On my ride in today a motorcyclist did me a good turn. I was coming up to a green light to make a left hand turn. I was inching forward trying to keep from having to unclip and put my foot down. There was a line of oncoming cars and just when I thought I wasn't going to make it, an oncoming motorcyclist beeped his horn to allow me to make my left hand turn. I guess he knew what I was doing. My friends who ride motocycles say they try to keep from putting their feet down as well.

Just wondering, has anyone out there developed the skill to balance their bikes while stationary? Is it even possible?

Nice ride in today. I guess coming in after 9, it really is a lot warmer than when I'm out getting the paper before 7... I added an extra 5ish miles to my trip, went ~2.5 miles past work and turned around. That's about all the play I have in my schedule, not huge, but it's nice when I can do it.

Yes, it's called a track stand. (For fun, dig up the thread called "I Hate Everybody" in the FG/SS forum.)

Very useful bike handling skill for a commuter, like riding one- or no-handed, bunnyhopping, making an emergency 90 deg. turn.

Some people say it's easier on a fixed gear, but I actually can do it a lot easier on a geared bike than my fixie. I come to a stop, put my pedals at 3 and 9 o'clock, hold the front brake and ratchet the pedals up against the counter-force of the brake. Some people find it easier to do it on a slight incline so you can scoot back and forth against the hill. Give it a try, it's fun!

(Oh, and if you're using clipless pedals, you might want to clip one foot out, just in case you lose your balance.)

Well yesterday's commute first

Morning was fine but I left school early to go to the doctors and got caught in a torrential rainstorm, after 30seconds cycling i was soked to my underwear and my togs gave up "wicking." Visibility was severely limited and I was FREEZING, the windchill definitely didnt help. Then at a light, I was waiting in front of a truck to turn right, (ie across the traffic coimg the other way) in the right turn lane and a British Telecom van came along in the straight on lane and just cut it on the turning right lane so he didnt have to queue and shot across, just in front of a car coming the other way. The trucker behind me and I exchanged looks to say "Awful driving."

After waiting for my docs appointment for an 40minutes, then another 20mins in there, I emerged, still soaking, leaving behind a wet patch on the waiting room chairs and froze, cycling the 500m to my house, I could barely keep my bars still i was shivering so much. 20minute hot shower followed, then the hot water ran out.

Today; my commute was by train

but, my friend's bianchi was driven into from behind by a woman in a VW. its got carbon chainstays so thats a bit dogy i think, any advice? and his wheel needs to be replaced. he got all her details and filed a police report etc, so shes paying! Whopee. (well hopefully at least) he got lots of witnesses too (other cyclists and drivers)

The ride in was wet. Gentle rain with little wind. Fortunately, it was relatively warm so I didn't freeze on the way in. I really love this front fairing, it kept my feet nice and dry.

The ride home should be great, it has cleared up considerably and there was enough sun to dry out my seat (hopefully).

Crazy in the a.m. Usually out and about when it's still dark and far less traffic...had to doctor on my dog so I was late getting out. Tad on the cool side, so I throw on the new jacket I got from REI...yeller I tell ya...and as ugly as the yeller bartape I put on a few weeks back. I swear the yellow made a difference....I'm glad I've quit worrying about how the bike and I look going down the road....

It was my last commute for 2 and a half weeks. I'm going on vacation to my aunt's that the bike I had there for my use was stolen out of her garage several years ago. I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself. :(

It was ride to work day today. That and the fine weather meant there were people on bikes everywhere.

Beautiful fall colors. Dodged raindrops on the way home. The higher cadence is helping me to arrive less tired. Overdid the sprinting yesterday ...commute time today is a little slow.

pleasant and ordinary. i wish i could figure out what my problem is with this compulsive lateness, since getting there so late in the morning always brings me home so late in the evenings.

a new commuting routine today. biked downtown. then later to Uphams corner in Dorchester via Tremont, Mass Ave, Columbia Ave. Brought the folder and snagged a ride home at 11pm in my friends car. This'll work. Only downside is that Mass Ave is not the best of roads especially around 5-7pm- the times I'll be travellling on it- visible clothing and good lights will make a big difference on a road like this.

Nice rides last night and this morning. This morning around 52F with lots of fog, otherwise very pleasant.

Wonderfull rainy ride this morning. Using a old 3-speed with chrome rims though. Not much braking power then suddenly grab. Makes stopping very interesting. My overall time didn't change even though I took extra time to stop. I also need to make a bottom for the rack. Back and bottom was soaked. :rolleyes: As I said it was fun.

Second day of no commuting, but this time it's mother nature out to get me. There's some nasty storms in the area, lots of lighting, thunder, and heavy heavy rain. I can handle rain without any problem, but when you get the constant lighting, that worries me a bit :/
Oh well...

I found it incrediblelly be hard to stop riding when i got to the office this morning. I was having too much fun! :D

Probably the last 'warm' ride of the year in this morning. Temp in the 50s, beautiful sunrise, thin layer of fog in spots, it was nice!

Nice and warm this morning, around 67 degrees. Was running late, then even later as I had to change a tube before I left the apartment. Even though I'd had an upset stomach, I felt pretty good on the bike and made decent time. This will be my last ride for about a week and a half. We're heading to C.A. for vacation, I guess it will be good for my knees to be off of the bike for a while-but I'll miss it.

A construction detour from the normal route to work threw in a huge, very steep hill. First time I used my granny gears on my triple in months. I thought I was going to die before I made it to the top. Funny thing was that the usual hill at the end of the ride that always seems enourmous and steep, seemed quite a bit flatter and lower after the first hill. Must have been 'cause my legs were ready to go again.

Nice this morning. High 50Fs. Some fog. I used my blinkie and headlight on the roads, but turned them off on the MUP. (Visibility was a quarter mile.)

running late this morning....didn't care. It was low 60's and very comfortable this morning. My first commute of October due to a family funeral on Monday and then having no sleep on Monday night cause I had to drive back for 4 hours.

I just took it easy and my normal 35-40 minute commute was 45+ minutes today. I'm not sure exactly what time I left my house and really didn't care anyway.

I could have just kept riding, but unfortunately I have to take 1/2 day off tomorrow to go downtown ATL and meet with one of my clients (side job), soI needed to quit pedalliing and come do some work. But now I'm sitting here typing this. I think I need either a vacation or an attitude adjustment :)

Same here. :D

Another awesome ride and just warm enough for my sandals. :beer:
Passed two other commuters who either weren't in a hurry or were struggling. Didn't see any other bike commuters. :(

If you have time, stop by the ABC office and introduce yourself. We're in the Virginia-Highland area, near Piedmont Park.
I'll even give you some free Share the Road stuff. ;)

Ron,

Can you do lunch at Burrito Art? I think I can arrange to meet there.

I was woken an hour early by thunder, lightning and torrential rain.

I decided to wait it out, and fortunately for me the storm subsided soon enough that I was only 30 minutes late for work. I only had to ride through light rain, it wasn't even as bad as yesterday. Unfortunately, the ride home will probably be wet (unlike yesterday).

Last nite was a race against the rain.. I could see it moving with the wind down the front range. Needless to say, I lost and got dumped on for the last mile or so. Oh well.

Passed another commuter on the way... 3 times acutally. They kept blowing red lights, and pulling short cuts. Put them nicely in the mirror on the last 1 mile climb toward the house.

This morning was a cool 47f. Looked for my blinkie along the route, but never saw it. Either it was turned to dust or someone picked it up. If intact, it would still be flashing. When installing the new one last night I discovered that it will slide on the post mount 2 ways. One will lock, one will not. [Niterider 5.0... so watch out for that if you have one]