gorgeous weather!!!
i swear, the cooler it gets, the nicer the drivers are. (now that i said that i'm sure that i have jinxed myself :rolleyes: ) i had two different people let me into the left lane when i needed it, and no close passes this morning. i must be getting faster- people don't have to slow down as much to let me in.
took the last stretch kinda slow. man are my legs sore the last couple days...
i'm glad i have the weekend off to rest up.
monday morning will be the fastest ride ever!:p

First day commuting in two days (stupid cold). Felt nice and good to be out there again :)
Relaxing commute, somewhat chilly though. Summer is definitly gone.

Got unexpected rain this morning. Unexpected since I did not check the forecast. That said, if I had checked the forecast, I don't know if I would have taken the bike, the car, or the subway this morning. So I'm a bit damp here at work, but I got some exercise, so I suppose it's worth it.

First ride this week for me. I'm still fightiing a stupid cold, and starting to wonder if its turning into bornchitis.

Had to take my cage to the shop this morning, so I loaded the Wally World mountain bike on the trunk rack and drove to the shop. Loaded up the bike with panniers, a bottle of Dasani water (forgot my normal water bottle), and away I went. Saw two other commuters, both on road bikes and not very freindly.

It felt kind of nice to be outside this morning.

Nothing much to say. Cool weather, not much traffic.

I've read this thread often but this is my first post to it.

I usually ride my bike to work 2 - 3 times a week and I run in once a week. It is a 9.5 mile route and since it is in Pittsburgh consists of quite a few hills. Two are pretty major, which are long and steep. The route itself has light traffic except for a 1/2 mile stretch where things sometimes gets hairy. The route starts out with a short run through my housing development to a bike trail, which I follow for 1/4 mile. I then go through a Coraporate park which has a paved bike trail. I then hit a back road that takes me through a quite wooded area. I then must get on the busy highway that I mentioned before which has a very narrow shoulder. After that I finish up on a road that has wide shoulders and just a litlle traffic.

I started out today's ride a little late so I had some time to make up. The trouble is that I have to be at work at 0730 and it's getting light later and later. I'm now leaving at 0645 and just make it in time. Today was especially dark because of the rain clouds. I almost made it - 3 miles to go - before the rain came. It wasn't really that bad because once you get wet it doesn't matter anymore and you might as well kick back and enjoy it. The hot shower afterwards was really really nice.

Excellent ride...Just a heads up...a hybrid car went by...whoosh...didn't hear him AT ALL...There's been a paradym shift...don't just listen for cars! Look also!
Some look like this!
http://www.columbia.edu/~gsw2006/hybrid%20car.jpg

I had an appointment before work and it was quite dark. And of course I couldn't find my stupid light. Sheesh. So I had to use a second blinkie on the front. Good streetlights where I was riding, so I wasn't too concerned about potholes but I wanted to be visible to cars of course. And I thought that if I got stopped by a cop I would argue substantial compliance blah blah blah. And then I realized that I've never seen a cop stop a cyclist for no lights, even when they've turned in front of them.

Nice ride in this morning, drivers were pretty well behaved. I think I'll have to email the city today. The glassy remmants of a squished cage are fouling my lane under the Interstate.

If I don't mail them, it will be there for the next month until a sweeper happens to wander by. They say that they sweep every street at least every 2 weeks, but I'll go by the same bits of trash for months on end.

Tonight I'm loaning one of my MTB buddies a road bike so he can try out riding the black. I think I'll take him on some good downhills so he can get the full adrenaline rush. The bike is a cross/hybrid, but I've got 90psi slicks mounted... he'll get the gist of 40mph bugs in your teeth. :)

Surreal commute this morning. Nearly 58F degrees (pretty nice for this time of year in Vermont), and a ridiculous headwind. Yet I made better than average time. Yesterday my legs felt like they were being forced to drag an anchor. I got about 6 hours' worth of sleep last night after being out drinking with a big crowd. I dropped a couple of commuters on MTBs. Maybe Flandis was telling the truth. :o

Saw a couple of domestic cats. Dinged my bell at 4 runners who were taking up the entire MUP width (naturally - I wonder if they drive like that, too). They moved immediately, and one of them thanked me. Okay then.

Yea, that happened to me by a Hybrid Highlander. It was strange to see such a big car be so quite and just appear next to me after a red light. Yikes. I have a theory that hybrid drivers are like-minded to bike commuters and will drive more carefully. At least I hope so.

Awesoooooooooooommmmme :beer:

Thing One was sooooo s-l-o-w biking to K today, I dropped into the bottom gear, 22/30 to try and keep some gyroscopic something or other going so I didn't tip over. I still had to fight not to pass him too often. Bike from there to work was fine. Just gorgeous early fall here, up to the 80s in the day, down only to the 50s (too hot! My biorhythms must be seeking the fall after all) at night.

Squishy, Splashy, and just wet!

The ride home this afternoon was an experience. I got about 5 miles into the ride when a big thunderstorm caught up with me. The rain was coming down so hard I couldn't even see the road. I figured if I can't see the road, then cagers definitely can't see the road. I pulled off the road and got under an office building awning and waited for the rest of the storm to pass. While waiting for the storm to pass, this guy comes out of the office and starts talking to me. Turns out to be a nice guy. Wish I had some of my business cards with me, as he's into software dev. like I am and we might could work on a project together sometime. Anyway, I know where he works so if I need his services, he won't be hard to find.

After the storm, the ride was uneventful, but fun. I detoured thru the park and did some XC and Downhill on the Wally World beater. That was a blast. I went through every puddle I could find. Some of these puddles were about 10 inches deep. Shoes got soaked, back got soaked, face got a big grin on it. Felt like a kid again....I think I like rain :)

Commute today was epic! My second commute ever on the bike. Took a slightly different route into work this morning and cut almost 15 minutes off my time from my very first commute this past Monday. Yeah, instead of breaking off of the main road to take a bike lane in a less congested area, I decided spontaneously to stay on the road. Lots of deep breaths and prayers spinning in my head as I watched car after car speed by me like maniacs.

Was absolutely beaming when I pulled into work.

think i need a vacation. i'm tired these days. still nice weather and nothing's wrong with the rides in either direction but me.

left my lock behind at the lbs after its free tuneup last sunday. it is amazing all the places you don't feel secure going into when you don't have a lock for your bike.

No commute today (my day off). Still I went for a wonderful ride around Stanely park. Amazing how much less traffic there is during the week than on...oh, let's say, a Sunday. I blitzed the bike path. Everyone in front of my reacted well to my chimming of the bell. It's made me think I should make a circuit of the parks seawall a part of my coming home trip (my daily commute is only 2.5 miles).

Beautiful slanting, golden sunlight. Still water in Coal Harbour. And cool, but not cold, weather.

Joy to all.

rode the folder again and am really liking it. I may keep it as a commuter even after I fix my regular commuter because I'll be coming home late from a kind of iffy location and could grab a ride home in a car with a couple of people some nights more easily with the folder.

but, again, a nice ride in and home.

Great commute this morning. Temp was 48F and a slight drizzle, but the rack for my new bike arrived so I'm riding new wheels. It's GF Kaitai 29" with 700x38 slick Armadillos and it is a HUGE difference over my green anvil. I put on a heart monitor to keep an eye on my heart rate and try to keep it under 145 max. Every now and then it went up into the 150's and 160 (on hills) but overall, it was a very smooth ride. Did 45 minutes (roughly the same as with the anvil) however with MUCH LESS EFFORT, which is what I wanted when I got the new bike. Also, the Night Explorer 25w light is a blessing over my 4-AA powered light on my anvil.

All in all, in spite of the rain, I'm very pleased and happy! BTW, this is my 3rd straight week bike commuting.

GreenAnvil

Awesome ride in this morning. Low 40's, some headwind now and again. About 55 minutes total. My eleven mile ride is mostly residential except for about 2 miles on a busier 2-lane. Time to get to work.

I'd take the longer but less congested route if I were you.

GreenAnvil

I just wanted to read that again!! :D What park was this? Off the Greenway?

Fun ride this morning. Scared a inattentive Explorer driver who got within 6 feet of me before he saw me. No problem I had already hopped the curb up out of his way but I got the pleasure of seeing his face up close in full helmet light when he finally looked around the apex he was clipping so tight. He went ghost white and his eyes nearly popped out of his head!! :eek: I'm glad I'm not doing his laundry tonight. :lol:

Cold! This was the coldest day I've commuted yet, about 35 in the morning (there was frost on the ground). So I had to wear my alertshirt windbreaker for the first time. It's lined and it worked very nicely, though admittedly it's a bit sweaty when I get into work (Maybe I need to get a long sleeve wickable under neath, the short sleeve worked nice, but the warms were sweaty).

Still, it's a refreshing way to start the day :)

Great ride in, but a bit chilly. I'm going to have to start wearing long sleeves and pants soon. I had to drive in the last 2 days to work and I felt like a zombie -- fresh and awake today. I love biking :)

It was Webb Bridge park...off of (you guessed it!) Webb Bridge Rd. I don't know if your familiar with the area, but its where Webb Bridge Rd. ends. This was the first time I took this route and I think I'll be doing this again. I cut through the park over to Fox Rd. and then cut through a parking lot or two to get over to Jones Bridge. Dang...the people around here like to use the word bridge in roads.

Today's ride was nice....cool but nice. Had to use my running shoes since the hikers are hanging in the garage still drying out from yesterday's ride.

Glad you didn't get nailed by the explorer:) . I'm noticing that alot of these people seem to be in some sort of trance while driving. They really have a glazed over look that doesn't change until something jolts them out of it.