Nearly got right-hooked this morning. Since I was taking the lane, this driver really had to work at it, gunning around me and into the adjacent lane before swinging hard across my bow. I'm sure it was worth it, though, arriving at work a good 5 or 6 seconds earlier than if she'd dropped in behind me. Sheesh.

no doubt... I'm always amazed at drivers trying to get ahead of the cyclist (heck, of other drivers for that matter)... I like to smile and wave at those that RACE to the red light... I like to think (hope) bicycle commuting has made me a more patient, cautious driver.

I was actually cut off by a cyclist the other day he was riding the sidewalk then through the intersection where I had the right of way, green turning arrow. I was inches from having to jump the curb :(


Love to hear of stories where cyclists get some respect... thanks for sharing :)

Nice, uneventful commute in. :)

My return to commuting (after a month's layoff) has been marred by cold temperatures and the possibility of snow, however, I'm very happy to be back on the bike. Of course my complaints are largely insignificant, the weather is about average for this time of year, it's just that while I was off the bike we had unusually nice weather that I couldn't take advantage of. I seem to be recovering quickly and, fortunately, haven't fallen off my time too badly. Things felt a little akward at first, but I quickly got back into the swing of things. I'm noticing that my appetite is returning too. This week it was 3 days, next week I hope to make it all 5.

Have a great afternoon ride home everyone.

great commute today... came in at a decent speed in the morning, hit traffic at Metzerott and University again. mostly an uneventful ride in otherwise.

light traffic on the way back, since I got out at around 12:30. I was faster than usual, keeping up a pretty good speed/cadence... and there were no headwinds on the commute back today, for the first time this week. a driver blew a stop sign in front of me at one point, luckily I had not gotten up to speed yet. took a quick detour up and down the mostly deserted Paint Branch Trail about halfway through the ride back, that was a lot of fun. really pushed myself the rest of the way, especially going up the hill on Metzerott, and made it back faster than usual. I'm really tired now but it was a great commute back!

The snow kicked my hind end. It was a lot of fun on the flat bike paths, just a little more resistance than normal, but not too bad; reasonably good traction. But on the mile-long bridge I ride, the snowplows had tossed slush from the road onto the sidewalk/bike path which made for a slippery, crusty, tough-to-pedal-through mess. Top it all off and halfway across some dude passed me like I was sitting still. My excuse is that he had thinner tires...

Summary: good exercise, great temperature, pitiful fitness level in the rider. My wife rode 4 days this week; I only did 2. Must do better!

Any New Yorker's going home soon? What's the weather like there--sounds like a blizzard is on the way or already there.

Really appreciate the threads about the lights. I sometimes fell like I'm inadvertantly blinding people with my lights but i would rather they see me. I was wondering about this as the same guy on a dark Minnesota path who was mad at me for not having lights started in on me about how bright it was once I got one. I thought he was just lacking coffee but seeing the conversation go here I don't know what to think. I think the lights are safer even at the inconvenience of some walkers and drivers.

We finally had some new snow here in Minneapolis and it was a blast going home from work, slicing my way through the fresh powder. Reminded me of the bow of a conoe through a still lake.

great! another full week car-less (going to/from anyway)! this site has been inspirational!

Five days in a row of commuting. I got out of work early
tonight. It was cold out, but still a good ride to work and home. Have a good night.

Ahhh I'm beat. The commute was wonderful. Muscles taut, legs hammering locomotive-like, nostrils flaring and sucking in that LA air (yummy ;) ) like a hood scoop. Encountered some unexpected and unknown hills, but I welcomed the burn. Today was noticeably cooler with a pleasant breeze; major bonus. All was dandy.

Something I wanted to include.....So after reading through a hefty chunk of this thread and eyeballing all the wonderful advice and suggestions :) I gave Mapquest a look-see and mapped out alternate routes(a suggestion supplied somewhere in this cavernous thread), beginning at my apartment and ending at the university--I still have to work out some routes for work as well.

Since I live in Los Angeles, traveling the heavier streets can be (especially feel) ominous as you see potential hazards quite often--not to mention nearly avoiding some. Snarls, honks and buzzes, woo-wee. Now I can't speak for other cities, obviously, but it can and does evolve into hairy situations over here... Cousin IT hairy. It seems many drivers (here) are quite careless, assuming that vehicles which are not motorized do not exist. :( Or if it is not motorized it has no place on the road. :mad: I guess I'll grow. Yet something I learned via commuting (and cherish greatly) is that there is always room for driving improvement; especially any precautions regarding cyclists, because i darn well know (further emphasized now) that one can never be too sure. So by pedaling through the world of a commuting cyclist I've gained a greater understanding of what s/he encounters--which I respect and admire infinitely. And so I plan to take this a. posteriori understanding and apply it when I am behind the wheel, among other things. Giving that extra inch of space for senor biker? You bet your knickers! Triple checking those rear mirrors for coming cyclists when turning at a light? Consider it a habit for here on out. :p

Anywho back to the alternate routes, I have to say--and many thanks to all the caring and knowledgeable people out there, your opinions are edifying, truly--that working out an alternate route has been beneficial and VERY comforting :D Thanks again! :D

Ride in was 41 degrees with a 7mph tailwind. Ride home was 50 degrees with a headwind. 23 minutes each way, go figure. 15.4 MPH average both ways. Back in October I got as low as 9MPH, so I guess I'm improving slowly but surely. I might try getting off the major arterial roads to loose some of the traffic lights. Even if it is slower, I'll get more mileage!

Nice ride home. I really needed it to cool off (mentally) from work. I'm feeling a bit better now, having blown off some steam on my ride.

Ride in was today against a headwind, not the usual tailwind. Ride home was against the wind too, Felt like I was towing a car. My legs feel like lead now. I've been making a point of really pouring it on coming home to get the maximum benefit out of the ride. I just wish the wind would be calm once in a while.;)

It's fun to carry the "It's Friday!" energy into the commute home and go on a big meandering route finding hills to attack (Yes, up and down.) and pizza to dumpster.

Not fun is dealing with people in cars. Swerving at you in your lane, trying to grab at you and stopping to try to lecture you about how they're doing you the cyclist a favor of passing you at twice the posted speed limit on a very small road heading into a tight curve. Oh but they know what they are doing! They ride a bike 200 miles a week!

Whatever. Motorists beware of the cyclist with Saturday Night Special Handlebars.

Wow a little snow on the ground here this morning. It was a little slick in some places but still a nice ride.

Great ride in--- not too windy, temps in the high teens and some residual snow, plus a bit of black ice. Because I ran an 8k on Saturday, I was figuring that the ride in would be a bit painful, but after warming up, I was surprisingly strong on the hills and off the line, though my overall speed seemed a little down. Ah well, it felt great as a recovery ride of sorts.

Piece of cake! All roads were fairly well cleared... There was a lot of black ice, but it would have been perfectly ridable even without studs. I took a slightly longer route than usual in order to bypass the Route 50 bike path, which I assumed would be a mess. Temperature was 35 F / -4 C, but it felt much warmer.

Paul

No ride today and prolly most of the week :(. Full roadie with slicks plus sloppy roads and virtually unplowed side roads and bridges make for a dangerous and slow commute. If my ride time is gonna take longer than the bus, then I just take the bus.

I have some pretty nice rides and centuries planned for this summer so it's not a good idea to get twisted on a morning commute.

I have a severe case of the mondays. ugh

Forgot to tighten my new cleats all the way and one came loose. Shoe was stuck in my eggbeater. Fortunately, I had only made it 1/4 of a mile and turned around. Twisted shoe until cleat came undone and tightened both shoes right up.
Hauled arse to the bus and barely made it. Then I forgot to strip some of my torso's clothing off in the bus. Thus, I overheated. This results in my stomach becoming very upset (actually needed to use the loo very bad). So, had to ride standing up for 11 miles to keep everything where it's supposed to be.
So much pain.
Too bad I did not have much of a chance to enjoy going clipless. Hopefully, later today.

Great ride in this morning, muscles were a little stiff and sore. On Saturday I did 40 miles, twice my daily commute and then zero on Sunday...After the first couple miles I started to loosten up though, and made good time, Cold here still, don't have a thermometer at my house, but the online weather station at the school down the street says it was 26 degrees at 7:00 and I leave around 6:30.

In response to the guy who lives in LA...WOW that sounds crazy, and as for alternate routes, yea, I ride twice as far to avoid one crazy intersection on my way to work, not sure that's an option (or even possible) for some. But here in Albuquerque (New Mexico) we have a great MUP infrastructure, pretty good bike paths, and even the busses have bike racks on them if you want to combo commute. It's a pretty great city to bike in.

nice ride today, though cool at 15°. Gonna try to get the first 3 days in on the bike, as later this week, lows are in the single digits, to around zero. Yikes!

What's your route Paul? Sounds like we are neighbors!
I come from Clarendon to near the Smithsonian Metro. I usually do the R50 - Iwo Jima - Memorial Bridge route. Would be interested to hear how you got in today.
I took Metro (Wimp).

It was really warm this morning with no wind. It took about ten minutes to get to the office.

Yesterday I cycled around and it was 88F. I tried to visit Pt. Magu State Park on Saturday and it was closed to to extreme fire hazard. Its February!

Almost. Our paths probably do cross at times:
Normal route: Arlington Ridge to Court House. I usually go 26 Place to Hayes, to 18th, to Joyce, Columbia Pike, Court House to Route 27 trail to Route 50 trail to Pershing to North Barton to Clarendon to 15th.

Deep snow route: Same, but contimue on Columbia Pike to Walter Reed, take to to Pershing.

I'm thinking of trying the R50 for my return trip. Since I'm only on it for a half mile or so, and it shortens my route by at least a half mile, it is often a good choice even when really messed up.

Paul