I had my stuff all ready to go so I could slip out at 6 and get some real miles in, but life got in the way. I did manage to get out on the road by 7:10. Weather was cool (48F/9C) and I was pretty comfortable in a silk undershirt, l/s jersey, bibs, kneewarmers, and rag gloves. And I thought I looked pretty sharp because for once my jersey and bibs matched. But when I walked into the office, the receptionist was talking to one of typists and they giggled and one of them said, "Nice outfit!" And the other one said, "Shh! He's a cyclist, duh!"

Woohoo, just beat the rain! But now I have to walk through it to get my coffee.

I beat it going in, but no such luck going home. It was pretty brutal, and by the end (22 miles) , I could feel the water in my shoes sloshing around. It's 40-45 degrees, so I'm still trying to warm back up.....

Good AM commute. A slight breeze combined with being tired due to it being day #3 of the commute week made it a bit tiresome.

The way home was a tad annoying. Is everyone insane?! Does the impending holiday turn 3/4 of every motorist into a raging lunatic?
Motorists rarely buzz me in my suburb. In the space of 1 minute I was buzzed by no less than 4 motorists and the street was a wide 6 lane street with minimal traffic. This irritated the heck out of me and I took the lane. A few minutes later I decided I was not in the mood to deal with this crap and took a residential street.

It was a little hard and brisk for me this morning also. We might have passed on the WO&D. When it's below 45F I mostly see other commuters.
I saw my first fox near Reston - a pedestrian coming the other way threw a rock at it.

I have to admit that I didn't commute the past couple of days. Sustained winds of 20+mph with gusts over 35mph just didn't appeal to me, especially combined with a cold rain.

Beautiful ride back in... but I wanted to hit the LBS after work and they closed at 5. DRAT!

I was hoping to pick up a second bottle cage (I love having 2 sets of cage eyelets) and another spare tube. Tomorrow I'm going on a longer ride than I've been in many years. I'm going to my parents place for thanksgiving. they're about 20 miles away. I know it doesn't seem like far for many of you, but it's been 11 years since I've gone 20 miles in a single run without stopping.

livewire, that sucks. hope everything turns out to be fine.

'twas nice this morning. i put on the booties at first, but then took them off before i set out because they make your feet so warm you don't want to be wearing them unless they're actually keeping rain off. took them with me though, just in case. turned out to be two right decisions in a single day. when i started dressing for home we got another of those sudden, slashing rainstorms that seem to have been so common this month. probably the most unpleasant weather so far this year; gutters all running an inch deep and a couple feet wide, car headlights picking up mostly falling/bouncing raindrops, etc . . . with a headwind. wasn't that bad, actually. having a wool balaclava under the helmet makes a lot of difference, and the way the traffic behaviour changed made it all seem kind of like an adventure or a holiday.

Spoken like a true commuter! No wonder people call us BIKE NUTS!

Hope you and your ride are both OK.

Not today, but Tuesday, I turned my 4.4km trip into a 27.5km with a 9km climb. Cold, dark, and very windy.

Good news is my new L&M Arc rules!

http://sportcrazy.net/cycling/taking-the-long-cut-home/

I'm dog and house sitting for a friend for a week (starting yesterday night, I rode to her house after work) so I have use of her SUV. I don't own a car so it's kind of novel to have one sitting in the driveway outside the house. Tempting me to drive to work instead of cycling. lol. Before I went to bed last night I looked at my bike map and figured out the best route to take from her house to work. The route I took yesterday night was not ideal, but I went that way because I wanted to get there quickly while it was still light out. The drivers were all very courteous, and passed nicely using the open lane next to me (four lane road with a median down the middle, not much traffic), except for one a-hole in a white pickup who felt it was his duty to lay on the horn and buzz me way too close going way over the speed limit... but then I was, you know, blocking his road and riding in his lane.

The ride in this morning was nice. Everything was super frosty, which is always very pretty. Especially since the sun was coming up and making it all sparkle.

It was nice this morning to ride into work. It was quiet. I could actually hear the hum of the tread on the pavement. The air was clear and crisp with no traffic on the road. Normally my commute is choked with traffic and there is a haze from the exhaust of vehicles on the road. But not this morning. I actually took a longer route this morning than I usually do. It was a good chance to get out and test myself. It was however difficult to pull myself out of bed this morning. It was warm laying next to my wife and cat. I knew it would be rather chilly this morning as well. But I feel better knowing that I did. It helps to know that I wont have to worry about the lethargy that sets in after eating turkey and dressing. My thanksgiving consists of Ramen noodles and a power bar this year. Ah the joys of working in the healthcare industry.

Eek livewire, glad you were able to carry on :)

I didn't commute this morning, I'd bonked before I even got up this morning, so tired - coupled with a need for the washroom and a coughing youngster I didn't get much sleep after 5:45am.

Must discipline myself to eat and sleep better/longer! Going to bed at midnight just after eating is NOT a good practice :|
Rest Day #2 for Nov.

We got more snow overnight. Fluffy, light, non-compacting snow that covered up the layer of ice from Tuesday. I bailed trying to stop myself from sliding into the gutter. Sigh. My hands got colder than I thought they would, but my feet were not bad. They got cool, but not frozen. I'm going to drop my tire pressure for the ride home, as I just wasn't gettting enough traction.

yesterday's commute was intense!
job site relocated, distance for me went from 3.2 miles each way to 11.1 - 12.5 miles each way). with "daylight savings" , the rides to/from need lightsets.
last night on return home with holiday drivers seemed amped to get home, i returned home commute in total rain (dark). they call that weather here a "Nor-Easter". one of my side flashers failed, but booties and gore-tex suit held! there were a few times i enjoyed riding in the dark, cold, rain (with traffic) but there were times when i questioned my sanity (as i'm sure drivers did too). as water filled the pot holes that i could not see, i tryed to reposition lites, but almost were useless for me seeing compared to the driver lites in my eyes.
it felt really good to be home!
happy thanks giving bf!
tomg

it's just going to get uglier out there. -29C for Monday as a low.

Low of 2'C in morn. Sunny and fine all day, 8'C. Soon as sun goes down temp plummets. Still nice riding weather. No rain for past week or so. Snow and real cold temps forecast for next week. Am putting my knobbies back on this weekend.

LOL. today was another one of those days. pretty stereotypical november weather: everything everywhere a study in monochrome shades of grey like some piece of very high-class minimalist painterly art. wind winding, rain raining, cars throwing up fog-belts of spray, about 4 celsius . . . it's the kind of weather that makes every onlooker without exception shudder with pity/horror, but in fact they're thinking of it from a pedestrian's perspective. if you're properly dressed and moving at least adequately it's not only not miserable; it's kind of cosy feeling.

so i'm just coming up to the top of the bridge in that state, with very limited vision because of rain all over my glasses - doesn't matter much on the mup - and i start to notice my bike seems to be giving off this . . . plinking noise. something not quite a twang and not really a click, repeatedly. the cause had already started dawning on me by the time i could see the hard evidence. i was being hailed on.

only for about 30 metres at the top of the bridge, then again for another few hundred a short way off the bridge, but that just made it seem all the cooler, somehow. by the time i was back down at street level and then getting started at work and looking at all these people who hadn't been hailed on that day, it was like a little mystery magic that had only happened to me. and then the ride home was clear and calm and dry, about the same temperature but without the ice confetti.

i'm being so cheerful about this year of winter riding, i'm even starting to make myself kind of sick.

It was definitely more gruesome today, temperature-wise: -18C, but -25C with the windchill. I know that's not much by SK standards, but for me, that's plenty. The new shoes are holding up okay, although I need a new sock arrangement, as the layering isn't working very well. Same thing with the mittens. The good thing about the colder temps is that the snow is packing hard, and isn't as sloppy. This means enhanced traction and faster riding. Due to the way the lights are synchronized, I'm only losing about 3 minutes compared to dry riding on skinny tires.

A couple days late, but my Tues commute was amazing. It was chilly (for VA) but the sun was out, and as I pulled up at the office, I just felt full of energy and life! Let out a brief "primal scream," =) then went inside to my desk. =(

anyone get that feeling some mornings...esp the chilly ones?

Were you going in towards DC, or back out towards Reston in the AM? I saw a couple cyclists headed out while I was riding in. Also saw a rider on a bike with fenders (unusual in this area, at least on the W&OD), and passed a guy on a nice Bianchi (I gave him lots of clearance and dinged the bell before passing, but I didn't give enough warning before turning off of the Custis trail to cross 66 - Thought he was further back.)

I just got back in town from Thanksgiving, and will probably ride in the morning. The new bike is over at UPS in Chantilly, so I might call and see if I can pick it up....

today i rode not
except for critical mass
i took the day off

I probably pass you guys in the morn. I have the opposite commute, Falls Church to Herndon all on the WO&D. Black Fixie, orange courier bag.

Hmmm... lessee this morning. Day 6 of the 8 day holdiay stretch. Legs are getting tired with no rest in between. I have been taking longer routes in the mornings because of the absence of morning traffic. So far for this week alone I am up to 76 miles in 1 week. Should be a pretty good rest day come tuesday. The weather was unusually warm for the morning. I think about low 60's today. Still, I tried out my new shoes and tights this morning. Changed the position on my shoes from the old ones. Now it feels like I am clipping in more on the ball of my foot as opposed to a couple cm behind it. It feels better but my arches and hammies burn after my uphill climbs. All in all I came to the realization that I need to get stronger in my legs if I am going to be able to keep doing this on a daily basis.

Beautiful morning commute in Michigan
 

First commute in about five weeks; the temp was a beautiful 47 degrees (Farenheit) at 4:00 am -- which is about 15 degrees above normal for late November in Michigan. 20.57 miles in 1 hour 35 minutes. About five minutes slower than usual.

Outstanding! So was it that cold today? It was a balmy 44F / 7C in Vermont this morning. :rolleyes:

I was "home" for Thanksgiving and my sister's coughing kid gave me a head cold. :mad: What is it with kids and diseases? They're walking biohazards. Al Qaeda has nothing on your average 5 year-old. It just kicked in yesterday with a sore throat and now I'm sniffly. Battling it with vitamins, assorted pharmaceuticals, and cycling. Hoping it doesn't get any worse. I rode to work anyway but kept it very relaxed. Almost got caught by a roadie but I made my turn off the MUP before he got me. :o

We've been having above normal weather for this time of year...not that I'm complaining. It was a pleasant 45 or so on the ride in, with a slight drizzle after I got a couple of miles under my belt. Didn't bother me too much, though it does remind me that I need to put the visor on my helmet (stupid glasses getting wet).

Nice to be on the bike after being out of town without it for Thanksgiving.

Awesome ride in. I haven't commuted since last wednesday (although I did plenty of riding over the long weekend) so it was fun to get back into the groove. I really need to work off the turkey this week.

Was out of town for the last two weeks so no commuting for me until today. Legs felt fresh which was good cuz I was carrying a heavier than normal load and one of the brake pads is dragging on the rim. Not too much, but enough to make noise and stop the wheel when it spins freely. The ride in was fine and the cagers mostly behaved themselves, but I did notice a couple newly dug potholes that caused some interesting bunny hop attempts while surrounded by traffic.

Slightly OT, but this past weekend, I had to walk up 13 flights of stairs w/ my wife and another couple that we didn't know due to a power outage. While my wife didn't complain, she's not a regular cyclist so her legs were really tired. As for the other couple, the man complained the whole way while his female companion complained that her legs were tired from her previous night's spinning class and that's why she was going so slow. I almost blurted out that I had ridden my fixie 20 miles the day before, but chose to just keep on climbing. After we reached our floor, I told my wife my legs felt fine and I could keep on climbing stairs. She scowled and berated me for not carrying her up the stairs if my legs felt that good.