rando

it was great until I got to my driveway. then all hell broke loose. I was trying to work the garage door opener with my right hand and steering with my left but the garage door wasn't opening fast enough for the speed I was going. I was going to slam into the door. so I braked. with my left hand. that's the front wheel, right? I grabbed it too hard and went flying off the bike. next thing I know, I make contact with the cement with my face and my forearm. ten stitches on my nose and some road rash. the bike is fine, I wasn't really going that fast. I wish I had a film of how I fell, and a better story. Stupid.

noisebeam

Glad to hear all is well though, unless of course your neighbor witnessed this!

Al

buzzman

You know there's a Landry's on Comm Ave now- not too far from the BU Bridge and at Comm Ave and Amory is the Ski Market or something and they have bike stuff and that's even closer, but you don't specify the time so maybe they were closed.

Funny, I loaned my pump to a rider yesterday (he was all decked out in pro-kit on a super bike- but no bike pump?!) and was surprised how many people just don't carry one- odd thing was I'd forgotten mine and then realized it and did the- "you never know" and took the time to head back and get it. Glad I did.

rando

LOL... Thanks, Al, I don't think so but you never know! four months of commuting and my first accident is in my driveway! jeez.

Allen

Hot...Crazy hot....98 degrees with 83% humidity hot. Sweat just makes you wet, and sticky, and burns your eyes with that kind of humidity.
--A

NM-NewRoadie

I'll get the recipes up soon, she found them online I think they are very tasty, and looked fairly easy to make. (just mix up and bake!)

It's hot again today, 94 degrees right now, the saving grace is only 6% humidity :-) gotta love the desert region for some things!

Everyone have a safe ride home, I'm off for more cake and ice cream tonight, oh, and bowling, it's league night.

AD-SLE

105 heat index in Memphis. 91 on the ride home. UGH!!!!! New sighting. A very nice BMW 740 delivering PIZZA!!! Now I know I have seen everything! That ugly plastic pizza sign stuck on top with wire through the window! I looked and looked but yup, some kid driving Dad's nice shiney new 740 to deliver ZA! Give me a break! At least he could have stopped at my house

jyossarian

They say most accidents occur within 5 min. of home. Glad to hear your bike's ok. And you too I guess.

So my commute home was nothing to write home about. Talked to one of the other bike commuters in my building about my bike. He seemed to like it enough that he was considering getting his own. His bike's no slouch either, but his fixie friends must be putting the bug in his ear about it.

After I got home, I spent 2+ hrs. looking for a parking spot for my car. Alternate side of the street parking is a great way to keep the streets clean and the air polluted.

jyossarian

I'd congratulate you, but if you can ride 36 miles one way on your first commute, you're obviously a seasoned rider. Congratulations anyways and welcome to the HHCMF!

.:Jimbo:.

first and only major crash of my own was just a mere three blocks from my house. Happened after i got on my bike, forgot i had just got a track cog and installed it, rode down the block, tried to coast, but instead the pedals just lauched me up and off the bike.

Anyways, i had an interesting day, saw the new cannon capo, saw this huge running event in cp, that realy messed up the flow of cp, saw some guy do a stopie, on his second one on the nec]xt light the rear wheel came down and boom, his tire popped. Drank alot of coke today, so was feeling gassy, so i farted in a taxi that passed me on my right, and cut acroos to make a left, and then a few minutes later in a doble parked car, Ah it was a fun day......

jyossarian

Yeah, what was that running event? I couldn't cut through the park b/c of it.

.:Jimbo:.

No idea, but it was massive, and sponsored by morgan chase. Mangaged to snap a pic-

jeff-o

A great ride today, I got to see my new hero:

There is a jogger that I sometimes pass. He's got white hair, is at least 70, and wears a royal blue t-shirt with a fluorescent green cap. He runs carrying a CANE, every morning, even in the winter. He thinks my trike is the best thing ever; today he commented that "it's a dandy!" Indeed my friend, it is. I want to be like him when I grow up. Then I will be happy.

Big Ron

A fine ride in this AM. Was clear and ~70F, quite humid. Supposed to get up to 95 today with heat index of 105 or so. Should be a pretty sweaty ride even if I take it easy.

vtjim

Yeah, he should move.

I beat the rain this morning. Nice ride. Cool air and low humidity. Nagging headwind though. I pushed through it okay. Several cyclists out this morning, all heading the other way. Stayed up way too late last night. Just tired is all.

FormerBMX'er

Lots of commuters out this morning so I had to play Leap Frog over them when gaps in traffic occured.

* jack *

Yup... it's officially HOT.

jyossarian

Not too hot, but the humidity makes up for it. Was nice and sweaty when I pulled up in front of my building and shooed a couple of limo drivers away from the bike hitching post they so conveniently parked directly in front of. Locked up on the street side leaving about 10-12" of room between my bike and the limo's passenger door. Limo drivers always park in front of the hitching post. You'd think they'd learn they're making it harder for their passenger to get in, but no, they continue to park there.

Oh yeah, the ride itself was like zig zagging squeezefest. Zigzag around slow moving traffic to find the "lanes", then squeeze through them to move forward.

WhiteRabbit

Clear and fast. I left home a little early this morning and was realy suprised at how much of a difference it made.

NM-NewRoadie

That's awesome! I too love seeing super active old guys! That rules that he runs carrying his cane. Gives me hope! I recently did the Albuquerque century and rode with a guy of indeterminate age (but I’d guess he was no less than 65, and probably closer to 70) and he was a maniac! He pulled us for almost 20 miles and pretty much wouldn't let anyone else work. I wasn't complaining too much (not a proud rider here!) and THEN! at the base of "9 mile hill" one of the biggest hills in the ride, HE ATTACKED! He dropped me and half the pack, AND was ripping past guys a third of his age, on much “fancier” bikes, and who LOOKED like they were in great shape. It was very impressive.

pinkrobe

Speaking of older folk, this morning I stopped and waited for what appeared to be a really old granny cautiously walking across the road. When she saw I was waiting for her, she gave me a smile and a wave and broke into a fast run! I hope I'm like that when I get older - I can't run at all 'cause of my knees.

Other than the senior, the ride was no less/more dicey than usual.

Alox

I normally commute through an industrial area to get to my office. This industrial area includes a concrete plant, and often while I'm riding along, I'll have to wait at a stop sign for a concrete truck to pass through the intersection. Not normally a big deal, but this morning, I heard one of the big rigs gear up while I approached the stop sign, and as it rumbled past, I was shocked to smell POT SMOKE wafting down from the cab.

Now I've puffed my share in the past (so I know what pot smells like), and this is Vancouver, so pot attitudes are pretty lax, but this really scared the hell out of me - to know that some guy is out there threading 20 tons of steel and concrete through the streets of the city, potentially oblivious to other people, cars or cyclists!

Should I call the cops? Should I call the company? I have no way of identifying the driver, other than the time and place where I witnessed the event.

mozul

I'd call the company. Tell them the time and place. They should be able to figure out the driver.

RonH

Last night's commute sucked big time. I was riding in the bike lane on the college campus I ride through. As I approached the next street for a right turn, several of the cagers must have seen me coming from behind them (and got pissed 'cause I was moving and they weren't) and moved over into the bike lane. A$$holes. I slowed and got by them. As I moved out of the bike lane to the middle of the lane and made my turn, another @$$hole came up from behind me and pulled to the right. I saw him moving over toward me and moved to the right. He kept coming toward me so I moved farther to the right. By the time he was passed me I was inches from the curb. I yelled and he slowed, looked in his mirror, and pulled father to the right. Gave me the one finger salute and took off. By the time I was able to maneuver back toward the middle of the lane and get moving again he was too far down the road to get a good look at his license. I got most of the numbers but the letters were hard to make out. Was it WRF or WRK?
He parks in the parking deck that I had just passed so I may stop by there tomorrow morning and wander around until I find a white Ford Expedition with the matching license.

In the meantine I've gotta buy one of those handlebar mounted rocket launchers.

I think yesterday's hot weather (94F) had everyone in the "I'm hot so get the F out of my way" mode.


The ride this morning was great. Saw two new commuters walking their x-mart bikes up a hill. I hope they'll be able to ride up the hill soon. The company would be nice.

Itsjustb

Two things to report today.

A few days ago a car craaaaaawls past me. It couldn't have been going more than 1 mph faster than I was--and considering I'm going uphill near the end of my ride, that's not fast. I look over to see who would pass me going that slow, and it's a Driver's Ed car. The driver is an Indian/Pakistani woman, instructor looks to be of the same ethnicity. The thing is, not only is she going super sloooow, but passes with MUCH less than a foot of room.

I caught them at the light at the top of the hill. She had the window down, so I yelled over, "You're supposed to give me 3 feet" and held my hands about 3 feet apart. Both driver and instructor nod at me with big smiles that clearly indicate they don't understand English. Sigh. Never mind.

Second item. My wife informed me yesterday that she's pregnant with our first child.