Trip home last night was 3 miles of grid lock. I think there was a issue with the signals all green in one area since there were lots ot police directing traffic and multiple accidents in the intersections. I must have passed a thousand cars, just flying by with a big grin. I tried to avoid doing the point and laugh.

This morning was nice and cool... 61f I think it was. Rode in somewhat of a mind fog cuz I was up way too late last night doing nothing important.

It's Friday, my legs are tired, and I considered driving --- but I didn't. :)
The first 4 miles I was wishing for a nice flat road. Then I guess I warmed up cause the rest of the ride wasn't that bad. Waved to a new commuter that I've been seeing nearly every morning or afternoon for several weeks.

Way to go, Ron. Don't give in to the temptation. In fact, I've been in a sour mood all morning because I was forced to drive. I'm going home to get my bike. I'll be back in a few minutes...

The roadie is working commuter still in the garage for repairs. It worked fine till I started cleaning up and taking care of it. The orginal owner dropped by to see how I was doing with the commuter I was like not to good it isnt working before he said to me why did you go through all that trouble it didn't need it before and it probally didn't need it now. Sounded to me like this guy doesn't have a clue about preventitave maintenance but he might be right. I just figured something thirty some years old needs some cleaning? Oh yeah this is a how did your commute go thread not rant to the world thread. THe commute was funn stupid kids going to kill them selves everyone of them wears no helment swerves all over the place goes on the side walk and off the side walk in a unpredictable manner and when you go to public places there are just heaps of x-mart bikes lying every which way. Oh well they are just kids having fun on a bike :) I do like it when I whip past them and they just stare it is kinda funney because they tell me it takes them an hour or two to get somewhere and I tell them it takes me a fraction of that time

double posted- see below

Last night's ride was 105, but with only a ~7mph headwind. I seem to have attracted a scofflaw of mine own, albeit a low-grade one. This 45-ish year old guy rides an old road bike, and blows every light, going through town. I'll sometimes run them in there's no traffic/ nearby witnesses, but I'm pretty circumspect about it. Anyway, I've spoken to him both times I've passed him, without reply.
He hits the trail about the same place as me, too. Tuesday, he got way ahead of me, running the lights I stopped at, and I didn't catch and pass him for a few miles. Last night, I got on the trail before him, but I dunno how far ahead...

At a point where I was coming abreat of two joggers, he decides he needs to pass right now, splitting the trail between the joggers and myself. I stayed just off his wheel and to the left to see if he was gonna maintain the speed he passed with. Given the heat, I wasn't planning to race the guy if he really was going faster than I wanted to. After a few hundred yards, he hawked and spat a big ol' ****er over his left shoulder, narrowly missing me. I don't know if he knew I was there, or if he was thinking he'd dropped me after passing. I went ahead and passed then. He was pretty far back when I tuned off across the river, toward home.


oh, and ~85 degrees at 7am this morning. the clouds of riparian insect life have caused me to start wearing clear glasses for the riverside part of the trail. not quite to the point of wearing the bandito bandana to keep em out of my pipes yet, but I did swallow a few — thought not enough to determine if they taste like chicken...

Not a particularly exciting ride in, but that's a good thing. I am having trouble with fender rub, so I'll have to take care of that this weekend. Fender rub!

For the longest time I wouldn't leave home w/o box wrenches to pull over at a moment's notice and adjust my fenders. I still carry a multitool that is multi enough that it has several box-end wrenches on it. I hate fenders, except I seem to require them.

Nice ride in today. No errands, no kids to drop off, just straight to work.

Out of curiosity, I counted crank revs on the big chainring this morning; 140 revs over 6.5 miles using the 52t ring. Most of the rest was on the 39, w/ some use of the 30 here and there. The number would be different on the way home, so I'll have to check that too, if I remember to.

Happy to report I was in a better mood this morning (and thanks vtjim!). I got some help:

• About a mile from home yesterday a young guy yelled out the car window, "Pedal pedal pedal!". He was around the corner, nothing threatening, and you could tell he was just having a great day.
• Dentist appt. this morning with a new dentist. They had a bike rack in front of their office. Guy who treated me said when the dentist who owns the practice wanted to put in the rack, they all said no one would ever use it. The guy asked me all about commuting and distances, the usual. Felt good.
• No one honked, yelled, cut me off, or did anything else particularly threatening or dumb during the ride today.

I just commuted my 1000th mile for the (calendar) year this morning! :-D
(Although at 22mi/one way that's only 22 round trips in 33 weeks). Lets see, 18 weeks left in 2006, assume 3 round trips/week, 44mi/round trip, that's 2376 potential more miles off the car! woot!

I really wanted to ride the Caldaro to work today. She just hangs there in the garage, pretty as a picture, and I can hear her saying "I want to go for a ride!" Her Italian accent is so cute.

But I have to run some errands at lunch and there's no way I'd leave her locked up in Midtown. So once again I rode the Bomber to work.

Another uneventful commute. The way I like 'em!

Yesterday afternoon I was stuck directly behind a pair of street sweepers. They were not cleaning but put putting to their next destination. Anyhow, I was behind the 2nd one and by god their exhaust stinks!
After a few minutes of riding so slow that my brakes were constantly being used I spied a very wide coned off brand new sidewalk. Incidentally, this is a construction area.
So, deciding that I needed to break my string of VC law abiding riding, I hopped onto the sidewalk and sped past the street cleaners on the right going 25 mph on a sidewalk for roughly 1000 feet. So far that is my most creative means of getting out of a traffic jam. The cars stuck behind the street sweeper must have loved it...not. Now to be flamed by all our law abiding cyclists.....

:roflmao:

it could only have been better if you left a nice track down the fresh sidewalk

HAH! Hope you reminded him to admit to the dentist who wanted it installed that he was right and the rest of them were WRONG! Then refer all your bike commuting friends to him! (Assuming the service was satisfactory.)

I guess I'm not too picky; I chose my dentist mostly on the basis of being just around the corner from my job, so I can ride my bike there from work. However, there is no rack so I have to lock up to a picnic table.

Ack!
Thank goodness it wasn't that new. I believe the sidewalk has been in for a few months and is located next to a new park-n-ride for one of the future light rail lines. They seem to be taking their time since it does not open till Nov.

:lol: I've done the same thing when stuck behind S-L-O-W moving traffic. Why should I be delayed because of "traffic". I am traffic!!

The worst traffic I encountered tonight, were the fat, waddling women ahead of me getting to the bike. They take up two lanes in the hallway to the building exit. At least they were single file. :)

Do these people really think I can understand them as they fly by yelling things at 20 over the speed limit? It must tick them off that I am doing the speed limit, so they must go much faster to prove their manliness;) They all passed safely so I just waved and smiled. The last one today must have said something funny, he had an amused smile and waved back. The ride both ways was fast and smooth. I love timing the lights to get there on green, passing the cars that had to pass me at well over the limit.:D

after having energy all day long I got on the forza mess bag and all and did a 20 mile run then I sprinted up and down my street till it got late in the night I feeel so much better hopefully I get to go down a big hill ( I love going fast)

I wore normal street cloths on the bike today. Usually I wear pearl izumi baggys to give me some cred and I happened to whip past three road riders fully kitted out but when it came to the down hills they passed me (fancy bikes I think lemonds) then on the uphill I caught up and passed them and then took a left into work and layed on the floor for a good ten minutes waiting for my breathing to become regular

Today was good, weekends are good for commuting.

Friday night I had to work 4 hours over until 3:30 AM, and it was a pretty rough shift. Thank goodness for the commute home to wind down. At that hour there is nobody on the roads and the traffic lights are all blinking, so I got home 2 minutes faster than usual, even though I was pretty sleepy. It was warm, but i was in a light cooling rain the whole way. I usually hate rain but this one felt good.

Friday morning I took a camera along with me to take some pictures of my commute. The battery suddenly died on me a couple of miles from home, but at least I had a pleasant ride since I left early to take pictures and the traffic was light.

The return trip was... painful. I hate my commutes home now. Traffic is heavier (I need a thicker skin... desperately: helps with road rash too :D), it's hot, it's all uphill, I am tired...

Wet! No other cyclists seen. That is all.

Fine ride this morning. I'm finally starting to get attached to my knew school-avoiding route. I was doubtful of the hilly backroads at first, but they're actually kind of nice. Woke up to the sounds of my roomate's own brand of soulful contemporary soft rock floating through the apartment. I think that's better than living with a metal band at 7:00 am, but I'm going to have to put on some Zepplin/Skynyrd/Truckers to get that mellow crap out of my head.