Rode the single speed in today for the first time. Loved it!! Only problem was dealing with the swinging mess bag. I have a rack on order, but couldn't wait to ride the new bike in, so the bag was required. Nothing like a new bike to rejuvenate your desire to commute. I have a feeling once I put the rack and fenders on my SS that the geared Cannondale will be feeling very neglected...

Nice ride today. Two more days pulling the trailer then schedule shift and I think i get 3 wks off.

I'm jamming a borrowed vacuum-sealer into my pannier for trip home today.

Another cool morning ride in. Nothing out of the ordinary though. Passed a few cyclists on my way home last night and got a couple of waves.

Yes, although it is only August; the past two mornings have asked for a top layer that I could shed for my return trip home.

Doing a 20 mile commute one-way thru the suburbs of the Twin Cities - allows me to come into work refreshed and get home without fighting some ugly traffic. Requires an additional 20 minutes of commute time; but I sure feel better for it.

But I am not ready to add a shell or arm warmers in August. 56degrees this morning at 6:30 AM but it will be low 80s on the return trip. That will be great!

Cool. So cool that for a few minutes, I was wishing I had my gloves.

It's definitely cooling off here. I'm wearing a jacket in the morning. I'll probably go to the long cycling pants and start wearing gloves in a week or two. Then the balaclava. Then the sweatshirt. Then the winter coat, hiking boots and ski mittens. C'mon winter - I'm ready for you!

Encountered a pair of urban coyotes this morning. Wo w, they had no fear of me. Bell ringing, shouting didn't scare them off the trail. They weren't agressive but there sure wasn't any timidity.

It was cooler this morning than yesterday morning. I mentioned to my commuter cow-orker that I'm going to have to break out the arm and leg warmers if this continues. Apparently, the mere mention of 'leg warmers' conjured up an image of 'Flash Dance.' Whatever.

The ride home was warm, but also cooler than yesterday. The wind was gusty and shifting, so I had occasional head winds to deal with. Only one goofball driver today; a guy and his buddy in a beat up old pick truck who found it necessary to inform me that I need to buy a car. I thanked them graciously and continued on. What a hoot.

On the planning side, I've got quite a 'shopping cart' going over at Performance for wet/winter gear. I think I'm going to keep on commuting.

I started commuting in the Fall of last year when it was cooler and wouldn't be such a sweatfest. Commuted through winter w/ nary a hiccup. It's easier than it seems.

I'm working second shift today. Got chased by four dogs on the way in. The first two were a couple of ankle biters who tried to be 'stealth' and took after me without barking. I heard tags jingling and little claws clicking on the pavement and I left them in my dust. The little buggers had heart though; they chased me for half a block! The third dog was just making sure I stayed on the street and out of his yard. The fourth dog actually caught me - and passed me! He was in the passenger side of a car hanging out the window and barking his fool head off. He also barked at a pedestrian farther down the street. That dog appeared to be enjoying himself immensely, which made me smile, but then I was sad when I thought about a society so lazy that even the dogs are driven around in cars so they can chase bicycles. Speaking of cars, I saw two of them try to use the same lane - which resulted in screaching tires and crumpled metal. Drivers were okay but the cars didn't look so good.

No problems rolling in today. Pretty dull, actually...

Great ride to work today. It was really fast and hardly any traffic on the road. I also had a good day at work. Basically all summer I've been able to commute 5 days a week. I hope I can keep it up. Have a good night.

A great and beautiful ride home this evening. Stopped by for a happy hour with some friends -- two lawyers and a doctor. I tried to make them pay for my beer, but they threatened to cut me and then sue me. But missed the thunder sitting in the bar and ended up riding home through a delightful drizzle. It was really refreshing and just the right time of day. Really a joy...and to think that my good friends made fun of me for riding "on a day like today."

I went in at 5 AM. It was a little chilly, I'm glad my wife bought me that hi viz jacket. Ride home was fast and against the wind. Resistance training.

Ran into coworker on way home, I pedalled at her pace for a change, 8-12 mph. Very soothing!

I met a biker heading my way and rode sort of together for mile and half. Met up with a third biker and went another 1/4 mile as a group before I had to turn off. First time I met any bikers going my way and two at the same time. How cool is that?

Watch out, in NYC that might be considered a parade.

today was my first ride in to work with my new clipless pedals.
got here 5 minutes earlier than usual. but maybe it was just that there was no wind...
nice ride.

Chilly this morning, it keeps reminding me I need to look into winter clothing for biking. It wasn't bad otherwise, I did see two other bike commuters in the distance (going directions I wasn't going). That's more then I've seen in...well, probably two months

Got the green light and a clear intersection coming down a hill this morning - 31 MPH through the intersection, WHEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! As I pulled into work and was locking up, a co-worker walking in from the parking lot told me she had passed me a few miles back, yet here we were walking through the door at about the same time, so she complimented me on how fast I could ride. (Actually I generally cruise between 15 and 20, not exactly racing speeds, but traffic lights can be great equalizers, and catching that one this morning helped!)

Mr H: For winter clothing, you should concentrate mostly on your feet, hands, and face. I've found that long undies or extra shirts are really unnecessary once you get warmed up, except maybe in the most extreme temperatures, such as below 0 Farenheit. I wear a headband under my helmet (I know a balaclava would fit better, but I've never bothered to get one), mittens over glove liners (poor circulation, you might do okay with gloves), and boots, along with my work slacks and shirt with a thin long-sleeved flourescent jacket. If it's extreme, I wear a full face mask instead of the headband.

Well I didn't ride this morning, but I did walk 2.5 miles to the bus. Meeting people after work for some running and beer drinking. Mostly beer drinking. Getting a ride home with wife.

But... My walk to the bus is on a section of MUP, and I got passed by 4 commuters (not in a pack.) Nice to see.

Weather was really strange this morning.. numbers at the house were 58f and80% humidity. There was a line across the sky... to my right was overcast and drizzily, to my left was crystal blue sky and sunshine. So my ride was half and half.

Cars were pretty well behaved except for a narrow 4 lane area that's on an 3/4 mile uphill grind. I'm seriously considering riding the sidewalk in that stretch. There are no buildings, dirveways or other issues as it's in an undeveloped area. The cars just go too fast and it's too narrow to ride the street there. Tailgating drivers don't see me until it's too late I think.

Started raining when I was about 1.5 miles from home last night. Kinda nice. When I was about two blocks from home, riding on a wide share-able road there were two @$$holes following me, afraid to pass a cyclist, even though they had LOTS of room to pass. As I approached my street to turn left I realized that the SUV behind me -- and I mean RIGHT BEHIND ME -- was too close for me to signal and move out into the middle of the lane to make my left turn. I had to pull over and stop so these unenlightened @$$holes could pass me. Then I was able to make my turn.

When are Atlanta's testa del dick motorists going to learn how to drive? Anyone driving anything larger than a Yugo thinks they're in an 18-wheeler pulling a double trailer.



The ride this morning was pleasant. Fifth day of cloudy, overcast skies and very humid.

The warmth and humidity are back so I had a sweaty ride in this morning. Had a headwind last night on the way home and another this morning. Getting windy around here the past week or so.