On the way home last night I snapped the chain on my fixie. I should have known: I used an old chain and I'd broken it so many times to get the length right that I must have severely weakened it. Lucky for me it happened on a flat street without much traffic. And lucky for me that my wife was able to come get me.

This morning's ride was beautiful. We're in a gap between Pacific storms so the sky is brilliant and clear. Once again I was wondering to myself why doesn't everybody in Sacramento ride a bike to work?

This morning was clear, brilliant and cold at just below freezing. We got a ton of rain last night and then it froze solid so there was ice everywhere. I tried to pull an illegal left turn and almost paid for it in blood due to the ice. The front wheel slid a bit but I miraculously recovered. Slight tailwind, everything was alright in my world for 30 minutes.

I worked from home the first hour of the day, I had a doctor appointment so I rode to that and then onto work. Spring was in the air, I wanted to take a longer route but thought I'd better get to the office. I got here fifteen minutes early... dang, I knew I should have taken that longer route. Awwww, I'll do a long run at lunch and take the long way home.

I ride to work every day that I can, but other obligations kept me from riding in on Monday and Tuesday, and will keep me from doing so on Thursday. So, I decided to make up for some of it today.

I had a meeting at 10 o'clock this morning in downtown DC, pretty close to where I live, and I could have started late and just ridden there. Instead, though, I did my regular commute (10 miles) out to the office in Alexandria, VA. Then I rode to the meeting in DC (10 miles) and back to work (another 10 miles), and I get to ride home again this evening (another 10 miles). So, twice my usual mileage today! The weather is beautiful (mid-50s and sunny), I've got some new wheels on my bike, and I'm feeling really great.

Rain, snow, wind AND pissed off drivers.

Good ride to work and home . But hard day at work .
Have a good nite .

38F with rain & wind at 6 AM this morning but I made good time into work through the light traffic. By lunch time there was heavy rain mixed with snow and side winds gusting enough to make it hard to hold my line & stay upright. I wimped out & drove back to work for the afternoon. Supposed to be higher winds tonight & more snow mixed with rain.

Beatiful ride this AM !

I noticed a few police cruisers all around me as I rode to work... then I noticed a little kid playing on the railroad tracks... then I noticed that he was not playing. He was trying to run away from the cops !

Anyway... I crossed a major intersection and about half way down the next block I hear sirens ... so I look back and I see a cop making a u-turn ... when I turned to look front again, i'm going sideways into the sidewalk.. OOPS !

I went flying over the sidewalk and ended up on the other side in the grass !! =)

My right knee did not make it that far, so I got a little road rash.

I was going 15 mph when I went down, and I wear a full face BMX helmet but It never touched the ground.

=)


EDIT: The bike made it out ok, just a little scratch on the seat, and a little scratch on the 3T track bars =)

At least you are still alive and in one piece.


Finally! I was able to commute this morning for the first time since last Thursday. My cold would have let me commute yesterday but the rain and snow made me rethink that idea. No need to become sicker.
Anyhow, the commute was nice and slow this morning interspersed with hacking fits. Nothing clears up the lungs and throat from a cold like a good cool bike ride. Now I feel much better.

46F when I left this morning. Woohoo! I was actually sweaty when I got to work. Supposed to rain later so I brought the zip lock bag rain jacket which probably contributed to the sweatiness.

Low 30s with rain and a headwind. I seem to be developing a sore throat too.

Good commute.

Just not as good as most.

In a word: "Abortive". I went out with enough time to get the new rear wheel installed and massage the derailleur into cooperation. I even had time to pump up the tire on the new front wheel, too.

I did NOT have enough time after that to replace the pinched front tube that exploded moments later, and still get to the train station on time. I self-soothed with a couple mile ride around the neighborhood, then changed and drove to the station.

My new old Dura-Ace hubs are schmoov.

No commute tomorrow, I'm taking the day off, and going to play in the dirt while my kid's in school.

Last night's commute home was pretty bad. I decided to try a new way that an office mate suggested. It's on a bike path the entire way, but ten miles instead of my normal five. It probably woudn't have been bad at all, except I ended up fighting the wind for the first 7 miles, and it tried to snow for a bit. I wasn't at all prepared for bad weather, so the snow was a major downer. When the weather clears up I'll probably take it as my route home regularly.

This morning was fun. There was a car with Angry Mom and Giggly High School Daughter that I passed several times along the way. At our last stoplight together GHSD rolls down her window and yells, "Cute Butt!" at me. I stand up a bit, shake it at them and head off as the light turns green and AM starts yelling at her, me and everything else. Heh.

Mostly good week of commuting.

Trying a new route out for more distance, this one is safer, but longer than the first one I found. It's 20 miles each way.

Monday, did 20 miles in, and 7 miles home...dang, i'm hurtin...I think I over did it this weekend with working out with my dad on Friday, riding 20 miles friday, riding 15 on saturday, and working in the yard saturday AND sunday.

Tuesday, tired, pain...decided to call it and ride into work.

Wednesday, met a friend part way in on my 20 mile route, GREAT ride in, he rides a mountain bike so he drafted me all the way in :-) made me feel like a bad ass to be cruising and have him slugging it out behind me! wonderfull crisp weather, nice ride.

Wednesday evening, so much for that nice crisp weather, it's turned to gusty wind, and sleet mixed with a little rain. Ride from work to my wifes work (church thing on Wednesday nights) was brutal. head wind of 25-30 mph half way, cross wind of the same the other half. Mix in a little sleet, and a poor decision to go with shorts instead of tights, and DANG!!

Thursday morning, nice ride, good weather, pretty cold, but nice. Did my 5 mile in route, going to do 20 miles home

Back on the fixie. I replaced the chain and lubed and wiped and apparently forgot to tighten both axel nuts. So my first pedal stroke jammed the tire into the chainstay. Whaa?? Quick trip back into the garage to tighten and double check. When I came back out, my wife was talking to our neighbor and my daughter was climbing in and out of the minivan. "Bye-bye, Ladybug!" She says "Beep-beep, bye-bye!"

The ride was clean and smooth. I stopped halfway to take off my jacket. Two blocks from my office I waved around a white Jetta. I knew they wouldn't make the light so I gave the driver a big wave and a smile when I pulled up next to her at the red light. Kind of like "Hey! Nice to see you again!"

Went to jump on the skinny-tire bike today - no pedals. I forgot to switch them over last night. The front tire was pretty flat, and I was running late, so I had to take the mtn bike. Spiked tires aren't so good on dry pavement. If it doesn't snow tonight, I'm switching to skinnies on Friday for sure.

I want some of that! What is it?!?!

It's been really awesome 'round here low humidity, moderate temps...
but Rainy season is right around the corner.


Omg that is soooo cute

It rained last night, so the gravel shoulder was soft this morning. Pretty tough going up hill in quicksand. I couldn't cheat and ride on the road because the traffic was too heavy. (It's a 50 mph road).

It was a good morning and has been a good week. 2 1/2 days commuting so far (got a ride in on Tues). Looks like I'll pedal tomorrow too. I'm actually enjoying my truck being sick.

the commute in? well, I've had better. first off, I was really late. and I was fighting a pretty stiff headwind on the main road I take into campus, and got buzzed by no less than three cars in a row on one half-mile downhill stretch of that road (I was riding in a pretty much center-ish lane position for anyone who's curious). due to the headwind I decided to take the trail route in (a slower detour down the Paint Branch Trail instead of the hammerfest down Paint Branch Drive). then later on another campus road I got cut off by a scooter (of all things) making a sudden u-turn. blah.

the ride back was great though... temps in the high 60's so I left my jacket in my locker and did a ride around town, stopping at REI to get some new cycling shorts, then back around to the CP shopping center and through campus, went up and down the PB Trail, then I rode the tailwind home. went up and down the big hill twice. really fun ride back, no problems there.

oh yeah and I saw two other commuters, one on the ride there and one on the ride back.

SPIKED TIRES?!?! I thought I was hard core...but I won't ride in the snow...(not that we have any...) but where does one find spiked bicycle tires? and how well do they work in snow?

Ben

Had a nice ride into work yesterday but on the way home I was verbally abused by a roadie who took exception to me overtaking him ! Wasn't my fault he was pedalling so slow but he insisted that I must have been drafting off him for a while (I actually caught him and then passed him immediately). He really went crazy for a while and I thought it was going to end up in a brawl. In the end I told him to take a chill pill and rode away from him.

The interesting thing is that yesterday instead of wearing my usual cycling gear (bike knicks and top), I just wore shorts and a tshirt. I think he would have reacted to me very differently if I look like a "real" bike ride as he did.

welp, so much for the commute home.....

I was .29 miles from the office, in the bike lane, green light, EL 400 cateye on in front (even though it was still day light) 2 blinkies on my bright yellow messenger bag... and a big shiny black SUV with very clean tires, made a left in a "No left turn except buses" made the left as I was going through the intersection... she didn't even flinch, I didn't even have the time to brake she was moving so fast... She hit me, threw me from the bike... of course I'm not thinking about me, I'm thinking MY BIKE!

She FINALLY stopped, as I laid in the middle of a main roadway in rush hour traffic.... "Are you ok?!" I said "You know that it's illegal to make that left right?" She turned to read the sign... "Oh".. "But are you ok" I said yeah, I hope my bike is ok... She said well, let me pullover and I'll give you my number... ok, I thought... She never did pull over... and I didn't think to look at her tag...

I'm most angry that she didn't stop like she said she would... so not only is she an idiot, but she's a liar

My boyfriends boss at the bike shop let him take his car (my BF doesn't have a car, he commutes 30 miles daily to work) to come get me.

I'm ok... just a scraped and swollen (swelling) knee... a few scrapes, front wheel just slightly out of true but otherwise my bike seems fine.

I don't know about Florida, but in California it is a crime to leave the scene of a traffic accident involving injury. Were there any witnesses?

Glad to hear you're OK LilSprocket. Were there any witnesses that got the plate #? Did you give a statement to the cops? How's your bike?

My ride home was the usual. Saw two bike cops going the wrong way down 3rd Ave. That's about it.