university on the way back. Today I "commuted" to a bike shop near Central Park and rode most of lap "on my way back" (heh, out of the way first, but eventually really on the way back).

Spring has well and truly arrived here in Perth. Every commute is wonderful.

I'm working on a Saturday and it was still a pleasure to get on the bike and head to the studio.

Gotta kvetch. Wednesday evening was cold (40s F) hard rain here, and although I had my new bright yellow jacket with clear plastic rain covering, I didn't have anything for my legs. It wasn't raining in the morning, so I at least had the foresight to pack the rain cover, but I underestimated the rain, and my pants and sneakers got thoroughly soaked on the ride home. (I used to have a full yellow rubber suit until recently, when a strap broke and I decided to retire it.) To top it all off, I hit a large pothole which popped my back tire (even though I have a nice new headlight, I missed seeing the pothole due to the large puddles and glare from the road in the darkness), so I had to walk it the last 1/2 mile home in the pouring rain. (I had a spare tube and tools with me, but no way was I going to do that in that weather. I suppose if I had been further away I would have found somewhere to take it inside.)

Just another adventure.

This morning when I left the house at 5:15 I was treated to a huge orange moon just over the horizon - moonset! It made a nice ride even nicer. Low 40's this morning, just a slight headwind from the north. The new L&M Vega light really makes a difference too, I replaced my old EL300 with it last week, keeping the EL500 mounted alongside it on the swing grip more oriented towards the ground right in front of me. This might be my only ride this week, the weather forecast has snow for the remainder of the week. First snow is not a good time to be on a bike around here, the cagers get a little crazy.