This is quite a contrast from what we had last week, isn't it?!?

So what's going on with the first two vehicles at the red light in that picture? And is there a cyclist at the front of the line? :)

I'm going to be a drowned rat when I get home. Rain rain rain...

He explained it in the FG/SS section and it was something to the effect of the two vehicles with open doors colliding right before he took the picture. I think the cyclist near the van is just one of the drivers involved in the accident. I could be wrong.

I just got home from work, and the commute this morning was far more favorable in terms of competing with cars and trucks for the good parts of the road, but at the same time the roads were in much better shape. I could actually cruise at 20mph on hard snowpack for long periods of time before I came to an intersection full of churned-up slop and had to slow down to cross through it without buying the farm.

The next worst part was my detour on the last third of the trip. I decided to take the slightly longer route when I saw that my usual two-lane-no-shoulder stretch was partially melted clear and looked pretty hazardous with the alternating islands of snowpack and slush. I opted to keep going on the shoulder of 149 and cut across on Robert (instead of taking 71). Unfortunately, the shoulder of 149 was melted off very well, and I got soaking wet from the spray. My nice clean bike is probably coated in salt again, too.

Once I got to Robert, I was greeted by fairly heavy traffic for the weather and an unplowed shoulder. I walked for a ways, carrying the bike, before coming to a clearing and riding for a ways. Once I was up to speed, I managed to crash through a small snowdrift into the unplowed area again and much to my amusement I didn't come to a grinding halt and was actually able to maintain 10 to 15 mph in the 4" deep snow with my skinny tires and 75 gear inches. It didn't last long, and another snowbank brought me to a stop. More carrying.

I only got a few subdued honks from one grouchy guy that felt my 20mph on the smooth snowpack in the middle of his lane wasn't fast enough for him and his big SUV. I didn't feel like pulling over for him, and he didn't feel like passing me in the other lane, so he simply followed. When we came to my parting intersection, he blasted by me at full throttle and gave me an annoyed glare. I just smiled and waved at him in his mirror. Dipstick. :)

Snowed on Sunday, but in New Mexico that never lasts more than a few hours....had 2 inches at my house by the time it stopped at 10:30, by noon, it was all melted away, even in the shade. No riding this weekend, I should have gone on Saturday, when it was just cold and windy. *shrugs* oh well, warmer weather will come eventually and with it longer rides.

Good commute in, no one tried to kill me, I got up a few minutes early and for a change, wasn't running late. COLD (22F), but enjoyable all the same. I'm going to miss riding in the winter, when even most avid cyclist think I'm crazy :-), and the locker room at work is EMPTY! Off to change for the ride home, 43F right now, wind only 10 mph.

It wasn't raining as forecasted so I took the FDR MUP (tomorrow's Purim so I don't have to move the car tonight). I counted more dogs than people on the MUP and the owners didn't bother trying to corral them out of my way so I pushed my way around the dogs. Damn dingy bell did nothing to scare them off. Oh well. Took the fixie to CP to show it some love when I got home and was dropped by a roadie AND a mtb'er on a downhill section (I had passed them on an uphill cuz they weren't moving that fast) cuz I was jellyleggin' it and they were pedaling like mad. I wonder if they thought I was a knave? ;)

beautiful day today! high of 81 degrees, albeit with some screamin' winds coming from the southwest. I broke out my new baggy cycling shorts for the first time today, they worked very well.

unfortunately in my rush to get out the door I forgot my gloves so the ride there and back was my first gloveless ride since shortly after I started commuting. I didn't even notice I had forgotten them until arriving at school

also since I was busy with various things today (including a long-overdue chain cleaning), the commute was pretty much my only chance to ride today, and the temps are dropping back to the 50's tomorrow here

I got the headwind on the way in. I opted for the trail detour due to the wind and because I wanted to go up and down it once before heading to school, and I did just that. even with the nice weather, there were only slightly more people on it than usual. great ride in, no problems at all other than a heckler yelling at me from the opposite lane coming up my street. of course I didn't hear what he was yelling, all I heard was "mmmmmmmrrrrrrrrrrrrffffffffffff!" Doppler effect, people, Doppler effect.

the ride back was my weekly night ride. I didn't have my helmet-mounted HID with me so my Cateye Opticube took on sole front lighting duty. unfortunately I also forgot my reflective legbands so I had to settle with an old one that I found in my backpack. it worked alright, plus I had my self-lighting armband with me and both of my blinkies so all was well. rode the tailwind back home and rode around the neighborhood for a while before heading back to my house. great ride!

Windy.

I've been home and back again this evening. I'm stuck at my desk but I got a chance to go home and see the Wonder Twins before bedtime. It's cool and breezy, just a perfect night for a bike ride. I can't wait for the ride home (again).

Upper 40Fs and I got some tailwind. Broke 30MPH at one point. I got frisky and maxed out my little gear. (Didn't change the chainring though.)

Nice automobile enounter... The rain sometimes leaves a gigantic puddle on one of the roads I take. The puddle is deep and takes up almost the entire road. An SUV was coming the other way and my choice was either to stop before the puddle and then go around the water after the SUV went by, or ride through the puddle and risk getting nailed by the SUV's splashing.

The driver coming the other way stopped so's I could go all the way to the left side and ride on the dry pavement. I waved. He waved. Faith in cagerdom: Revived. :)

42°F, overcast with light rain so once again I took it easy. I need to remember to get some rain-x or something because my glasses keep fogging at redlights. Days like this I'm thankful for the beater and rain gear because the bus sucks.

Partly cloudy and warm, 56°F. Tricky crosswinds and headwinds. This afternoon's forcast: a high around 62. Northwest wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Won't quite be a tailwind--kind of a 3/4 tailwind.

Happy trails!

As stated elsewhere, windy. Rain this morning, but I beat it by about 5 minutes (the other cycle-commuter here wasn't as lucky).

Had a cager try to hit me. Yes, it was either deliberate or some of the dumbest driving I've ever seen, as he buzzed me with less than a foot to spare, then pulled into the left lane (cutting off the driver next to him [who had to slam on his brakes and cut the wheel to avoid him]), and then into the center turn lane.

Good news: they're finally grading the pavement I ride for my commute. No more rumble strip. :)

Back on the bike this morning after a few days off due to weather and the need to drive. Streets were dry last night, so I was gonna ride through heck or high water. Neither was present on the way in. Was a chilly 14F when I passed the thermometer. The wireless thermometer at the house said 24 when I left the house. It always suprises me how much the temps can vary over just a few miles. I think it has something to do with all the hills and valleys along the way. Who knows, but it makes it hard to dress for the conditions.

I am sooo ready for springtime.... bring it on!

Brrr, back to 40° again, today. Legs felt tired, whether it was from the chill I've grown unaccustomed to, the extra miles last night, or the extra flappy clothing today, the ride was harder than usual.

On the plus side, a car ran behind me for about 150 yards to their right turn, rather than running around me, then stopping and turning right in front of me. For my part, I tried to step it up, so they wouldn't feel like their good deed was punished. Thanks, car-dude.

Supposed to be warmer this evening. I dislike having to have "cool ride clothes" and "warm ride clothes on the same day... it taxes my rack trunk.

Still, the cool kept the riparian insect life to a minumum.. they were out in force, last night.

+1.

I'm back on skinny tires, with no snow in the forecast until Saturday. The complete lack of effort required to push 700x28c slicks [relative to 26x2.1" spiked tires at 35 psi] is not surprising, but still remarkable. Stats Can says this winter is the warmest in Canada since 1948 or something. It has made for crappy snowboarding these past few months, but the riding has been pretty good. I just hope we don't get a repeat of last spring's torrential rains and flooding.

Fast. I set a new personal best time. 31:07. Last time was 32:00. woot.

I think taking off my spiky helmet cover has made a big difference in my aerodynamic drag.

wet. it's drizzling around here this morning. the only good thing is how warm it is... whew, we jumped straight from spring to summer in my opinion (and i feel cheated out of winter).

25F & breezy this morning. Not a bad ride overall.

Sunny and a little cool this morning, it took around 10 minutes to get to the office. I found a quarter on the way there.

Windy, gusts up to 45 mph. It made it a nice challenge getting home. Windchill wasn't bad because I had the right clothes.

windy = jetted in. snail speed back home. had a cager (+/- age 25, male, w/ girlfriend passengers yell "get off the road, get on the sidewalk" . i just signalled slow down and move left. he was looking in mirror after passing, seemed like he wanted more of a reaction than i gave. oh well! wind was a challange today!

So, I was informed this morning when I logged in that my last login was on 3/8 - and then I realized that it's been a whole week... Didn't realize it had been that long; work and home life have been incredibly busy, and I've missed keeping up with all y'all (as the natives down here in TX are known to say...)

My commutes have been good. Weather has been awesome, except for some mild headwinds on the homeward stretch. Learning to deal with those, which is good, because they'll be the norm until summertime. Had a personal best trip into the office Monday; maybe a slight tailwind, but I'm not telling! Overall, I can really feel my fitness improving - I've been at this a couple times a week for almost 2 months now, and there's a huge difference in the way I feel when I'm riding, the cadence I can maintain, and my mental outlook when the pseudo-hills are coming. That said, I'm falling down on the commitment this morning, drinking coffee, hanging out on the forums, paying bills, planning to drive instead of ride. Worked late last night, long day overall yesterday, and I decided last night to just chill. Wish now that I had ridden, but I'm already 20 minutes late leaving if I'm going to do that, and I didn't pack, so I'll live with my decision and ride in again tomorrow.

Have a good day, all!

Nice ride in except for; a terrible headwind, a flat on the 14th Street Bridge, and the fact that I left my underwear at home (luckily I leave spares in the office). We'll see if things continue to go downhill today.

Drove in yesterday due to rain in the morning and high winds all day. Got some errands done after work while I had the car though. Back on the bike this morning. Cooler than it has been, low 40s and a slight breeze. Had a pretty fast ride in and had a few women drivers almost hit me. The first incident was after I had slowed down for a school bus and was starting to go after the red lights turned off. Just after the bus is a short downhill (25-30 yards) to a stop sign at a T in the road. Well the woman in the SUV decides that she just has to beat me to the stop sign. So I ended up going around her and after she took off from the stop sign she had the pedal to the metal and gave me a nasty look as she went by. Funny thing was I caught up to her half a mile later at a red light :rolleyes: The 2nd time was when I was going to turn left close to work and a woman in another SUV almost pulled out in front of me. She ended up stopping in the middle of the other lane to let me go by. Gonna be a nice headwind for the way home which seems to be the norm lately.

Fair commute today! I had the wind at my back for most of the ride so that helped. Wednesday delivery truck took one of the two lanes on Comm.Ave so it was all backed up though it affected me the least. I nearly mowed a truck driver down who parked his 18Wheeler "IN THE BIKE LANE", and then proceeded to walk right out in front of me smoking a cigarette http://www.girlscantoo.com/forums/im...otten/slap.gif