-2°C this morning, plus headwind. On the other hand it was dry and beautifully sunny. This beats rain hands down!

Have a good weekend folks,

Ed

A little cooler than expected this morning, -11 C, 12 F, but no wind, so was an ok ride. I think I set a new winter personal best time for the 22 km, 56 minutes.

Super foggy and cool but not cold. Can't see the buildings more than a block away. Tried to stay off the beaten path because of the bad visibility. Arrived safely. That's as good as can be.

Be seen and be safe!

Great ride. I moved at speeds as if I put the hammer down, but it felt leisurely. It is starting to feel as if the weather is warming up. I felt especially warm once I arrived at work. Maybe monday if conditions are similar I'll drop the arm warmers.

Climbs are getting easier :D

Great ride today. I am having a hard time believing it is January. The temp was mid seventies on the way home. Cool breeze off the ocean kept if very comfortable.

I was on fire today. I blew away my old average speeds home, even with uncooperative lights. Never felt winded, and I flew up the hills I was climbing (at least in relationship to me ;))

Was a good ride today.

Garlic.. I rode in the LA area last weekend. 80 degreees. It was unbelieveable. I dressed for weather I was accustomed to here in the bay area when I left in the morning. By the time I got two miles out, I was down to shorts and my jersey, and still baking. I did get hit by some santa anas that really slowed me down to a crawl, but the cooling effect was nice (as much cool as you can get from a warm breeze)

Today is Saturday, and I had planned a bicycle ride in the morning. At work, we were to test our backup power this morning, and I had decided to ride there. But my emotions were mixed; I needed to ride, to get out and use muscles to relieve the stress from hearing about the Columbia disaster. Having been a part of the Air Force Apollo rescue team that was, and is, always on standby for a space disaster (but without a mission--they went to others), I still have an emotional tie to the Space Program.

Our test went well, we found out some things, and then I rode. My ride allowed my body to expell those stress hormones that accumulate when things like this happen. I rode almost on automatic, seeing the road, but with my mind not there. My thoughts were with the astronauts, the recovery teams combing the huge area, the family members and those close to the Space Program.

I got home just as President Bush was confirming the worst news, which my mind had already told me but my gut refused to recognize, that all seven astronauts had been lost. I watched CNN as I cooled down, seeing the reruns of the video of the breakup, and wondered at how we got there, how we took it so for granted, and at the huge focus on the program now. Why does it take a tragedy to focus our attention? Why doesn't this kind of efforts go into the prevention of problems, and not await the tragedy that needs to be reconsiled? My work is accident prevention; I see the dicotemy all the time. It doesn't lessen my questions.

John

I know what you mean I am just old enough to remember well the challenger disaster as a matter of fact I remember where i was when i heard. this was much the same I was at work and got a msnbc headline update..... The same sinking feeling that I remember from the challenger disaster...I was kind of on edge all night had to go for a ride after work, i judt got on and rode lost in thought, when I finally looked I had covered 11 miles, but can't remember what i saw u know? bikes are a great stress reliever.

Well... update... their starting to find body parts, and helmets. Unfortunately I was told to stay home tonight do to the harsh storm, still coming down as I type. I attempted to go for a ride but the slush quickly consumed my bike. No riding for me until the plows take care of the road. However theses are Minnesota plows so it should be taken care of by tomorow morn. The next time I work is tuesday.

Today was the wettest commute I've had in two years! It's finally decided to rain. Absolutely beautiful! If this continues for another six months or so, we might finally get some relief on this drought.

You have got to be the only person who WANTS wet weather to commute in! :D

However I understand:)

I loved it so much, I didn't even bother with a rain jacket!

Today's ride cancelled due to freezing rain forecast for the ride home. I like ice skating, but not on a bike! (My wife thinks I didn't ride due to the cold I am suffering through - I think I suffer through colds better when riding) Oh well, bus today, bike tomorrow!!

I've been waiting for this day all winter, I left the house this morning the temp. was 34 degrees with no wind, Rode the first 4 miles on black ice so the nokians were quiet. Around mile 5 a flock of geese flew overhead headed north, the first true sign of spring, around mile 8 the sweet smell of skunk filled the air, the second true sign of spring. I think it's on the way, my bike is extremely happy about that, she'll get her spring clean up and worn parts replacement and her and I will be good for another commuting season.

Well today's ride in was full of rain! (see what you did chris L) oh well I just put on thermals under my water/wind shell and rode that way. It was ok untill the wind picked up then my face was pretty cold!

Cold and crystal clear this morning. Decided to take Lance (my Trek 5200) rather than Ray (my normal commuter). I took the long way in this morning so I was facing the sun as it rose over the Sierras this dawn. I passed a mule deer and a turkey hen along the bikeway. I rode through patches of mist along the American River.

So far, it's in first place for Most Beautiful Morning of the Year. :)

This morning was even better. Torrential rain (unfortunately it's stopped now) and headwinds gusting up to 70km/h! I honestly can't think of anything else I'd ask for.

:D :D :D :D :D

Chris, congratulations! It seems like some of our good old Oregon rain finally got to Australia. It is obviously welcome there, all smilie faces, it seems. Hopefully, this will put those fires out.

Here, the daylight is coming earlier, it's getting dark later, and we have some flowers blooming. The rain is still here, with floods last week (2 inches of rain on Friday, 6 inches in 24 hours on the Oregon coast!). But today, it was clear, and cool at 38 degrees F.

My ride was great, and I left early to get to work early and enjoy the shower (work has better showers than I do at home). While wet, it wasn't raining and I didn't get too cold. Coming home was equally nice, if somewhat warmer (about 42 degrees F).

John

Back on the bike today, ride in was interesting - gusty winds of about 25-30 mph, warm temp about +5C, no hat required today (under my helmet). Wind was partial headwind for first half of commute, a helmet lifting tailwind for 2nd half. New best winter time of 54 minutes for 22 km (14miles), wearing work boots! (wore them home by mistake last night, easiest way to carry them on the bike is to wear them!)

Frosty again today, and for the second morning in a row I forgot to put on overshoes. Result - icicles for toes again.

Cheers,

Ed

Cold this morning. Wished I'd worn my micro-Fleece sweats. Anyway, rode the new bike this morning. Slowly getting it adjusted just right for me most of the way in. I think I just about have it right. I had to replace the stem with a shorter one with a little rise in it to get me into a comfortable riding position. Man I can't believe the difference in efficiency in going from my 80's era 12 speed to this new bike (Mercier Corvus). I thoroughly enjoyed the commute. I found myself riding easily at speeds I would have had to work much harder to maintain on the old bike (I'm sure that the smaller tires with more pressure had something to do with that as well though). Anyway, worked great, great ride. This is the first time I have arrived at work cold I think. I was riding easier to humor my knee and didn't work as hard. Can't wait to take it out on a longer ride when the knee gets better.

It was cold. Brrr. (of course everything is relative). In the low 40s. I was very uncomfortable until my third mile.

I added an additional 4 miles to my normal route and about 1500 feet of climbing. (For those local, Mt. Eden Rd and Pierce rd out of Stevens Canyon) It was a good ride, and the weather has beautiful. I think I will try and incorporate this new route in once per week. There is far less traffic, and its a much better workout.

Rain, wind, my legs felt like sh%t and i was running late!!!

AAAAAAAAAAGHR!!! :crash:

Probably" the day after monday day"...

Woo hoo. Got a ride in last night. All the way home (20 miles). Then rode in today (13). Cold today. Brrr. OK, so it was mid-30s, but that's chilly for me !!! Hope to get another ride in Friday morning after b-ball Thursday night. It's a great way to work out the soreness.

OK, a little local Bay Area shop talk ...

<shoptalk>

Sailguy, I know the route well !! It's beautiful back that way. I sometimes go there in the summertime when I extend my commute to a 30-miler. Other times I ride it for fun.

When I work in a hill climb on my commutes I typically do the Bernal Rd climb past the IBM Santa Teresa complex and down through ST Park.

</shoptalk>

Warm this morning, not hot, but warm. The rain seems to have stopped for the moment, although I am hoping for follow up rain later in the week. Headwinds are still there though.

Well, as I was going out the door I looked at the thermometer, and it was 28 degrees F, so I threw on my rain jacket and wore the hood under the helmet. We have a group from church that meets at Starbucks, which I did this morning. I was warm, almost too warm, on the ride, but in starbucks my glasses fogged a bit. Anyway, the coffee and company was great, then I went to work. 'Rode home for lunch with my wife, then back to work (it's only 3.75 miles one-way), and back home in the evening. During the day, I shed most of my clothes, rode with shorts, my fleece sweater, and regular gloves. On the way home, the pants were on over the shorts, but I stowed the jacket. Three different rides, using three different clothing configurations...a good day for riding. My cyclometer went over 2000 miles today, but I cannot remember how many years back that was (probably about 2.5). Oh well...

John

Nice ride home. Calm pace, light traffic. A good follow up to this morning's ride. I didn't feel like I had much energy, but I wasn't too tired either.


Andy, Mt. Eden rd has got to be way out of your normal commute path (at least what I had envisioned).

No free ride this morning, I left the house the temp. was 27 degrees and pushed a 20 to 28 mph headwind all the way to work. My 1 hour commute took 2 hour 20 minutes this morning. It was a good ride as a whole though, I dressed just about right not cold but no sweat, Kept my cadence up in the lower gears and kept about a 12 mph average the entire trip. The sky was clear and it was quite dark, the roads were somewhat cleaned then they have been and a little wider after yesterdays rain.

Yesterday's cold rain widen the roadways some, but left lots of puddles that were ice covered this morning, then the temp dropped all day so there were lots of icy spots on the way home. No owl calls, they should be nesting soon.