Every morning this week it has been getting warmer and wetter. I am glad this will be the last "hot" day because I enjoy the colder weather. I had to stop at the bank to make a deposit which added about half a mile to my commute and put me on some busier roads. Also had a woman pass me in a 25mph zone while I was going at least 23 or 24.

I had to drive the car today because of a meeting out in Loudoun (I couldn't talk my coworker into riding the 30+ miles out the W&OD to the meeting). I enjoyed watching at least half a dozen bike commuters pass me while I was sitting in traffic on the George Washington Parkway.

23F and headwind today. I swapped my cranks for compact last night, and the 34T granny helped on the big hill with the wind.

I need to figure out what to do with my toes, especially in the wind. I wore wool socks with zip lock bags and booties, and they are still cooler than I like. My shoes aren't big enough for 2 pairs of socks.

I'd also like to find a balaclava with better ear coverage.

Haven't read/posted here in a while--crazy busy at work the last few weeks. It paid off-I didn't get caught by the lay-off happening in my dept.

Finally got the cyclocomputer working on the commuter. It CAN'T be right. I'm riding an MTB with slicks and a trunk on a rack. My average speed this week has been 15.6mph with a high of 25mph. That seems fast to me. Is it???

A couple of good ones from my commutes this week. Tuesday a driver in a pickup lays on the horn, on a 2-lane each way plus a center turn lane road. He's not even in my lane, and there's no one anywhere around; he did it just be an a$$hole. I wave to let him know I hear him...and then the light in front of us changes to yellow. I speed up a little to catch him at the (now red) light. He runs the red to get away from me before I get there. COWARD!

This morning another pickup nearly hit me. I'm taking the right lane, which is an RTO and ends about 75 yards ahead. I'm going straight, so I need to get over. I check shoulder, see a pickup a good distance back and in the left lane, and signal that I'm moving left. He speeds up, buzzes me (missed by maybe a foot), then gets in the right lane. I figure he's turning right up ahead--I mean, why else buzz me then change lanes, right? No. He now gets back in the straight-thru lane and speeds up again (must have been doing 70 in a 55). I don't need to tell any of you--never used a signal in any of this BS. He's probably the 6th or 7th driver who's done this to me on that stretch of road; I wonder if I should ask the local sheriff to post a car there?

All hail the mighty chinook! Not the salmon, the mass of warm air that flows over the Rockies and causes massive temperature shifts. For example, yesterday morning I rode to work in a windchill-induced -38C, just like on Monday and Tuesday. Today, I rode to work with a gusting warm wind at my back, -1C as the ambient temperature, but it felt like +5C. So sweet!

Thanks guys, I've actually been riding for a bit now...I just haven't been posting. Lately the baby has been going to bed on average at 10:30pm and waking at 3A.M. and again at 8ish so I'm getting pretty good sleep. He's 11 weeks old so it's getting better.

Bumper to bumper traffic on Comm.Ave today which meant I was a lane splitting fool :eek:. A bit damp as well but the raceblades kept the muck off.

Congrats on ducking the blade. And check the tire diameter you input into the comp to make sure it's for your tire size. You can do a roll-out test to get an accurate measurement if you don't trust the chart that came w/ your comp. The speeds you listed are attainable w/ a mtb. I've hit those same speeds on my mtb, usually when there's a tailwind or no wind at all.

This morning's commute was super slow. So much traffic packed tightly together made it hard to filter through. Saw a couple bike cops along the route so I figured I'd play it safe and not run red lights even when the peds were doing so.

When I got to work, the Salvation Army volunteer had set up her donation stand next to the bike rack so I locked up, and donated $1. Hope she watches my bike for me.

-4F on the way in and ofcourse I get my first flat ever! Luckly it appears to be a very slow leak so I just pumped it up and rode it. Will take a better look at it at lunch.

Also fell down on some ice but was going about 3MPH so managed not to hurt myself of bike.

Still had fun!

The LA basin is being scoured by Santa Ana winds. This one's cold (for us) and blowing like h*ll.
My morning commute is dead into the wind. At some points I was in a 39x19 and barely able to grind along.
If the winds don't die before quitting time I'll have a rocket sled ride home!

35F when I left the house at 6am. I forgot to cover my spinach and peas last night so I was glad it didn't get down to the predicted 25F.

I noticed another commuter on L Street this morning: twenty-thirtysomething guy on a neo-retro cruiser. Don't tell the folks in the SS/FG or Roadie forums, but I am glad to see those old styles coming back. They're great for short, flat commutes like here in Sacto.

Rode the MB-3 with the studded Nokians in today and thought it was overkill at first until I hit the frozen hardpack in the streets. Slipped a bit until I took air out of them then they were awesome even when I hit black ice. The bike path was amazingly well plowed so didn't really need them there - still nice to plow through the icey plowed snow banks at the intersections. Saw at least a dozen bike tracks on the paths so there were plenty of other crazies. So cold though that my forehead hurt from even a slight wind. Nice to avoid the car today.

sunny, warm-ish (well, high 30s, warm-ish after earlier in the week). No coat, shorts. Sad to see the snow go, now the knobbies are just bouncy novelties more than functional. Will take a dirt shortcut going home to get a little more use out of them. One viaduct/causeway thingy was still a long sheet of ice (tilted, at that) but otherwise clear sailing.

St Louis. cold, windy, rainy, 30's F. Got soaked this morning. The drive home is forecast to be 20-30's, gusts out of the north up to 30mph, chance of precip 100%.

I relish the comments of co-workers, ". . . ride your bike today?", "you didn't ride your bike today, did you?", "if you need to take off early, don't want you getting banged up", etc. I smile and nod. I lead a boring life. This is the only risk I take. Allow me that.

My work place is on a narrow four lane arterial (no rideable shoulder, must take the lane) with a 50 mph speed limit. There is no left turn lane to enter our driveway, so drivers have to slow or even stop in the left traffic lane to wait for a gap in order to make their turn. Because of this there has been plenty of accidents here. I ride in from the other direction just so I don't have to make this left or be around drivers swerving into the right lane at the last second at high speed.

Anyway, yesterday morning we had another mega wreck at this dangerous location, only this time I was only 30 or 40 feet away from it on my bike, in the short right turn lane preceding the driveway. It was quite exciting to say the least. The econo car that was at a full stop in the left lane was rear ended and pushed into oncoming traffic where it was then hit by a large truck. The initial rear impact lifted the rear end of the little car several feet off the ground and spun it around, tossing it into the trucks path. It was very loud and there was shrapnel flying everywhere. After completing my turn and getting off the main road, I stopped in our driveway for a moment as the drivers all got out and amazingly looked relatively unharmed. Thankfully, besides this short 3/4 mile section of suicide road, the rest of my route is quite pleasant.

As always, be careful out there.

Today was absolutely the perfect day! :D I believe the temp. today was right around 55F the entire day.

Not only was the weather once again lovely, I was able to escape school early. :)

Weather closing in fast. Temps dropping and raining hard. Winds from the north. Forecast has the "S" word for tomorrow. Looks like winter starts on Dec 1st in SW Ontario.

I got my first snow ride on the way home today. It was awesome once I realized I wasn't going to wreck on every turn.

Ride home included a stop off at the dentist. My teeth always feel weird after getting them cleaned. After that, it was stop n go for a few blocks, then a quick ride home.

Cool and rainy on the way to work this morning. Cold with freezing rain on the way home but the roads were fine. Tomorrow is suppose to be worst.

I wimped out this morning. It was 37, I know that is T-shirt weather to some of you in the frozen tundra but here in Socal that is COLD!! BRRRRRRRRRRR. Ran on the treadmill and did weights instead. The ride home was great. After replacing the derailer hanger the bike climbed much better. Took the tough route home. I thought I was slowing down due to age but it turned out to be a problem with the bike.

I was a no-show at work on Monday, due to the fact that I took the neighbor's dog for a walk and the bugger ran away! Other than that, my lovely 16-mile round trip commute is going pretty strong. I just can't stand driving anymore! I get bored out of my mind. I miss the pelicans I see everyday on my bike commute. I miss the morning mist on my face. I miss the reflection of the morning sun on the water. I mkiss warming my frozen fingers on the coffee mug when I get to work...
No kidding - I'm lucky to commute to work via Ballona Bike Path in LA.

unseasonably warm and beautiful today but it felt odd to have summer like temperatures and no leaves on the trees.

a strong westerly wind made the ride in rather quick and easy along the river. The way home was a little gusty in my face but still warm and pleasant.

ice/snow and sub 30 last night. Got the mt bike out. Its great all the comments from co-workers when they ask if ya rode in tonight. My boss told me if i got hit by a car on the way home I was in big trouble. mean croud. 5+" of new snow to look forward to on the way home. big fun!

Here's the situation: Freezing rain last night and this morning with 6+ inches expected today. I'm all excited, thinking about my first day of riding in the snow with my new tires. Been preparing for this for a while.

Then they go and close the university on me. It's a friggin conspiracy.....

St Louis: commute last night: 30's crusty slush. I took the light rail to within 3 miles of home then rode bicycle in the tire tracks home. The tires on my commute bike were most ideal for a 1 inch crusty slush with frosting of snow. Front tire has a square waffle pattern which really dug into it. The only problem I had was both der freezing, unable to shift. Light auto traffic was not moving much faster than me.

8pm last night it started raining on top of the slush. This morning (Fri) 28F and everything is frozen. 400,000 without power in the region. Trees and lines are all iced over and creaking in the gusty wind. Light rail is down. Local streets are pretty icey. I might give it a try. :)

On my way home last night I happened upon a man running with his dog in MY bike lane. I told him that he should be on the sidewalk as I rode very closely by him and he yelled something at me. I ended up getting into a heavy shouting match with lots of profanity with him about who has rights to the bike lane. I then turned around and biked towards him again saying that he better move or I will hit him. I ended up stopping just short to scare him and we had a civilized conversation about why he was in the bike lane. He claimed that running on the asphalt is softer on his knees than running on the concrete sidewalk. Is this true? I find it hard to believe. Anyway, we shook hands and went our separate ways but he will most certainly still be running in the bike lanes.

Groggily awoke
I stumbled to the laptop
To begin working

A night late, but I got a decent sleep last night and rode today. Has been raining on and off a fair amount for 2 days and is still warm here. Wind was blowing hard off the lake, but not such a big deal on my particular route.

Todays ride in a good rainfall taught me a few things:
1) Fleece pants hold a lot more water than you'd think
2) The crappy trainers I wear to ride in are still crappy in the rain. And they let water in.
3) My Goretex jacket is great in the rain and wind.
and finally 4) My gloves are definitely NOT waterproof.

Great ride in, loved every minute of it today. Comments when I got in were of the "Great day for a bike ride eh?" and "You rode in in this?" variety, hehe. :)

29 mins, 14.7 avg. (Fastest time since I've been back, I think! :D)

A rainy, warm morning in our nation's capital today. No big whoop, though traffic in downtown was a little more randy.

Was ill yesterday so I took a sickday. But by early afternoon, I was tired of wallowing in self-pity, so I got on the bike, rode to the office, and then immediately turned around and rode home. Made me feel good to get my commute in, even though I didn't actually go to work.