40F! Yay!
A tad windy at times but I was able to remove my jacket. My choice of my form fitted jersey worked splendidly. :)
Anyhow, my recovery day of Tuesday helped out quite a bit also. Taking Tuesday and Thursday off for recovery seems to be wise. 56 miles RT is difficult to handle 5 days a week.

One of them 'be careful what you wish for' mornings. Warmer temps and rain yesterday, followed by 20s this morning resulted in thick fog and lots of black ice. Had no problems, but I HATE foggy mornings...I feel invisible, which is a nice feeling usually, but not when my butt is hangin out there in traffic. Should be a nice ride home though. ;)

Man I've been dreaming of a 49° morning for a long time!! Wet streets but nothing my fenders couldn't handle. Nearly 60° this afternoon...short sleeves?!?

Back down to -5C, but I'm used to it. I got a weird muscle pull in my left quad as I was walking downstairs to get some socks. It was a sharp pain, but a loud "****" and all was well...

Gorgeous coming in this morning. Blinding sun, I should have worn my shades! A morning first since, I don't remember, October?

Kids have colds again along with my wife. I feel a little something but not bad. Drove in so I could get home quicker if the wife ain't feeling up to to the task of watching those 3 monkeys. Now that the snow is melting I am greatly looking forward to my children spending more outdoor time and bringing less crud home from preschool.

Rain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the temps finally warmed up to those of a typical mid-Atlantic winter this morning, meaning the high 40's. most of the snow melted today so the streets were really wet. my right foot is still bugging me but I'm riding through the discomfort. between that and my still out of true wheel (I hopefully get the new one tomorrow), the commute was a slower one both ways.

the commute in was... interesting. almost rear-ended an SUV that stopped short in front of me on a 30MPH road. I don't think he had any brake lights either because he came to a dead stop (or close to it anyway) and I never saw his brake lights go on. lots of fishtailing and a shouted "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" but I was able to stop in time to not hit him. good thing I wasn't following too close. then I almost wiped out on some black ice as I was turning onto the path. apparently the temps were still just at the freezing mark. I was only going about 5MPH when I hit it so I was able to stay upright but I did go off the path a little bit. other than those two little pucker moments the commute in was good.

it warmed up to about 52 degrees on the ride home. put in an extra mile or two, swept some debris off part of the Trolley Trail, then headed home. stopped by the Paint Branch to check out its conditions... most of the snow has melted but it's still really slushy in some spots. then later on in a parking lot somebody pulled around me, started to turn left (without signalling), then changed her mind and started to turn right, into my path (again, without signalling) then stopped when I yelled "WHOA," then remarked that the turn signal had been invented. other than that the commute back was fun and mostly uneventful, which is exactly the way I like it.

Must be a case of cranial-rectal inversion going around. As I was unlocking, I saw a biker dodge a ped that ran across the street. Then I almost got broadsided by a messenger as he cut close as I was turning up Park Ave. Then a cyclist in front of me almost go doored by a car in traffic, not parked. Managed to get home in one piece so all's good despite all the near misses.

Cool and cloudy and a bit less exciting than riding through the preparations for Stage 2, as I did yesterday. But still a very pleasant ride in.

As I pulled in to the garage, I ran into my main riding buddy. We went over the end of yesterday's race and then he noticed my fixie, which he hadn't seen before. When I told him I'd built up an old Trek 660 specifically for commuting and wet weather riding he laughed. "Oh man! You are addicted!"

Yup, I guess I am.

Sunny and 3 degrees C, no wind. It was awesome.

took the streets ride in today 'cause I was running late. had to borrow the lock off my wife's bike because I forgot to get my lock and shoes out of the car before she left this morning.

rode home on the bike path but the warmth had not yet melted all the ice. In fact, it was worse than ever with the slushy mushy mix that now was everywhere. Ran into a cyclist walking his bike. Fortunately, the studded snows go pretty much over and through anything and with some good single track type technique I managed to muscle my way through the slop. Finally got off on Western Ave and cut back to my streets route home through Brighton.

rode to the market once I got home and rolled along through Nonantum Village's back streets, which I really enjoy- especially at night.

Did my first bike commute in nearly a month. For me, its just not fun to bike once the temp dips below 10F, so I spent a lot of time on the train. For the morning ride, I had my first experience with "freezing fog." There were only a couple of icy stretches. For the most part, the residual salt from the last storm kept the roads wet, not icy. The way home was a blast, good tailwind and fresh legs (did I mention a month on the train?). Odd thing, cars behaved, but peds seemed more squirrel-like than usual on the way home.

Commute was awesome! I road the 7 miles into work... when I got there, I realized that I had left the keys to the office at home. So I got to get back on the bike and do the roundtrip again. 35 miles on the bike today instead of the usual 14.

First commute for me since early Jan. Patchy dense fog on the way in, but no problems with traffic. Supposed to have a West wind at ~15-20 this afternoon, and I'm heading East!!! Woo Hoooo

I got the wind from the west this morning and I was heading east!!! I had one of my fastest times into work in a long time, averaged almost 18mph instead of my usual 15-16. Gonna be a hard headwind the whole way home this afternoon though, but at least it will be sunny and warm.

Riding home last night the roads were dry and the temps around 40...there were actually a couple of roadies out, which made me feel kind of plodding on the snow bike with the studs. So after looking at the weather, I decide to get the Bianchi ready for todays ride. But then, when I walk outside this morning I find that everything is covered with them little ice pellets, slicker than cow slobber, so I ended up back on the snow bike. I think I am really starting to get a case of spring fever, or as Pvt Benjamin said, "I wanna be normal, I wanna go out to lunch!" ;)

Today's commute was not fun. I had to drive in today due to a flat rear tire this morning.
I am getting to the point that I hate driving and perhaps even hate cars.

Warm! I wore shorts and was only chilly. The sun was out, the birds were singing, and spring is in the air.

Big near freezing snow storm with snow flakes the size of plates....stick to your glasses, clog the vents on your helmet kinda stick, wet snow. It was a fun ride.

I was dusted on the ride home by a geared scofflaw, but I passed a couple of guys and a bus on the way in to make up for it. I woke up at 4:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so I'm running on fumes now...

Nice ride. Overcast.

Got right hooked 2 blocks from my house, but La Madonna di Ghisallo was smiling on me. I locked up the rear wheel and the front wheel actually kissed the car's bumper and I don't know how I managed to stay upright. At the time, I was really angry that the guy didn't signal and just slammed it to the right, but in retrospect I should have known better than to put myself in that position. It's a scary way to be reminded, but I'll take that lesson any day.

Otherwise, despite the steady rain, it was a great ride in. I took a slightly longer route along the Sacramento River and I had the bike path to myself. Totally silent but for the ZZZZZZZZ of the tires on the wet asphalt and the plap-plap-plap of the rain on my jacket.

Today's commute was rainy, but not cold (it's about 53F out).

Passed another commuter on a hill this morn, just to be caught 2km later. Wouldn't have been the case if I didn't leave my studs on, but i'm expecting snow this aft.

40's with some light wind this morning. the commute in was good. a little faster and my feet hurt less. took the road route because the PB Trail wasn't fully melted yet.

the commute back may have been the worst wind I have ever ridden in. 30MPH gusts and in my face almost the whole way back despite my silent prayer to the wind gods to give me a tailwind. stopped by campus to eat dinner since I got out of work late and was really hungry. saw another cyclist skitching on a car going uphill on the way out of campus. I'm glad I don't do dumb crap like that. other than the wind, the commute back was good.

40's with some light wind this morning. the commute in was good. a little faster and my feet hurt less. took the road route because the PB Trail wasn't fully melted yet.

the commute back may have been the worst wind I have ever ridden in. 30MPH gusts and in my face almost the whole way back despite my silent prayer to the wind gods to give me a tailwind. stopped by campus to eat dinner since I got out of work late and was really hungry. saw another cyclist skitching on a car going uphill on the way out of campus. I'm glad I don't do dumb crap like that. other than the wind, the commute back was good.

street ride in again but a fantastic ride home along the bike path. It probably would have driven many cyclists insane but I loved it at the end of such a long challenging day. There was light snow as the temperature was dropping and refreezing much of the water on the path, which was 8" deep or more at times. There were some sections that were a mix of ice, water, snow and slush. At times I was like an ice breaker literally cracking thick sheets of ice as I rode.

But then I stopped by some woods on this snowy evening and well... I can't help it. With many thanks to Robert Frost but he captured this moment so perfectly:

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Cold again. And I wore in my sneakers to wear around the office but they've got thicker soles so my seat wasn't the right height. I tried to get in early to get out early today, not looking forward to an office day today.

My wife's car finally died after 15 years and 170,000 miles. She's in a hurry to replace it but I told her to take her time, drive my truck, I'll just bike everywhere. :D

Sunrise was fiery red this morning. Beautiful.