Grrrreat! :D
Moderate temps, clear blue sky puffy white clouds, a flock of Ibis, butterflies, no trouble with cagers, bike was a gem. Caught myself singing and giggling, excited it's Friday http://www.omba.org/forum/images/smiles/blob10.gif
Looking forward to a relaxed w/e of ridin' may be up to the beach http://evsboca.netfirms.com/default.htm and local nature center, may be an ez rollerblade around the hood, pizza & beer, some chores if I feel like it; no real schedule... aaaahhhh...

Great commutes, taking the super-long way in to enjoy the weather. Now I need a rainy day so I'll spend a little time working on my bike.

Thursday--Did a stupid thing came into the park as a pedestrian didn't see any cars in the entry way so I made a wide right turn and flew right in front of car :eek: I think he crapped his pants :D I am definantly not going to do that again after exiting the park I rode the sidewalk it was horrible so I hit the street and surprisingly the cagers treated me well. Even though one came over 2 lanes to cut me off while I was trying to turn in the turn lane :mad: got out of work at 4:30 AM best commute so far at night no one was arround after I got out of the street lights it was darker then I thought I can see some new lights coming on :o

Looks like you might just get that rain this afternoon! Had a hot ride in this morning. Less traffic out since it is Friday and people take off work. Left a little late but took it easy and had a nice ride in. Cloudy out now and it looks like it might rain on the way home. Rain will feel good with this weather though as jack has already pointed out.

The first part of my commute is on a VERY wide, quiet 2 lane street. I usually travel 5 feet or so from the curb, and if there is a car approaching me, I might move over a foot. This morning a dude is out for his morning jog directly in my line, coming at me in my direction. I thought it was the oddest place to be jogging, but then again, that's probably was some cagers think of me. So I moved to the left a few more feet and we passed each other and exchanged waves. There wasn't a car in site for a km each way.

Oh yeah, and I nearly bailed when I made a little concrete to grass transition for the first time with my slicks.

Not quite as hot today, 96º and 50% humidity. Cool enough to hitch up the trailer and make a grocery run. Traffic was not to bad either.
And on an unusual note (not that many on 2 wheels down here) I ran across 3 others commuting, and had one person run me through 20 questions about my rig at the grocery store.

Wulfheir, I do a bit of running (less now that I'm riding more), and I wouldn't think that was an odd place to run at all. Asphalt is a lot more forgiving than concrete and there aren't tree roots and driveways and cutouts to trip over. So, 5 feet out from the curb against traffic is exactly where I run.

Personally, I always yield to cyclists though, knowing it's a lot easier for me to do than the cyclist.

Bike saved me again today. I was on the cusp of coming unhinged this afternoon and a good hilly ride settled me right down. I'm going to have to put in a few extra miles this evening if it's cooler. The...walls...are...closing...in...

Ride home was fine except for the 2 ghetto punks who threw a handful of trash at me from a Metrobus that took turns passing me in traffic getting away from Tysons. The first thing was a full 20oz Mtn Dew. After 4 times I pulled up next to the bus, and had the drive open the door. Told him the next time something was thrown at me from his bus, I was calling the cops. That I wrote down the bus # and the descriptions of these 2 jerkoffs. As they drove by the next time, the kids were sitting straight up in their seats, looking ahead like choirboys.

a whole week of update in one post.

somewhere back there i put on my big ball-park voice and yelled at a trucker. that felt good :D somewhere else i discovered how my pump works - more accurately, how those valves on these tires work. we don't have to tell anyone that up until now i was pumping air into a closed valve and just figuring the pump and my hands both suck. the rest of it has been nice rides.

today i drove, because i was planning a really long day and my knees hurt. we all got thrown out of the building at 3pm due to bomb threat, so i could have biked anyway. sigh.

Took the extra long way around that takes me on the FDR MUP to the Hudson Greenway and around Central Park. It's really just a joy ride jammed in the middle of going home. On the MUP near South St. Seaport, I buzzed an oblivious older man on, what else, his cellphone. I rang my bell twice and he didn't look my way, too absorbed in his conversation, so I aimed right at his back and *whoosh*, I saw him jump a little as I passed.

Then near Battery Park, as I was squeezing through an 18" gap between the front of a car and the back of a bus, the car lays on the horn. Seeing as we were stuck in traffic and not moving, I figured the driver was just being an icehole. I looked over at the driver to see it was her big, fat, passenger that was reaching over and honking the horn. I just laughed at how completely futile her displaced anger was and kept on riding.

In Central Park, since it wasn't car-free yet, I was relegated to the bike lane which we share with runners who refuse to run on the dirt running trail lest their running shoes get dirty. Since there's two lanes of traffic to my right, the bike lane tends to get crowded w/ runners and cyclists. So of course, as two faster cyclists pass me on the right, some other woman tries to pass me on the left except she's going too slow. She pulls slightly ahead of me, but doesn't clear me, looks behind AND steers right at the same time, sees that she hasn't cleared me, veers left again, and hits the brake to avoid hitting a runner. She later tried passing me again, but didn't and probably gave up or got to her exit before she could try again.

On the way home from the park, I took the lane at a stoplight where another cyclist was and kept the lane so we could both ride w/o having to stay right. After I made my right turn, I watched a bunch of cars get in each others way and lots of screeching brakes were heard. It put a smile on my face.

I caught and passed a rather chunky young guy on a bike today going home. On the mup, which is as straight and flat as a laser beam, I saw him about a mile ahead. To his credit, he was moving along and keeping a straight line. There was a good tailwind pushing both of us. He probably is still trying to get that image of me out of his head, a guy 30 years his senior, smoking him like a cheap cigar! :)

I was tired this morning from a club ride yesterday, so I planned to just spin and cruise in to work easy. WRONG. Pitbull decides I look edible. the pitbull pushed me up over 25 mph to drop it. I never heard it coming 'til it snapped at my calf. Fortunately it missed. It stayed in the chase for 4 blocks. I called the cops, hopefully they picked it up. I've owned dogs all my life, and done temperment testing, so I know dogs, and that one was vicious. That was only a few blocks from a school and a city park. Ride home was easy, pulled a tendon so I just cruised home. I'm just glad I've been practicing my sprints.:D

another 100% commute to/from work week. friday's "incident" was from NJ Transit Bus coming from behind to only partially pass me, then cut in to drop off and pick up passengers. i had to pass on his right with caution but stopped as the door opened. the bus driver would not catch eye contact and i mentioned "watch where you're driving". there was still no eye contact. as i proceeded ahead, looked back, no eye contact. the reset of the ride was smooth!

The driver may have been listening to an IPOD.

Friday's commute
 

The morning started off bad....with my 4 year old waking me up at 1 AM (I went to bed at midnight), got him taken care of but couldn't really sleep because it was very warm in our room, then our 2 year old came into our bed at 3 AM with an assist from mom. He was between us and he likes to sleep with some body contact so he chose dad. Nice....then at 4 AM he started to cough chronically until 5 AM.....then I "woke up" (yeah right) at 5:15 to get ready for my ride. I got maybe 2-3 hours of true rest...this on top of a poor night sleep the night before. I felt physically ill. I almost called in sick. But I promised to meet a coworker at a predetermined spot and thought "what the heck."

So I got on the bike and it felt great. The cool breeze and quiet streets were a nice change of pace. I was keeping a very good pace and met my friend at our meeting spot. We rode fast and smooth into the office and would have done so in record time if we hadn't hit so many lights. My work day was very difficult. I was physically exhausted. But then I said "what the heck" and got on the bike for the ride home in 100+ temps. It was much slower but it wasn't too bad. A couple drivers and their passengers made some comments or yelled something but I couldn't hear them which was just as well because I was in no mood for morons. My coworker and I then stopped off and had a couple drinks at an outside bar in Danville and tried to cool off. It was nice but getting back on the bike being utterly exhausted, a little stiff and full from the drinks and appetizers. I pushed hard up the remaining two hills and thought I was going to collapse. My ride partner is a very good rider though so I try not to slow him down too much. Cruised the rest of the way home and it was all good when I got off the bike.

Ride in was gory. Where I cross the highway at a traffic controlled intersection there was a tractor trailer than had driven completely over a pickup truck. Cab was flat even with the lower door edge. That's why I look both ways twice. Ride home was fun, trackstanding at each stopsign for fun. Lots of law enforcement in town due to out of control crime and gang problems. Glad to see them, they all get a wave from me. Ride on.

Sunday morning coffee commute, nothing better. The joys of utilitarian cycling without the destination of work.

last Friday's commute was from my parents house and was fairly slow and leisurely until I got to campus. temps were as hot as they have been all this past week until they cooled down slightly today. was going to volunteer at the food co-op after getting out but decided to beat the impending thunderstorm home instead. the ride back was fast and good.

Ride in was fast. Had to be, left late.;) Ride home was faster. Now that I am trying to trackstand at every stopsign, I'm bound to fall. Didn't fall today, so it was a good day. Ride on

WET! Steady rain all the way in. And a headwind. I ushered a fairly large garter snake off the MUP. Also saw a frog. :)

Got to work, unzipped my bag, pulled out what I thought was the polo shirt I had packed. Turned out to be a gag shirt (same color as polo shirt) someone bought me a while ago that says, "I'm here for the gang bang!" :eek: So I had two choices. Either wear my yellow jersey around, or wear the tee shirt that would get me thrown out of the building. Yellow jersey it is. With a fleece jacket on top. :o

Waiting for a nearby department store (Filenes) to open at 9 so I can buy a proper work shirt.

Fast! According to my cyclocomp, I rode 44.1 miles at an average of 39.6 mph in 16.09 min. w/ a max speed of 192.4 mph. I'm almost thinking my cyclocomp is on the fritz, but then again, computers don't lie. :)

Nice and easy this a.m. MUP was wet with some puddles, so took it easy, but despite the fact that there was no rain, the path was pretty quiet. Maybe people with longer commutes than me were leery of getting caught in a storm either heading in or out.

Wet. Got about half way to work and the dark, threatening clouds slowly began to break open. By the time I was about 3 miles from work it was a steady rain. At least my work clothes are dry. :) I'd feel a little strange sitting naked in my office for lack of dry clothes. :eek:

I manged to get up and out early to avoid the imminent showers. Sounds like Ron's side of the city got rain, but we haven't had any yet. And to prepare for my tour this weekend, I stuffed my panniers with water bottles and blankets. Strange carrying 50 lbs of "gear" to work.

Nice and clear, traffic was light.

Glad I didn't have coffee in my mouth or it would have been all over the screen!!! Guess you'll check closer next time you pack, huh? Thanks for the laugh!!

Pretty warm today. I had a sizable hangover on Sunday, so my legs were fresh for this morning's ride in [hangover = no ride]. :)

Er, um, where did you say you work?? Sounds like a fun place. :D

I guess you got lucky. I think I heard the radio weather guy say that this afternoon's rain is supposed to be another gully-washer like we had yesterday. Maybe I should have worn my sandals today.

Have fun. Are you touring on the SS?