Rain!

did my usual commute today. Windy, damp and overcast with a bit of a chill in the air.

Best moments of the commute:

I left my office late and thinking I would see no one on the elevator I donned my helmet and reflective vest just before the doors opened and as I stepped on there was an awkward silence between me and the other passenger who finally said to me, "So, where do you park your bike?"

I couldn't help it and said, "Me? I don't ride a bike. I'd just never ride this elevator without a helmet and reflective vest."

Then we got to talking ( I was amazed he was still willing to talk with me) and he told me his co-worker rode his bike in every day and he was thinking about doing it but was unsure about where to lock his bike.

The second great moment was as I was riding along the river on the bike path in Brighton and a pair of proud goose parents trotted along with their 6 newly hatched goslings. I stopped to ogle and got hissed at so I apologized and moved along.

today was nice. overcast, crispy-cool both ways. yesterday was interesting: ball game at 6, meeting scheduled late in the day. i've never got home in less time - an unbelievable only-7-minutes-more-than-the-morning-ride . . . and i only missed the first inning or two of a fast-moving game. changed so fast i forgot to take some other non-bike coat with me but the game was over before i got really cold.

i think i'm almost just about done with riding only in the middle cog. maybe give it another week, if i'm not organised enough to get it in to the fixer-people this weekend. alternatively i could wait until i'm strong enough to really want bigger gears . . . i think i might be spinning better as a result of only having 8 gears, so i'm not in all that much of a hurry to get it seen to.

the bike-cage guy at this place is one of those hermless-misfit i.t. guys who never completely grew out of being sixteen, socially, and never quite got over robert heinlein either. hermless but irritating at closer quarters. had much more interaction with him than my 'patient' gene can handle this week, what with investigating the missing lock, then replacing it and then replacing all keys. my sunblock regime is holding up fairly well.

60F and overcast. Headwind gusting to about 15MPH. Just 3 cyclists seen heading in the opposite direction. Once in a while I see the same high school-aged kid on his MTB riding toward said high school. I think it's cool that he rides instead of taking a bus.

Looks like rain for my ride home later today.

Beautiful morning. Started out at 6AM sharp, no headlights needed. Temp 47F, no winds to speak of. Gave myself a good chuckle when passing a local business who had a "Go Canes" sign up (in reference to the Hurricanes in the hockey playoffs). It occurred to me that a simple letter swap could change the sign to "No Cages"-too bad the sign was 20 feet high or I might have stopped to make the switch. Was very pleased with my 17.2 average today. Feeling like my bronchitis from a few weeks back is finally totally gone.

A wet morning, but at least it was just the roads and not the sky. The cool air was very damp, so it felt colder than it really was. Still, it was a nice ride.

Winds 15-30, moderate rain forecasted for later, I drove. Second day of truly miserable weather in midwest.

I was about to work from home and was all settled in for an extra hour of sleep when I remembered I don't have the laptop's charger w/ me so I was gonna have to go in to the office today. Wet roads and humid. I didn't mind the wet roads and the ride itself was fun, but the humidity! ugh!

Rained cats and dogs. I had a chance to try out my wet weather gear..

I found some weaknesses

#1. my road shoes got completely soaked, all the way to the toes + the entire socks.
#2. My glasses got 100 % wet and I had to take them off to see.
#3. Wet roads spew up lots of grease, grime, grit, and dirt.
#4. I got twice as sweaty beneath the raincoat and rainpants than I do otherwise...
#5. Riding in the rain sucks. lol

A great ride. I left home earlier than usual and saw more traffic. Two #@&#% talking on their cellphones just about had an accident -- with me -- both incidents within a block of each other. :crash:
Both were making a right turn. They were so busy talking they couldn't drive safely. One stopped in the middle of an intersection, then realized where she was, looked around and saw no cars coming, and turned right. Same scenerio one block later. I hate #@&#% drivers who insist on talking on their cellphones instead of driving.
I want to know who they're talking to early in the morning. What do they do? Leave the hubby and kids at home and talk the their boyfriends while driving. Is the conversation so erotic that they're close to an orgasim and forget that they're driving a 4000+ pound vehicle?

Ok, enough ranting.
Other than these two #@&#%, the ride was awesome. :D
It was a little cool today. Needed arm warmers, vest, and full finger gloves. It's May 12. When is summer going to get here???

I woke up 10 minutes before my alarm, feling relatively refreshed [I hate mornings]. I was showered and out the door in 20 minutes, it was +10C on the way in so I didn't need a jacket. I got in to work 45 minutes earlier than usual, so I'll be leaving around 4:00 today. Yippee! Oh, on the ride in, I watched 3 cyclists break the law and put themselves in harm's way.

Both bosses on vacation today, so I slept in. More traffic as a result, but (I dunno why) it seems Fridays are always lighter than any other day of the week.

Experienced a new one this week. Had a standard poodle barking hysterically at me with its head hanging out the window of his owners car. Typically cars pass me and I don't usually catch up to them again. But this time the car and I kept passing each other at a series of lights. I pass him, dog barks like crazy then stops as I pull away. He passes me, dog barks like crazy. I catch up....

The irony for me: I'm a dog lover who volunteers with a dog rescue group. I not only can't get respect from drivers, I can't even get it from their dogs either. :rolleyes:

Beautiful ride to work this morning. Temp in the mid 50s with the sun rising and not much traffic. Made good time with no incidents. Going to get some errands done on the way home tonight. TGIF :)

A nice ride to work this morning, it took about ten minutes.

For the week I was 5 for 5 in bike commutes. For the year I am at -6, in that I have failed to commute by bike on 6 occasions this year.

Have a nice weekend

wet and lovin' it
 

First real verbal confrontation with a driver today. I'm coming up on a stop light, and this truck races by me, missing me by less than 6 inches then hits the brakes to slow down. He stops at the red light and I pull up right behind him. Feeling rather ticked off at almost being knocked off my bike, I hit the tailgate a couple of times with my fist. He waves and points over to the right, then after a while open the door. I'm expecting things to go really bad at this point, but he just asks, rather mildly, "What did I do wrong?" I reply, "You almost hit me, only gave me six inches of room!" He then apologises and I thank him for his apology and we both head out as the light turns green.

Wet roads and drizzle this morning but I still made good time. Ended up behind the same tight-arse chick who rides in jeans. I quickly deamed the road too narrow to pass, so I did what any upstanding male cyclist would do...I slowed down :D. Big rainstorm for the ride home becomes horizontal rain for tomorrow :mad:.

Graduation weekend at area universities + lost and confused out-of-towner cagers = danger!

Jack, thanks for the reminder. Got to call the wife and warn her that campus will be an obstacle course (and 9th Street even worse than usual :eek: )

Riding along in the bike lane I was passing a car that was trying to turn left against traffic. No biggie. Then a car ducks into the bike lane behind me to pass that car on the right. I can hear him right on my wheel and I give him the WTF signal as he goes by. He makes some sort of gesture, not the finger but it seems just as rude. Of course, I catch him at the red light and I pull up and say "Hey, do me a favor. Next time don't use the bike lane to pass."

He says "I was taking the opportunity to pass!" His accent is really thick and sounds Mexican or South American. So, I say, "Oye, !es contra la ley para pasear en la derecha!"

I really surprised myself, because my Spanish isn't that great but it just popped out. Anyway, as he pulls out from the light, I notice that he's got a weird red, white, and blue consular plate. Which means that he could probably tear up any traffic ticket a local cop were to give him anyway.

Well, at least I let him know in two languages that I don't appreciate it.

I had a commute, of sorts, today. I wasn't sure whether or not I had my discussion section today, so I rode in this morning. took it easier than I usually do even though I was running really late. the ride in was great. temps were in the high 50's this morning and the 70's in the afternoon. some wet spots on the road but that's what fenders are for. got in to find an empty classroom. oh well. guess my section wasn't happening. I hung around for a little bit, got something to eat from the food co-op on campus and did some studying for my exam tomorrow. did the PB Trail then rode to REI to pick up some stuff. got buzzed by a van at one point on the way back even though I was taking the lane. still very tired so I took it really easy up the big hill. pretty good ride back overall.

Ride home included a stop off to by Tomb Raider: Legend. Now I'm gonna ignore my bikes until Monday. Have a good weekend all!

Went home from work early today feeling crampy and cranky. :( Took the Eastbank Esplanade home for an easy ride. The rambling, brambling Rosa rugosas are in bloom, so I got to ride through the most glorious haze of true rose scent. Still crampy, but no longer cranky. :)

Hi all, anybody remember me? I used to post a bunch on BF.net but have been silent of late. I've got probably 200 bike-commutes to catch up on, so here goes ...

All is well. Commuting in a different direction across Silicon Valley now due to a new job. Still safe. No traffic incidents, no metal-to-metal action. Commute length varies between 12, 15 and 20 each way. Still absolutely love to commute and weave it into my daily existence, just like driving. Still do 2 or 3 times a week. Up to 7600 miles now on my trusy ol' Trek 520 tourer-turned-commuter.

See ya around!!

Andy

mighty fine. it was 101 this afternoon and I got caught at the crossing by a freight train but it was still good. Ice water held up through most of the ride.

Rain!

i rode in this morning doing my best [eccles voice] winds light to variable [/eccles voice] as in, varying all the way up to not-light-at-all. heading over the bridge through the gusts it changed itself to [bluebottle voice] he's fallen in the wa-ter[/bluebottle voice], just in case. you're never alone if you encountered spike milligan at an impressionable age:D

nice ride to; nice ride from; not a whole lot to say otherwise. yesterday i rode to work late knowing there'd be a practice; called my kid from the lab and told him he'd have to get himself there and then call home if/when it ended; rode home just in time to fall over bike, self and cat trying to get to the ringing phone (and failed), and then got to NOT DRIVE OUT THERE AND PICK HIM UP due to the dual miracles that are city transit and teenagerness. high spot of my car-lite week. problem with the 24/7 sunblock regime though; it's fending off burns but it keeps getting into my mouth. and it tastes really impressively foul.

today's songs: john maclean's march, hamish henderson; gin eh was a gaffer fer tae be; michael marra; little rock n roller; steve earle.

Halfway in the front attachment for my rack broke. The rack rotated back on the lower attachment points and dragged on the ground, grinding it up until I could stop. Only a week old. I'm getting new attachments from the LBS Monday when I'm off. Now I have to wear a backpack to work all weekend.:( At least I didn't wreck.:)

thought I'd end up working at home all day today but a much needed form, that should have been downloadable as a .pdf and wasn't anywhere on the website, required that I ride in at break neck speed in order to deliver it to an office by 5pm. Wind was in my face the whole way. With 100% humidity. Not raining but I was soaked even with rain gear by the time I got downtown. Ended up staying downtown until 11pm due to meetings and commitments I'd completely forgotten about and when I came out it was a deluge of rain. Put on the full rain gear with bright yellow slicker, yellow flashing vest, blinkie, rear light, front light and head off into the downtown traffic. As I'm crossing a 4 lane one way making my way from right lane to left between the public gardens and the commons a small black limo runs the red onto Charles street and won't let me take the left lane. He actually saw me and then sped up in a raging downpour to keep me from taking the lane. I'm going about 25 mph on this stretch in order to take the lane and have to fall back to let this jerk pass me and as he does this well dressed guy about 60 in the back seat flips me off!

Needless to say I crank it and get right behind him but every light is miraculously green. If I'd stayed with him I'd have caught him on the other side of the Garden as he headed, undoubtedly, down Newbury Street but I opted to veer off and hit the bike path as I normally would and head home. I made great use of my rage and got home in great time despite the rain.

Commuted all 5 days this week. That seems to be becoming the norm. Also had a lot of wind to contend with...