Major headwind coming home, barely got onto the big ring at all.

Bike Commute #131: My first day back at work and my first commute in. The weather in the Chicago suburbs has been great. But that good weather ended on my way home: rain and 18MPH headwinds for the 11-mile-ride home. It was a struggle, and I arrived home soaked. But I won't soon forget the trip home, which is something I could never say if I'd taken the car!

great day with light wind, 60f on the flatter end of nj!
did get buzzed once on the way in, and once on return trip. for the most part, people who are driving cars/trucks seem to fairly good at this point. there are MANY areas of house cooki-cutter projects in this county though and a close eye(s) will need to be on the structure of supported roads. around here, historically, "planners" have short cuts for roads, traffic lights, etc until there are x # of accidents.
the volume (cars) continues to grow.
see what unfolds!

I hear you. The only thing good about the weather on the way home is that my ride was with the wind. I'll have to throw everything in the dryer if I expect to wear it tomorrow. Felt like I was hydroplaning on the way home. Can you do that on a bike???

;^)

Rain, rain, rain today. Better rain than snow. Classes start on Monday and the students are coming back into town this weekend. Traffic will definitely pick up next week.

still on break. rode into the Museum of Science to see Body worlds II exhibit. wow.

great weather. great ride. unbelievable exhibit.

It's 50 freakin' degrees! :eek: Also a headwind. I got to work feeling half-wilted. I should have worn shorts. The gloves were definitely overkill, too.

I reeled in a guy on an MTB and rode with him (back a few yards) most of the way in. He kept me energized through the headwind. Last night I think someone was trying to reel me in but never got close enough. All I saw was a dark blob in my mirror, far behind.

The warm weather has brought out some silliness amongst the cycling and pedestrian set, I've noticed. Last night it was dusk and some guy wearing a black hoodie pulled over his head enough to obstruct his peripheral vision, head down, yakking on a cell phone, jaywalked in front of me. I went behind him and watched in my mirror as his head snapped right to see what I was.

Immediately after that I was surprised by a ninjacyclist riding against traffic. He, of course, saw me long before I saw him, and hugged the curb on his left (my right.)

This morning I reeled in and passed a guy riding an old beater road bike. Dark clothes. He was sort of "taking his half out of the middle", so to speak, but there was enough room for me to pass safely. I opted not to announce myself. As I was passing, he says to me, "On your left?" :D :rolleyes: I'm sorry dude, but get a mirror and keep right if you're so easily intimidated by people passing you. Sorry if I'm ranting. It just bugged me.

A relatively balmy +6 ot 7 C this morning! Amazing! At this rate I'll be back to a T-shirt and shorts within a week. The ground was wet but no rain... though it is supposed to rain later today. Hopefully I'll miss it.

50 deg F in Bedford, Mass. What happened to winter? I was just beginning to get the knack of snot rockets.

Last night: 40 some degrees and I think a wind speed to match. That hurt...ouch.

This morning: 45, light wind, beautiful.....no snow yet, but I do love the warmth :b

I made some tuneups on my bike last night after discovering a problem with the chain (shakes a fist at the LBS). Ran muuuuch better.

55 degrees this morning and only a mere sprinkle of rain. I wore my shorts today as it's supposed to get up to about 70-I can't believe it. I started to leave without the battery for my light, luckily I remembered and went back to get it. It started to sprinkle a little, no big deal, and felt really balmy. I took it easy but with the (rare) tail wind, got to work in good time. I put the computer back on the back for the New Year and will track every mile for 07-based on my average, I expect to get about 4000 miles for the year (can that be right???). Also, it's another "all ride week" for me, the 6th or 7th in a row (the short weeks help).

wore shorts today, couldn't believe it. Light rain for the 10 mile ride in. If rains stops I'll take the 21 mile route home. I haven't see another bike commuter in 4 months of commuting.

Rode in the light rain this morning with my lights on for safety. I had thought about taking Metro, but after lunch at Five Guys yesterday I needed to get my exercise! Off to a good start this year with all four work days on the bike.

Warm, Wet and Humid, ugh. Temps in the mid 60s in the morning so I wore shorts in. Roads were just wet for the first part of my commute then I hit the mist/light rain before the halfway point. Got a little wet but not soaking wet which was nice. Should be a scorcher for the way home, low 70s and humid.

Humid, damp, 45 degrees, light wind from the South. Very nice ride in. 200 yards from a T intersetion (I have right of way) the Suburban signalling to turn Left in front of me must have thought I was a motorcycle, because they waited the whole time for me to pass. God bless good commuting lights!

Another 5 inches of snow on top of our piles of snow. Had the wife drive me in because the roads were too snowy and icy. At least I for 4 rides in this week.

Cold, clear, and windy: 40F and a 23mph wind equal a windchill of 32F. (Did we get the Great Lakes' weather by mistake?)

Arnie is to be reignaugurated today so there were some traffic diversions near the Capitol. Didn't really affect me except that got to pass more people in the bikelane.

Quick, bikedaddy, edit that to say "wife" and NEVER tell her you (even accidentally!!!) referred to her as the "wide". :eek:

:roflmao: :roflmao:

Yeah the wide is picking me up from work. At that point I will go back to calling her the wife. I value my life.

Too late. You're toast!

Wow did I get caught out in a storm at lunch today. I mean all of a sudden it's raining buckets, so I dive into Moe's eat a burritto and wait out the rain. I arrived back at work only slightly wet.

I literally had to bushwhack my way to work this morning! The wind had blown half of a tree on the bike path so I had to get off and make a hole big enough for me, the bike and the trailer to get through! I did not see a single person on the bike path which made me feel like Xena! Called the public works and reported the tree when I got to work. Hopefully it'll be gone by my night commute.

I rode 4 times this week, with 3 different mileages, for a total of 43 miles. I caught the extra "feeder" bus that took me within a half mile of my work (instead of 5 miles) on two of the days and today my wife is picking me up.

Wednesday, I had 25 mph headwinds on the ride home and decided to take the hilly route, so it felt as if I had a flat tire. What usually takes me 20 minutes took closer to 30. Luckily, the narrow portion of my ride had a tailwind, so I was not chugging uphill with cars whooshing around me.

Lot of rain, lot of wind.

+1 blustery. The sun is setting later and yesterday, it was actually light before 5...but then today...seemed dark at 3:30

Stinging cold rain. I can deal with it fine. It's just getting a bit boring.

non commute today by bike :-( ...
fired honda cx up (battery problems from non use?), felt car to car 'pressure' for following listed speed limits.
go figure...doesn't 35mph speed limit mean "don't exceed 35mph"? i did go to 40 mph in 35mph zones (with pressure) and 55mph in 50mph zones (simular pressure felt, other drivers). i missed the ride.
welcome to the week-end!
tg

about an inch of wet, heavy snow on the ground this morning with great heavy blobs of rain/snow falling, and clearer skies with yet-another-wind-warning tonight. at least it was a tail/crosswind this time. i rode over the bridge and took a bus for the hilly part of the rest because of the crosswind factor. had to come west for the last mile or so from the bus stop, and i met a headwind. my kid came to open the door and asked how the ride had been, given the weather. he thought it was funny when i described how silly you feel pedalling like a demon without apparently moving forward at all. especially when a nice courteous oncoming driver has delayed their left turn so you can go by, and is sitting there watching you approach at the speed of molasses, while you wonder if you should shrug and grin and mime some kind of communication while you both wait for you to go through . . . . i thought it was pretty funny myself but boy i was glad not to have had to fight that all the way home.

the wet snow on the ground this morning was a lot more fun than the chaos of a month ago. it was all grey and gusty and raining more heavy blobs of rain/snow all the way in, but by lucky fluke i'd dressed myself exactly right for it, so it was like a party for me.

Today it was hard as the temp was way into the mid 30's keeping hydrated was a real struggle

heres to a cooler week next week

gotta love the australian summer eh!!!!!