Cold.;)

someone at work asked me if i plan to ride through the whole winter. actually, the conversation went something like this:

- generic small talk
- generic small talk
- you have . . . black marks on your neck
- oops. bike lube.
- you rode here today?
- yup
- you're going to ride all winter?
- tell you what. wait till winter's over, then ask me did you ride all winter. i'll have an answer by then.


the rain has arrived. definitely warmer than the last couple of days, but then i went through an unexpected puddle and discovered it's still plenty cold. water in that make-your-bones-ache kind of temperature range that not even wool can help with. i have got to stop riding in runners with open mesh tops.

i did a clever thing. instead of spending an extra 15 minutes post-shower trying to get the tangles out, i combed conditioner into my hair before i left, and braided it up for the ride. much faster transition from shower to desk, but all day i was being distracted by a kind of lingering balsamy smell from - well, i dunno where exactly.

songs: matt mcginn's version of loch lomond,

did the city streets ride to Dorchester this morning then downtown then back to Dorchester then back home for the long commute day (32m)

On the way home tonight I was cutting behind Fenway park and came to a four-way intersection, I had the stop sign, no one else there but me and I look and a cab is coming down the road to my left and we approach the intersection at the same time and as he has no stop sign I begin to slow down and he flashes his lights and waves me through. A CAB waved me through! I don't know how it is where you all live but this is somewhat unheard of here in Boston. I gave him a big thank you salute as I went through the intersection.

cold

No commute today. Decided to rest my legs and get ready for my long weekend ride.

GreenAnvil

Temps around 30F. Okay I broke down and wore full-length lycra on my legs, and gloves. :o Didn't get hot, so it was okay. Interesting wind, alternating from "side" to "tail", at one point pushing my little knobby-tired Trek to 18MPH without me even working at it.

Weird thing: I rounded a bend and there was a big pickup truck on the MUP. It was following a small group of runners, and it had Mississippi plates (this is Vermont). Bizarre. I turned on my L&M 13W headlight and he moved off the pavement to make room for me. I dropped him hard. Heh heh. I passed more runners after that, so I'm assuming it was some sort of support vehicle for a club.

My morning commute resulted in my first "accident" after two years of commuting. I was tooling down a four-lane major thoroughfare at 18 mph and a red truck behind me decided to blow his horn. Then he comes around me in the left lane and immediately gets back in the left lane and makes a right turn. I had to turn with him or plow into the side of his truck. Needless to say, I went down pretty hard on my left-side. After giving the guy a piece of my mind and almost every cuss word I learned in the Corps, I got back on my way and completed my ride. The temps were in the 30's this morning and will be in the 50's for the ride home.

Like most of the others...cold...but nice. I decieded to try my full face baclava (sp?) for the first time ever since I just got it in the mail the other day. I know it's a bit warm for it but I figured it was worth it to see if there were any 'issues' I was going to have to deal with.

It worked nicely, though at stops I have to pull it down and breath through the nose so I don't fog up my glasses. I hope it stretches a tiny bit as it's tight around my specs (I wear'em cause I'd be blind without'em, not for protection)

My boss asked me if I was getting a ski for the front wheel. He laughed when I told him I'd ordered a studded tire yesterday....

:)

Put my bike shoes on
Even though I work at home
Most every Friday

Awesome ride this morning. Warm (40F) and misty, so just shorts and a jacket with decent socks and booties. I got bumped by a car in a crosswalk where the MUP crosses a side street. My fault for crossing, but traffic light was green going my way. Right turn on red drivers never look to the right to see what's there. Virgin no longer.

You know I did exactly the opposite! I hopped on the bike and had trouble clipping in. Then realized I was still in my sandals, not my bike shoes!!

Was running a bit late this morning so traffic was heavier than usual. But the bright sun was very pleasant and I rode at a leisurely pace. Work is hectic and hairy this morning so I'm plotting a ride to lunch to get away from the hassling.

I freaking tired! My legs hurt and my back as well.
My stretching routine is having issues since I switched it to after I get home rather than at work.
That and the colder temps plus having to pick the kid up twice this week tired me out.
This morning's commute was incessant thoughts about how I should back it off a bit and join the rec center to start some strength training. I love tired Fridays. The same thing happens each exhausting week.
It's going to be hard to resist using our new light rail line when it opens in two weeks. Not that decreasing from 45 to 30 miles a day is bad.

I'm riding home in the dark now since Daylight Savings time kicked in. I have a super-bright, 3-led rear light. Coming off a stop, this white sedan slowly cruised by me within say 2 feet. It felt unusually close. 2 lane residential. All the other cars moved over. Then the sedan moved in front of me and into the gutter pan for about 100 feet. It felt like intimidation. Either that or a very very distracted driver.

Ride home was nice, had to take a detour to meet the wife & youngster over at the after-hours clinic (little one has a cough, etc.) so that was a nice opportunity to switch up the route. Once we were done at the clinic, the wife took the subway home (Chester to Main St. for the Torontonians) and I rode from seeing her off - I actually got home 5 seconds later than she did - which was awesome (I took Cosburn after a few side streets north to get there from Chester/Danforth) - really glad I put some more PSI into those tyres that morning, it seemed to help a lot.

Had a cab pull a little craziness on me, heading east on Adelaide, right near Jarvis (I think) - signs posted claimed construction, and I saw the "move over" arrows, so I moved into the next lane (4 lane one way street, I was on the far right going into the 3rd lane from the left) and took it, waiting at the front of the lights. Anyway, turns out the lane didn't really get used up by construction, and the cab wasn't happy with the way I was riding I guess, and stormed past me, overtaking on the right and swerving around to make it back before the concrete barriers around the construction.. nice - no REAL danger, but a bit intimidating.

No snow on the ride home, bonus, and I have to say, reading posts here made me feel a lot more confident about taking the lane - I usually ride fairly VC-like anyway, but that was always something I felt awkward about, as if it was the cars right and not mine. I just move over now as a courtesy when it's safe and appropriate, otherwise, screw them - and honestly, I had NO problems whatsoever. Everyone seemed to respect my signals, let me in, treated me with space while I crossed the 4-lane to get ready for a left turn, etc.

Realised in a very definite way that my lights are totally inadequate for unlit night riding - they're about good enough as a "I'm here!" light, but for sure not enough of a beam or anything to use as a guide.

So.. I sent an e-mail off to my wife to read the Peter White site and price guidelines for the various dynamo hubs/lights he carries.. after all, she has been asking about holiday gift lists.. :D (I'm dreaming, but hey, every little helps!)

Ride in this morning, much the same kinda toughness for me - but much smoother and faster ride, no stopping, no puking (ate breakfast, and made sure it was WELL before I left). No honks or cut-offs, really quiet ride by all means.

I think some people are frightened by the idea of crossing the center line for a second. they like to hug that white line baby. I'll bet your white sedan is one of them.

I've noticed that too. I'd love to stop these drivers and ask them why they are more concerned about a stripe of paint than a fellow human being.

As for my own commute, the streets were wet and the air heavily moist but no rain. I rode the roadie with the RaceBlades so I had to carry my pack on my back. Even though I was just wearing a shirt and sweater, I was pretty much soaked when I got to work. This time of year makes for complicated clothing choices every morning.

Well the cold front rolled in last night and it was back to the low 30s this morning which meant bundling up for the ride in. Had a nice ride in though and made it 4/5 for this week and perfect so far this month. Earlier this week I almost got run over by some high school girls in a bright yellow Hummer H3. I saw them coming up behind me right before a stop sign so I took the lane and they still tried to pass but a car was coming the other way then I saw them swerve back when the car went by. I have been getting up earlier in the mornings so I can ride home while the sun is still up. Only downside is that there are still golfers on the course so I can't cut through on my way home.

So very, very, VERY wet today. So truly Noah's ark-style wet that even though it's typical to see the rain stop when I get to work, I can't believe it actually did. I thought this time was forever...

I am proud of my kid for toughing out the .3 miles to his kindergarten. It hit him enough that he actually let me into the building w/ him to help him shake off and unpack, rather than just waving 'see ya' at the bike rack.

Wet, again. I bounced a bungy loose which caused me to almost lose my load on the way home, and at the same time I broke the strap for my left toe clip. Fortunately that's all that broke, so I have to go get new straps today.

i lock my bike on post

i leave, turn around,

strange man staring at bike

he walk around try not look supspicison

then he waslk near the bike again and look then walk around a little more and kinda looks again

:(

oic and cager turn right into me

cutss right past my bike lane (typical, on right side of road), pushes his car right through pedestrian lane
and does not crush me because he had to stop cause a pedestrian crossing

love hate with pedestrians

rode the bike to three different locations for meetings and work yesterday. beautiful ride home in the cold moonlit sky last night. definitely feeling the hectic schedule and the bike rides but it still feels so good and rejuvenating to ride. I'm racking up the miles.

strike that. re-think it. yesterday i wore the urban-poseur's pseudo-hikers with the high tops instead, and went through a puddle that was fifteen feet long and eight inches deep on the mup. half the puddle got into my boots and then couldn't get out again because of the inch-deep waterproof band between sole and upper. those boots weighed a pound and a half each when i got off the bike.

how wet was it yesterday in the morning? so wet that my goretex overmitts filled up with rain. so wet that i squeezed a cup of water out of my socks without even trying too hard. so wet that by 3pm i could still wring a small stream of water out of the paper towels i was stuffing my boots with all day. folks, it was wet. and can i say something about how stinky that water is? couldn't stop thinking of all the garbage juice and the fashion-slaves who own large dogs and don't clean up after them in the summer. i'm almost afraid i'll catch e.coli from biking to work.

i didn't mind the on-board water that much. i'm all flared up so my bones all have a fever, and it was kind of cooling and pleasant, after the first shock of it. but i'm gonna go get me some waterproof somethings to put on my feet.

Got honked at yesterday while riding in the centre of the left lane on a two-lane road (preparing for a left turn) with the right lane blocked by some right-turners. The honk was short, and I just made the left turn signal in response, which seemed to have stopped any further noise making from the driver. Pretty civilized, actually, I think: for a change I feel good about how I handled a honk (hey, no finger! and my blood didn't even boil :D).

tokolosh wrote... "... i'm gonna go get me some waterproof somethings to put on my feet."

You can put up with a lot of bad weather as long as your feet are dry.

Good idea.

;)

This morning was great! I felt really strong, the cagers were all nice (except one who right hooked me:mad: ), and I really thought about just blowing work off today and keep riding. The temps were almost perfect, the sky was beautiful, and I just really am in a good mood today.

World...Bring it on!

Nice ride this morning, for a Monday. :p 40F, with a manageable headwind. I saw some ducks. That's about it.

Nice ride in, at a cool 48°F. I need to keep a better watch in front of me in traffic: starting to get up to speed coming thru an intersection in a line of cars when traffic suddenly stopped. I applied full brakes and the rear wheel went into a skid, but I held her up and stopped before kissing the car in front of me.:eek:

About 38 with a slight wind this morning....by the time I got going though, I was nice and toasty (no jacket at least). This was just what I needed to fix a terrible weekend (My computer got hosed and I wasted a lot of time 'fixing' it).

This evening it's supposed to be 55-60...gonna love teh ride home :D