Other Durham commuters: come to Mad Hatter's at W.Main and Broad TOMORROW a.m. for Bike to Work Week stuff...

- free food, coffee and prizes for cyclists. The Durham Bicycle Chain will also be nearby with a free bike check-up station and prize drawings.

http://www.bikewalkdurham.org/

Bike to work week update
 

Well, looks like a 100% ride week or what I call a century week since my ride is 10 miles each way. Switched to an old Trek 820 Antelope someone loaned me as my AD-SLE died. Takes getting used to but after a while it is an even a better workout! For May, of the 280 potential commute miles that have passed MTD, I have biked 220 of them. Travel took 40 away, a Monday 'whimp out' took 20. Not bad so far for May. Looking like 80% for May. It is hard to do 100% with kids, work and graduation month!

Today was the only day I've commuted by bike this week. Combining moving, finals and horrific allergies just doesn't aid the bike commute process. However, an empty gas tank and need to do maintenance on the car does. So I rode in today. It was an uneventful ride the first half; made a stop by the post office. The second half, my allergies got the better part of me and before I knew it, I was a sniffling, snorting, sneezing, mucus dripping mess. Then I started getting nauseous, and almost felt like I was having an asthma attack. I think pubilc transportation is in the works for the ride home.

:(

Coming home last night as I rounded the corner onto shephard there was this homeless person. He goes "only 40 more miles". I couldn't help but smile.

Beat the rain by a minute. I know because a minute later I was walking in the rain to my car. Alternate side of the street parking sucks.

I decided to suck it up, deal with my allergies and just ride home. I had a short day, so I took my time going home. Almost got hit by an a-hole Suburban driver who ran a red light to turn right right into my lane. I saw him though and yelled "You wanna stop?!" I guess he heard me because he slammed on the brakes causing me to have to swerve around him nearly missing his rear bumper. He pulled up next to me and had his wife yell some explicits at me. I gave him the one finger salute and turned left behind him. Apparently I pissed him off cuz the next thing I hear is tire squeel. I look behind me and he slammed on the brakes and whipped a left right behind me. He pulled along side, wife screaming profanely. She stopped long enough for me to say "Be a man and stop having your b%$&h fight your battles." He finally passed me up and the rest of the ride was pleasant. If anyone in Sacramento sees a dark blue 2000ish Suburban with tinted windows being driven by a redneck looking guy with long hair sporting Indiana plates numbered 30 F 4121, watch out.

Thanks, mister. I'll be careful on the way home.

My commute today has been great, bright and sunny and cool in the am, I am about to ride home and it is nice and sunny and warm. Supposed to rain for the next week though... my first commuting in the rain, can hardly wait.

the usual, 6.5 mile dst, cagers seem trained! why does no one else do this (bicycle commute) in s nj?

Nice ride both ways, picked up a goodie bag and a banana at the Bike to Work energizer station. i hope to see some of these new commuters next week. caloso, did you ride with those representatives from Antioch?

and the theme of today's day was . . . vermin. extremely strange.

first thing that happened was that once i brought my bike out the door and turned back to lock it behind me, Something flung itself at my helmet, landed, and hung on tight. something sizeable enough to make me yelp. it was a pigeon. i mean, what? then it fell off, flopped around in the door jamb for a bit, hauled itself up and vanished into somewhere else, pursued by a crow.

second thing was the lovely discovery i made while in the shower. i believe i've picked up athlete's foot. bleh, sigh, and a detour around to the drugstore on the way home for the absorbine stuff. and god damn it, i guess this means shower shoes from here in.

very nice rides both ways though, aside from that.

Bugs and kids...
 

I was riding down the Manhattan side of the Manhattan bridge yesterday afternoon, doing about 25mph, when two bugs hit me in the face. I just saw these two dots, one about an inch or so higher than the other slam into my face. I was more stunned than anything else, I was just hoping it wasn't bird poop.


My mom watches my kids on Thursdays and I had to meet them at the doctors office for an appt in the afternoon. They were sitting under a bus shelter and saw me ride up from about a block away, and the kids were trying to bust out of the stroller yelling "BIKE, BIKE, BIKE!!!"

Moist commute this morning. ~50F. No rain, but the trail is damp. Big TStorms rolled through last night. I stayed up too late last night and had no energy so I just kept it in a lower gear and toddled along at 13-15MPH.

Supposed to rain later today. Usually I'm not bothered by rain but this weather is starting to bug even me! :mad:

63° and still. It's gonna be HOT this afternoon.
I'm hoping for a tailwind on the way home. A man can dream...

Cool this morning, but nice and dry. Trike time! Hopefully, it will be rain-worthy soon: I picked up an old steel fender on Freecycle and I hope to use it on the rear wheel. It'll need some steel wool and a few coats of black high-gloss, but it should work well.

Nearly 2nd crash in two weeks...this time in the rain :eek:

Riding through the second most dangerous part of my commute, Kendall SQ., where I turn on both beams. I really don't even know why I bother turning on my lights as peds are compelled to look opposite the traffic, usually yaking away with the person to their left. Today some guy steps out in front of me because he's 30 seconds late for work. I veer to my left to go in back of him. Well of course he stepped back so now I'm screwed because the road is wet and slick as shyte.

I hit the brake, the rear wheel locks, I go into a slide, my right foot unclicked and then my left. My left hand goes out to break my fall only to land on the tail of a pickup truck, I'm stopped 180° from the direction of travel facing oncoming traffic :mad:.

No point in venting I guess, fresh idiots are born everyday.

Beat the rain home last night and had a new record time in getting home, just 19.11 minutes with an average of just over 20mph :) Storms rolled through in the evening but luckily no hail this time (had marble sized hail last weekend). Ride in this morning was great again. This couldn't have been a better week for Bike To Work Week around here. Temps in the 50s again with the sun rising and a slight tail wind. Saw a biker this morning and a couple last night on the way home. There was a spot in Durham where they are giving out free breakfast to bike commuters. I wish they had something like that in Cary since it is deemed a bike friendly community until 2007 or 8.

Great ride this morning. Whatever was bothering me yesterday went away, and it was free breakfast day as part of Albuquerque's Bike to Work week. I went a bit out of my way to stop at the nearest station, met some people, entered the drawing, had a bagel and some juice, and picked up a free patch/lever kit and a really bright dork band. I was amazed at how many other commuters there were.

I didn't see any bike commuters on the ride in today. I did catch up to a courier though. An older guy, he's been doing it for years - I remember him from the 90's. There are a few stalwarts who are actual professionals - they are couriers by choice. They don't seem to take many unnecessary risks while riding, in contrast to the summer couriers who are all over the place.

Have a good weekend everyone! :)

Great ride on Bike to Work Day. Perfect weather. :beer:
I rode with the Bike Train from Decatur to downtown Atlanta. Had about 15 riders.

BTW: GTcommuter and Map tester. Sorry you got stuck with a PowerBar. :o They broke out the bagels and muffins about 5 minutes after you left. I ate a bagel in recognition of you two biking to work today. ;)

I hardly ever see bike commuters untill I get near the college campus. My commute today was great. The usual gail force wind pushed me all the way into work, the wind always makes me feel super strong or like I lost 50 pounds :) The air temp was just enough to wear a light jacket and start off cold and finish up nice and warm.

awesome today
 

faannntastic! TGIF!!! :)

Ride to work was good today. I am a bit tired because I didn't go to bed early enough last night so I was a bit slower today. It is going to rain on the way home, I am excited first rain ride. Going to go buy something waterproofish on my lunch break.

have a good weekend