LASIK, Baby, LASIK. 30-some years with glasses and then I was able to throw them away. For me the BEST part situations like you discribed.

He musta been a decent human... most of 'em 'round here AIM for the cyclist... :mad:

Gearing up for the MS150 this weekend, weather's looking good for it, partly cloudy, like 4mph winds, woo-hoo! :D

RonH - You Ridin' in Silence on May 17th? I'm with ya, but here ;)

Did you ever see your commute in a totally different light?

I usually ride home just before midnight. Tonight I got out four hours early and rode home in the light. I saw some things that have changed since my last daylight commute, and especially noticed all the trees in blossom around the state capitol building. The streets seemed much narrower because there were cars parked on both sides. And the traffic signals were all still operational. Usually when I ride home they're on blinking mode. And of course there was a lot more traffic to deal with. :(

They filmed the interview today and taped me on part of my commute. So on my day off I commuted.:) Phone inteview is supposed to be live on MSNBC at about 7:30 AM- 8AM Pacific, commenting on statements by the CEO of Exxon-Mobil made on The Today Show. I won't fall for the "attack the oil companies routine", I just want to promote bike commuting. I don't know if it will air live only on the East coast, or the West coast as well. I couldn't wear my HHCMF shirt, to much glare on camera. That's why we have that color, to show up really well:D. I will be wearing it for the phone interview though.;) My boss gave me time off during my shift for the interview, but asked if I would stand by the company sign for it. Uhhhh....It's a phone interview.:p Ride ON!

:roflmao: yeah, I've ridden in Florida and I know what you mean. Hate to say it though he was a little out of his league here with the Boston drivers- they're not satisfied with a measly bicyclist- they eat their own.

didn't have a minute to post yesterday's commute, which was a good one. Brisk and clear. Today, however, was cold and rainy. A little taste of the old winter commute. I was remembering those ice cold January days with the studded snow tires and thinking- "this ain't nothin'" I think some of the Canadian geese have hatched their goslings- they should be making their appearances soon accompanied by the proud parents.

Realized today I have biked every day for the past 24 days with no days off from cycling. Riding a minimum of 22 m/day and sometimes as much 70/day. I'm feeling it. The legs are asking for a recovery day. I'll try to resist the urge to ride on Thursday. Starts to be a little counter productive to not take a break but it's hard when the bike junkie addiction kicks into high gear. But I feel myself getting a little bit grumpy from it, a little less patient with drivers.

the usual commute, plus an extra 18 mile "just because" (weather was prime)!

rant on: at my last turn home from major 2 lane road to local back streets, there was a mail-truck turning in to mail station. no biggie! during his left turn, i positioned myself for my proceeding left turn, left arm signaling intent. this joker a-h FLEW from behind the mailtruck's post turn right on me. i did not want to change direction to make any "perceived" confusion to my intent. he eventually passed me on the right and then looked into driver side mirror (eye contact). i had all the impulse to "flick him the bird" but instead continued to signal my direction (with even more gesturing). i really hope he was able to learn from this really simple concept of direction signaling! :off rant

Rain today on the way to work and dry on the way home .
Good fast commute. Have a good nite .

On my ride home yesterday, I had not one but TWO people - one right after the other - yell "Get off the road!" I just grinned as wide as I could, and kept riding. I hope they get stuck behind me every.single.day.for.a.week.

This morning it was juuuust warm enough for shorts, but I still wore a jacket. It's supposed to be 25C this afternoon, and I don't want to be riding in jeans in that kind of weather!

High 40Fs and light rain. Kind of a nice commute, actually.

One funny thing happened. I'm still sort of coming down off of a mild head cold so I'm taking it easy. Well, I looked in my mirror and I saw someone on a bike coming up behind me. Testosterone poisoning overruled the head cold virus, and I went up two gears while maintaining cadence so it wouldn't look like I was doing anything differently. Speed increased by about 8MPH.

Dropped the other rider like a hot rock. :p I kept the pace for a couple of miles and only once saw the person when I turned around to look down a long straight section.

Then I came upon an electric company truck and a tree service truck (on the MUP), which isn't unusual since there are power lines that follow the rail trail. But what was unusual was the wide red tape tied across the bike path about a half mile further, with signs facing the other direction saying, "Bike path temporarily closed due to tree trimming."

I resisted the urge to be an @$$ and split the tape, and instead just went around it. Hopefully it's not still there on my ride home, because it's the only reasonable way for me to get home. I'll ignore it. Come to think of it, maybe they're trying to do it on a rainy day, figuring not many people will be out. Then again, I assume they think that much. :)

One thing about a short 3.5mile commute is that the effort to get dressed and undressed in riding gear almost doesn't seem worth it sometime. Today was that, I couldn't be bothered with getting into my wet gear for 3.5miles only to change again once I got to work. I did it all winter but couldn't bring myself to do it today, No Commute!

My ride takes me past a small golf course with a lake and a spillway. This morning the baby ducks and their mom were out on the grass in the early morning sunlight. I was tired, sore and hungry, but this Made. My. Day. :)

Perfect weather this morning - 70F as I left the house, sun just coming up, very light wind (rare for this time of year...) Really enjoyed the ride, put a bit extra into the two larger hills and was rewarded with higher-than-usual average speeds as I climbed. And rewarded again with a pretty dead feeling in the legs around mile 12. Traffic was also really light this morning, which is always nice...

I realized something a bit depressing this morning. I tell people (when they ask...) that I ride in 3 days a week, M, W, and Th. But as I was looking back at my commute tracker (where I track when I rode and how much money I haven't saved because I can't stay out of the LBS) I realized that, for one reason or another, I have actually not done a 3 day commute week since early February. Much of it legitimate, a few days where I decided to be lazy and sleep in. So, tomorrow, WHEN I ride, I will complete a 3 day commute week. And then next week I won't due to a business trip the last half, but what the heck...

We all have that problem. Never an excuse for not riding. :)

Nice. Clear, calm, beautiful.

Today's ride was fabulous. Low 60sF (17C) and sunny. http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoti.../happy/932.gif

Did something different today. Brought my new "toy" (6MP digital camera :D ) with me. Took pictures of my morning ride. May take pics of the ride home.
I know you can't wait to see the pics of my commute route :rolleyes: so I'll post them when I get home.

The hay fever is bad today. I was sniffling and snorting all the way in. Hopefully it clears up in a few days. ANyway, the ride is was pretty smooth, but chilly. It rained/snowed last night, but should be warm for Thursday and Friday.

I saw the MSNBC segment this morning as part of the series "Sticking It To the Man". It was a good spot!

Right on! Scott, is there a link we can listen to the interview or read the transcript? The HHCMF shirt would've been awesome, especially if they asked what it stood for!

No commute today. Had to drive to NJ. Within a couple of blocks of my apt. I'd seen enough idiotic cagers to make me miss my bike already.

On my ride home last night I caught up to a roadie (older guy) and drafted him for the last mile or so of my ride. He didn't acknowledge me at all but was going at a pretty good clip. I was surprised how much I pushed myself to keep up with him and that I was able to. Usually by that point on my ride I am winding down but not last night. This morning's ride in was nice but I ran over something on the golf course path (paved) while I was going around some people. My rear wheel hit something and it was loud but I have no idea what it was. My tire was fine and didn't go flat so I have no idea what it could have been, oh well. Nice and windy today but warm for the ride home.

This morning the road was a bit damp, I don't think it rained last night but we have this heavy drippy overcast thing going on at the moment. The ride took about ten minutes.

There's a pedestrian crossing downtown, with lights that stay red for a looong time. Usually, there are few pedestrians, so it's easy to cross safely. Most days, I slow down ahead of the crossing, hoping for the light to turn green, but if it doesn't, I cross anyway. For some reason, I stopped today ... and a few seconds later a police car stops in the lane beside me. Gotta be lucky sometimes :-)

I try to avoid these situations and not turn a commute into a meaningless competition.

On several occasions, I've come up on slower riders that were obviously taking their time. Generally speaking, I'm a fast rider that wants to get home quicky and maximize my time in the saddle. But I always slow down and ride behind until I'm sure it's a good time to pass, and I don't just pass. I'll ride along side for a few seconds, assuming it's safe, say "hello," "nice bike," or "good to see another commuter today."

Maybe if you just maintained pace, you meet someone interesting....

A little warmer today, with temps in the high 70's. Clear blue skies, 5MPH winds.
I'm placing my water bottle in the office freezer in the morning, so it will be nice and cool when the temps move into the low 80's. It only takes a short amount of time for it to thaw enough to drink.

well, THAT was interesting. I actually tried the busy route on the way in, in two different spots for about a mile each , separated by a stretch on my "easy" route. The first stretch, on Broadway just east of McCLintock, is mostly residential and office, not much retail ... I was riding in the right hand lane in the right tire track area, sometime a little more to the left. no honks, no yells, only one close pass. I noticed that the farther left I was the more room they gave me in passing. Traffic was light, though, after rush hour. then I bailed for a while to my quiet route and came back on to broadway later at about Mill, where it starts to get a little heavier traffic. little bit of a difference.... I got two honks. one from a guy in a toyota who actually STOPPED in the lane next to me. and then cruised on ahead of me. not sure what that was about. scared the bejesus out of me, though, along with a woman who was riding on the sidewalk about ten feet away.. .. I think she actually got ooff her bike... another honk came from the other side of the road. but it was not that scary at all, and it did save a bit of time. Thanks for the advice! I made it in one piece!

I think I will take this route if I want to save time... but I usually am never that crunched for time. It was interesting riding in traffic, not as nerve-wracking as I expected. I also got a better workout because I had the feeling that I had to pedal faster to keep up with the traffic, which of course I could never do.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nice ride today, did 20 miles, felt good and weather was nice. I wore tights over my shorts today, and stripped those off about halfway in, I also completely removed my jacket at that point and went with just my long sleeve jersey, kinda chilly, but nice after I did that.

I just realized that ONCE AGAIN I'll be NOT commuting on "ride your bike to work day" Instead I'll be "driving my car to Las Vegas" for the weekend. Just as well, I think "bike month" and "ride your bike to work day" are kinda lame anyway. I ride my bike almost EVERY day, so...a "special" day where everyone and their mother rides in and clogs the paths...just annoying really :-)

I know this may seem rude of me, but maybe they should have "ride your bike to work" day in December!

:-) really though I like seeing other bikes on the path :-)