No commute today. Home w/ sick kids and wife.

Never better. The weather was cool which was a nice change. The weird thing was that I did not have a single car pass me in my lane of traffic this morning. I only saw a handful of cars on the road at all. I wondered if I had gotten my days mixed up and ventured out early on Sunday morning. No such luck, but the ride in was great.

Nice, first time since June 26 that the air quality has ranked "good" and it was not killer hot.

Took a bit of a tumble at a trafffic light. I forgot that I was wearing new spd compatable shoes with clipless pedals and just fell over when I came to a stop. I had to laugh - it must have looked funny to the car behind me and to pedestrians in the crosswalk.

How was the commute today? How was the commute today?!?! It was EFFIN AWESOME!

Weatherman said 60% chance of t-storms, but it was merely cloudy at 7a. Off I went for a crisp, cool, hittin' all the lights (but one) ride in. Nobody was hanging out near my 'clean up station,' which is cool, 'cuz sometimes those nurses and lab ladies give me the heebies when I'm in there doing my thing and I know they're on the other side of the wall.... ;)

The ride home was under partly cloudy skies, warmer than predicted, slightly humid. I went up 'TheHill' (hardly a hill) somewhere between 14 and 15mph, which is good for me and even managed to nail the next light. I was feeling so good that I cranked it up (heh) to 19mph for the next eight blocks. Traffic was giving me the lane, too. Everything was going great until I got to 'theBigRoad.' I was in the lane, behind three cars and the punk behind me started doing the revving engine thing. Whatever. Light turned green, I hopped on the pedal and...was keeping up with traffic through the intersection and beyond! Punkyboy was still behind me, which I thought was surprising. Almost as surprising as the fact that I was keeping up with the traffic still. I looked down to discover I was doing 26mph. Yee-haw! At about this point, Punkyboy decided that even though I was in the right tire tread part of the lane, he owned the road and forced the issue. Unfortunately, for me, the next right was my turn. I gave him a look, signalled and took my turn. And slowed her back to a more leisurely 17mph the rest of the way home. I should've kept going just to see how long I could maintain that pace.

Effin great. Oh, and during lunch, I was speaking with one of the docs who, it turns out, also happens to bicycle commute; and we've added another commuter over in the lab, although nobody seems to know who the bike belongs to. We've requisitioned a bike rack. Life is good.

PS - And my new personal record for the ride home is 12:43...1:10 less than previous. Hoot!

first flat ever today. pinch flat, but I couldn't find it. there was a split near the stem and I thought that was what it was, but no. I walked the bike for a half mile... luckily there is a bike shop along my route and they fixed me up. it was good before and after that ...

My commute is 12km each way, I didn't bike in today, but I did bike in one day last week, it was a nice ride, although it did remind me, of why I don't do it more often. The bike isn't really set up for it. My only bike at the Moment is a Norco Bushpilot. I do want to do some enhancements to it, narrower tires, fenders, rear rack, already has lights, not sure the best way to attach the fenders and rack though, that will happen in the off season.

The bee incident
 

I have got a great story for today's commute and it is completely true. I was riding my usual commute home to Portland today via pedaling down a rural road approaching the bridge that crosses the Columbia River. As I relaxed and let the pressures of the day unwind at an easy pace, a bee flew/blew into my mouth and stung me on the tongue! It was so sudden that I didn't have time to even yell. I spit the fellow out as fast as I could, but I could already feel my tongue swelling up. There I was 5 miles into my 25 mile commute. What could I do? I managed to finish the commute, but I am now talking with a lisp until the swelling goes down. What are the chances of that happening?!? And no I don't ride with my mouth hanging open normally; I was actually talking to my wife as we rode (we commute together). It was a commute for my record book.

same old plus 11.0 miles!
traffic was "sane", roads smooth, farfiggnugann (sp)...!

Today was completely ridiculous: I got lost. At a cemetery! :D Gosh, is it ever a maze!

With my navigational skills perhaps I should always stick to major arterials: they are mostly straight and perpendicular to each other... :D

>>Lost at a cemetery...
Ha ha Good one! :)

Today was fabulous...on my way home, I spotted out of the corner my eye a plum tree. Did a u-turn and pedaled back to the vacant lot...and loaded up..Yum...I shall return :)

Yesterday afternoon a sizeable racoon crossed the MUP in front of me. In broad daylight. I slowed down, expecting it to be trailed by babies, but nothing was following it. Some women pushing strollers coming the other way freaked out. :D Picture of a racoon

This morning was nice. Warmer than yesterday but not bad, and I had a tailwind. I passed a woman wearing a backpack that I judged to be far too big for her petite frame.

Didn't ride in, took the bus since I have some running around to do after work and my bike is not yet setup for hauling anything of signifigant amount unless it's strapped to my person.

The sad part is it actually took me longer to get to work by bus than it would have had I cycled in!

One thing I did notice - has anyone else noticed that when you take your bike you're more alert, and less stressed by the time you arrive at your destination? (Maybe I should start a new thread for that...)

Now, back on my ~3-4km ride, i got hit by rain this morn on the way to school. This humidity is killing... oh and that 3-4km ride is all up hill lol. Way home real fast.

Nothing to report this morning. Woke up early because I was fretting about stuff but then fell back asleep and ended up leaving late. A few deadlines at work but otherwise this day should be pretty smooth. Hopefully the rain will show up this afternoon.

An absolutely gorgeous morning today (65, sunny and no humidity) Did my best time (33 minutes going 8.5 miles) through the urban jungle of streets on the SW side of Chicago. Can't wait for the trip home! :D

Recipe for making Jello legs:

Saturday
31 miles in the rain

Sunday
6 miles
2.5 hours of Ultimate Frisbee practice with no substitutions
6 miles home
Long hike with friends

Combine all ingredients and age 38 years.

Guaranteed to make a nice, not-so-tasty commute Monday morning. :(

Raced the sun home last night and just beat it. This morning was sneaky humid coming in and my legs were jelly. Need to remember to grab a gatorade instead of the usual ice water for the ride home.

Ok GT, you sort of got your wish. It's been cloudy and cool (but very humid) for 4 mornings in a row.
My SAD is starting to flare up. :( I need sunshine. :)

Nice ride today. Passed a slow recreational rider out for a morning ride. A few miles later saw and waved to a commuter I haven't seen since early June. I think he is a professor at the university I ride through so I guess he's getting ready for the fall semester.

Yesterday and today were nice...chilly in the morning, pleasant in the afternoon. I noticed with the clouds yesterday it was a bit darker then normal, and I may have to get bike lights sooner then I thought.

Course, yesterday on my way home I nearly got clobbered by some moron who ran a stop sign *shakes fist*

What happened to summer ? Was 56F this morning with drizzle, overcast, and 78% humidity. Even broke down and wore the shell for the first morning in months. It's like fall is in the air, but that usually doesn't happen till late september.

Pretty good storm as I was wanting to leave last night. So the office got an hour or so of free OT out of me. Once a hole opened up, it was zoom to home before round 2 hit. Made it just fine.

Met another commuter headed the same direction this morning. He turned it into a race. I ~let~ him win... i knew i had 2 miles of hill yet to climb. But if I catch him on the way home, that guy is toast :)

Rode the single speed in today for the first time. Loved it!! Only problem was dealing with the swinging mess bag. I have a rack on order, but couldn't wait to ride the new bike in, so the bag was required. Nothing like a new bike to rejuvenate your desire to commute. I have a feeling once I put the rack and fenders on my SS that the geared Cannondale will be feeling very neglected...

Nice ride today. Two more days pulling the trailer then schedule shift and I think i get 3 wks off.

I'm jamming a borrowed vacuum-sealer into my pannier for trip home today.

Another cool morning ride in. Nothing out of the ordinary though. Passed a few cyclists on my way home last night and got a couple of waves.

Adding layers
 

Yes, although it is only August; the past two mornings have asked for a top layer that I could shed for my return trip home.

Doing a 20 mile commute one-way thru the suburbs of the Twin Cities - allows me to come into work refreshed and get home without fighting some ugly traffic. Requires an additional 20 minutes of commute time; but I sure feel better for it.

But I am not ready to add a shell or arm warmers in August. 56degrees this morning at 6:30 AM but it will be low 80s on the return trip. That will be great!

It's definitely cooling off here. I'm wearing a jacket in the morning. I'll probably go to the long cycling pants and start wearing gloves in a week or two. Then the balaclava. Then the sweatshirt. Then the winter coat, hiking boots and ski mittens. C'mon winter - I'm ready for you!

Encountered a pair of urban coyotes this morning. Wo w, they had no fear of me. Bell ringing, shouting didn't scare them off the trail. They weren't agressive but there sure wasn't any timidity.

It was cooler this morning than yesterday morning. I mentioned to my commuter cow-orker that I'm going to have to break out the arm and leg warmers if this continues. Apparently, the mere mention of 'leg warmers' conjured up an image of 'Flash Dance.' Whatever. :rolleyes:

The ride home was warm, but also cooler than yesterday. The wind was gusty and shifting, so I had occasional head winds to deal with. Only one goofball driver today; a guy and his buddy in a beat up old pick truck who found it necessary to inform me that I need to buy a car. I thanked them graciously and continued on. What a hoot.

On the planning side, I've got quite a 'shopping cart' going over at Performance for wet/winter gear. I think I'm going to keep on commuting.

I started commuting in the Fall of last year when it was cooler and wouldn't be such a sweatfest. Commuted through winter w/ nary a hiccup. It's easier than it seems.