Today's commute won't be as enjoyable as usual. I work for a bicycle advocacy organization and have to work at the Dogwood Festival today AND tomorrow. http://users.telenet.be/eforum/emoti...d/boese008.gif
I'm supposed to enjoy the weekend and do my regular ride to Stone Mountain -- not work!! :fight:

The ride to work was cloudy and cool yesterday. Cleared up around 2 PM and the ride home was great. :beer:
We had strong storms Friday night and there was a downed tree and power lines blocking one of the streets that I ride to work on. Georgia Power had the street blocked so cars couldn't get through. No problem for me. I hopped on the sidewalk for 1 block and continued on my way. Another instance when a bike is superior to a car. :beer:

Today the weather will be perfect for my ride to Stone Mtn. :)
Wait -- I'm working again. Crap!! :crash:

Oh well. Gorgeous weather for the ride to and from work. Plenty of sunshine, a high around 69F (20C), and I'll be "working" outside at the festival. http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoti.../happy/059.gif
Too bad I can't ride the Litespeed but I don't have a backpack to carry lunch and work clothes (shorts and t-shirt). She'd probably die of disgrace if I put a rack and panniers on her. http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoticons4u/sad/021.gif

Stinks you have to work today, Ron. But the weather should be nicer than yesterday. Maybe I'll stop by on my way to work this afternoon.

And for everyone else, I really enjoy buying bicycle tools and parts at the hardware store. I like all my LBSes, but there is something very satisfying about picking up a dozen M5 bolts or a gigantic bucket of grease for a few dollars. Well, I'm off to the hardware store...

Very nice ride home today. GTcommuter stopped by the festival I was working at. We rode part way home together. He turned off at Everybody's Pizza (Atlanta locals know where that is. :) ) and I continued straight.
It was nice having someone to ride with and talk to. Thanks B.

I thought everyone bought metric hardware and generic bike stuff at the hardware store. :o

It's Sunday and I'm at the office rather than hanging out with my kids or watching Paris-Roubaix. How the f*** do you think my commute was?

32 F. No wind. Great ride. 1 hour 30 mins for 20 1/2 miles. I even got to blast my new Air Zounds at one driver. :)

I can go one better, there is a hardware specialty store close to me that stocks just about any style of fastener, in any size, for CHEAP. Aluminum, steel, brass, stainless steel, nylon... It's like a magic land.

*ahem*

My ride was nice, a little cool, but nice. It was my first commute on my new (used) trike! It needs new tires, though, as the ones that are installed have almost all the tread worn off... I'm thinking Big Apples, or maybe Schwalbe Marathons...

Beautiful! The bike is running smoothe, cranks are quiet again, loving the SPDs, and it's getting close to the day when I can take the lights off the bike and drop some weight/rattle... Or just ride the new/old roadie that isn't yet fully equipped. Looking forward to that! A little chilly for sleeveless and no socks this morning (52F at departure) but one must do what the laundry dictates, sometimes. Warmed up quick. Wind was light, in my face for about half, but a piece of cake compared to the 25+ MPH we had at the end of last week. My ride in really offsets the general Monday blahs very well!

Picked up a new bike for the wife yesterday - LBS had a good deal going on an '05 Specialized Crossroads in her size. She seems happy and comfortable on it, so we'll be getting in some good family time this summer - kids in the trailer behind me, wife on her new wheels... Looking forward to that!

Very pleasant!

The cagers have lost their damn minds this morning. I took a less trafficked street to work and they were dive bombing left and right, ignoring lane markers and generally driving like they were blind. I got squeezed tight by a few vans and SUVs, but managed to outrun them before they could finish the job, ducking under mirrors at the last moment.

First time in almost a week. Nice morning, but the forecast is for a windstorm this afternoon. The traffic slowed to a stop on the road up the big hill, which was odd, but not a real problem. For some reason my front derailer locked up for a bit as I tried to shift from 3rd to 2nd. A bit scary as I was making a left turn onto a major street at the time, but it fixed itself real quick. I hope nothing is broken.

For all that happened, it reall wa a nice ride, and far better than if I had driven.

I was half-expecting rain this morning, since it was pouring last evening. The forecast even mentioned snow, but thankfully that didn't happen. The dust of last week is pretty much gone, and the trees are starting to bud.

The group got together for a road ride yesterday, and we managed to ride 75% of it in the rain and light hail. I actually kept up with the leaders for the whole thing, and successfully bridged a 1 km gap after I stopped to check on some of the stragglers. I credit commuting on a SS for all my success.

Commuting kicks ass! :D

Pretty crazy here too! One person trying to pull into station to get there gasoline fix while another was trying to pull out. The one pulling out blocked the left lane while the one pulling blocked the right lane :fight:. One the plus side, myself and 4 other cyclist took an entire lane crossing the B.U. Bridge. I hardly ever take the lane because it's too close for comfort, but with other cyclist in the lane we commanded respect :D.

That must be nice. I pulled off of Kirby and onto shephard one evening and saw like 20 or 30 cyclists taking up a lane or 2 coming in the opposite direction. I think one of them commented on "oh theres the green guy" (referring to me mabye?) . I wish more roads here in Houston had shoulders so that I don't have to take up part of a lane.

Nice ride this morning, I do wish it would decide to be nice or crappy, getting tired of carrying all the right cloothes for michigan weather

Springtime is here in Colorado. Low 40's on the way in, so only needed tights, light gloves and a windbreaker. The way home is looking like shorts and a t-shirt. Should be nice except for a 25 mph head/cross wind.

Seems like I always get the headwind without the tailwind going the other direction. Not a hint of a breeze on the way in.

Was off the bike commute for a couple of weeks because I had to be on the Keyboard at 6am. Getting up at 4 something to bike in was not in the cards.
I rode today, but arrived at 6:30.. that's barely within reason. Gotta suck it up and ride, the Ride the Rockies tour is just a couple months away.

Well, how's this for a change of scene? First commute of my new secondment with the company and it is 15 miles in San Jose / Mountain View, USA, rather than in Oxfordshire, UK. Weather is the same though...

V. nice riding indeed!

Ed

Not long enough. ;)

I feel like it's been a month or more since I posted here but it's only been a week. I didn't get to ride to work at all last week :mad: I drove on Monday due to thunderstorms and had to drive the rest of the week for work related jobs. I did get a small 10 mile ride in after work Friday but that wasn't enough for the week for me. I rode in this morning with temps in the upper 30s and it was so nice to be back on the bike. A pretty normal commute but I enjoyed it very much. Temps already in the 70s so it will be a great ride home this evening.

The cagers continued their stupid driving. If I was driving in this traffic, I'd have been on the horn all the way home. Unfortunately, my fixie doesn't have a bell so I had to settle for cursing under my breath. Got home pretty quick, but would've been quicker except for the right hookers.

Great ride today, did the short route as planned, and I was fast. I pushed all of my "20 mile one way" energy into my 7 mile commute and felt like a king!

The cagers are crazier today than I've seen them in a while...is there something up with the moon?

Anyway...I finally got the car I was fixing for a friend out of my garage, what a nightmare...I'm never working on someone else's car again, to risky, and too much trouble. Now that my weekends are free, I've got a mega bike weekend planned for this coming weekend. Gonna go on a 2 or 3 hour mountain bike ride on Friday morning, then hop on my road bike for a ride across town to have lunch with some friends, and then a round-about way back to my house from there. Hoping to log 40+ miles on the road bike plus the time on the mountain bike.

The weather is just starting to turn nicer...and although I enjoy the nice weather, the MUP's get CROWDED. Good part is I still get up and on the path earlier than most people.

Funny story I meant to post last week, but the board didn't take it...so I just got around to retyping it.

A few months ago I had a pedestrian that works in the same building as me get irate when I "scared him by flying by, and then almost ran him over" What actually happened is I rode past him at a mediem speed (I'ld guess 8 mph tops) on his right with 5-6 feet between us, and then 20 feet (or more) after I passed him I made a left turn and pulled up to my building. This is in a "pedestrian walkway" area, and he took exception to me riding past him. As soon as he said something I replied "I'm sorry, did I startle you when I rode past?" (I normally don't tell people on MUP's or otherwise) that I'm coming up on their left or right unless I have no room to get by because they NEVER know what to do around here. They (9 out of 10 times) will turn around to look, and THEN step INTO my path. It's better to just ride by them.

Anyway, despite my trying to apologize for startling him, etc, he ranted and raved and said he was going to make a complaint and get the pedestrian walkway closed to bike riders. "because we were dangerous" I finally just said "well maybe that would be best" and walked away.

The company I work for has a large campus so this was on their property, and they are very fond of "safety" but I just shrugged it off as being a cranky old dude who was all riled up. I told my co-workers and some cycling buddies and we had a good laugh…well...last Tuesday one of my co-workers comes in and says "hey did you see your sign?" I say "what?" and he says I need to go over and check out the construction sign they put up in this one are. So when I get time I go check it out, and low and behold, they have a FREAKING 4X8 FOOT SIGN that's lighted and flashing and warns "bikers" to be careful of pedestrians.

I guess he didn't get bikers banned, but did get a GIANT sign to warn us to be careful! I think it's more likely to cause an accident than prevent one…but WHATEVER!

Completely wimped out. I was up all night with a sick child and I think she gave it to me too. When we finally got some sleep and then woke up to rain, that sealed the deal.

Snow & mud prevent me from starting my commuting. The snowmobiles are (finally) quiet but the 4-wheelers are starting to play in the mud. I'll give it a try after Easter.

My ride yesterday was awesome. Perfect weather, my bike was running beautifully. I saw about 30 cyclists, it seemed like eveyone was out for a ride yesterday. I went only 10 miles (5 miles each way) but I had a lot of fun. It wasn't a commute, just a fun ride. The weather is even better today. I rode for about 30 minutes. I can't wait for the weekend.

In this Michigan weather you never know what to bring or wear. I wore an undershirt and a fleece jacket. I carried a backpack with more clothes because you never know what will happen during my short six mile route. I was sweating like a pig by the time I got to work. But I was a happy one! I am doing it again tomorrow.

Because the internet at work was so slow, you are privledged to hear of both directions of my commute. It was about ten minutes to work this morning under cloudy skys. It was about ten minutes home this evening, into a blustury wind, under cloudy skys

niiiiiice weather. low 70s this am, mid 70s this afternoon. my new trunk bag arrived at work and I installed it... and used my messenger bag to carry stuff also. not bad. I thought the messenger bag would bug me worse than it actually did, I've just been strapping it to the rack. but it's OK. I am learning how to pedal.

Beautiful spring morning, there was a slight breeze to keep it cool and it was around 3 celcius on the way to work. 14 on the way home, just a fantastic ride to and from today! Hope for the same tomorrow.