My commute this afternoon was pretty good, other than I was hungry & thirsty. I met my wife for lunch on the way home, and she carted me back to the house (about 2 miles). I had a nasty cramp in my right calf, from being dehydrated, and I really didn't want to ride the last couple of miles. On the upside it was beautiful outside, though just below 40F, so it was cooler than normal. Not bad, though I did try to eat some asphalt by finding a shady spot with a sheet of ice. Fortunately I got out of my toe clips and got a foot down before I lost it completely.

Had an awesome ride home, felt just stellar.

Kind of funny when this guy going up the hill in the bike lane started swerving into the left lane as I passed him. He hooked so far I had to ride in the grass. I have an L&M ARC HID and when I was like watch out dude he goes give a signal so I say what are you blind and he says eff you and I say at least I can ride a straight line. I mean there is a yellow line painted there. Probably another candidate for Cross Eyed Cricket's "IF YOU DIDN"T DRINK AND DRIVE YOU WOULDN"T BE IN THIS SITUATION" comment.

something that feels pretty serious is wrong with my bike. at first i just thought it was the rear brake pads being worn all the way down to the rivet and scoring the rim (little curls of metal sticking out from under the pads when i got off to check were a clue there), but even laying off the back brakes got me a rubbing noise. got off and checked again. someone's messed with my rear qr? it was out a little, so i unclipped it and re-seated the wheel. still rubbing, plus a slightly ominous clicking noise as i went over the bridge. uh oh. there endeth my list of ideas, personally.

got to work eventually, but did not want to ride home like that. left early, with the intention of taking it to my favourite lbs (close to home), where i bought it and they service for free for the first year. would anyone care to know how long it took a city bus to cover the same ground i can do in 10 minutes, during rush hour on halloween night? one hour, that's what. the time i spent just waiting for it to arrive is as long as it usually takes me to get over the bridge and well into the ride up the hill. too late for the bike shop by the time i reached where i was going, so i bought dinner stuff and walked it home from the bus stop. they don't open till ten, so i guess i'll just be late tomorrow instead. uh, as well. whatever.

it was nice weather though.

Fine ride in this AM and yesterday as well. It is unseasonably warm here in the Raleigh area, so am getting in as much riding as possible before the weather turns on me. The tree colors are just getting near peak, so it is very pretty out there (though I can't see much of the colors while riding in the dark in the AM)

Three drivers minus two cars in our family = one commuter. Fortunately the weather has been great.

Another nice commute this morning. 40F, nice and still. Between my bike commutes and my evening weight program I'm pretty challenged, so I'm letting my body adapt and don't push too hard; I just spin and get to the office nice and easy. Now with the Hakkas there's no sense trying to push it either. Can't wait for Spring to put the slicks back on. :D

GreenAnvil

No commute today...I planned on doing a short commute in from a commuter lot since my headlight is on its way back to Nashbar for replacement. Since daylight savings it's too dark to ride all the way home without a light. When I went to take my bike out of the car it had a flat tire! This is shocking since there's over 1500 commuting miles on my Armadillos with no flat. I have not yet had time to determine the cause. Oh well, I guess it's better to have had the car instead of mid-commute so I was not late to work. This 4 mile stretch to work which normally would take 15 minutes on the bike took 25 in the car!

Nice this morning. Sun coming up, blue skies. Low 40Fs. A little bit of a tailwind. I reeled in one guy and saw a few other cyclists going the other way.

One nice thing about knobby tires on dry pavement: The peds hear me coming and move before I need to ring the bell. :D

Saw a car with obvious curb damaged rims and two flat tires abandoned on the side of the road a couple of hunderd yards from an spot where cagers cut a corner so sharply they often hit the curb. Cutting that corner saves them at least 1 or 2 seconds since they don't have to slow down. Must be some pretty tight schedules these people keep...

Warm ride in today and it's supposed to get warmer by this afternoon. Was passed close a few times by cabbies and livery drivers jumping into the bus lane to get ahead of traffic. Must be the stress of All Saints Day.

edit: Forgot to mention the ped that walked into my back tire while I was stopped at an intersection waiting for a green light. Glad he's not driving if he can't see where he's walking.

Lots of candy wrappers on the neighborhood streets and beer bottles along the roads near campus.
Seems to have been a big night for the trick-or-treaters - Indian Summer weather. Should be in the high 70s again today.

I bought a used XR800 2 days ago and got to try it out this morning. Slower than my road bike with the fat green tires, but more comfortable and less twitchy. 21F this morning with some wind, but I was warm except for my cheeks. Face that is. Love that L&M ARC HID :).

No commute today. I'm at an all day training course for Governor's Office of Highway Safety grantees. I drove to the closest MARTA station and took the train to downtown Atlanta.
Back to the bike tomorrow. :)

Mixed mode commute this am. 24F is too cold for me to ride 28 miles. Took the bus halfway in and rode the rest. *yawn*

Yesterday afternoon I rode home from work due to doing the same mixed mode am commute. I forgot to pack food and hauled arse for 28 miles to get home and pick up the bike trailer. Then on the way to the day care center I had a few symptoms of a pre bonk. A little dizzy with no energy. Thus, I slowed down and eventually made it to the day care center. Once at home I ate a few items and then took the kid trick or treating. The little bugger made out like a bandit and had a blast. I am still tired from yesterday. ugh

Lots of broken glass in the street this morning. That's just so depressing.
Man, the traffic in downtown DC last night was SICK. I've never seen so many drivers, driving crappily. That was depressing too.
Beautiful morning though. The temperature said it was high 50s, but I felt fine in shorts and a short-sleeve.

First ride this week. 24f this morning but very sunny. I've been running my DIY Whelen taillight just to be sure that I'm noticed with everyone squinting into the sun.

I'm starting to remember how to ride in sludge again. With the rear tire down to 35 psi, I can leave the front at around 40 and not be as squirrely. It was -15C today, but it's supposed to be up above freezing by Saturday. Hopefully enough snow/ice will melt that I can get back on the skinny tires. Wheee!

Sprinkly.

Hit a car last night on the way home, I had a horrid commute to work (almost killed), and a sucky one on the way home. Guy took a left right in front of me, and I had no time. Just jacked on the brakes, and hit his front wheel at about 20 mph. Bikes ok, so am I.

Awesome that he started yelling at me, for running into his car, when I had a green light, and was going straight. I farking love Atlanta drivers. I was going to let it slide, while I picked my bike up, just smiling at his dumb a$$, but then he decided to call me a cracker. Threw my bag off, and was going to tango, right there. Idiot got back in his car. I had HAD it that day. Luckily no one else did anything else stupid, because I certainly was not in a good mind set at that point.

Today, was great. Kinda tired, but that's to be expected with 4 hours of sleep on the last day of my commute cycle. Also, weather down here... What's the deal? It must have been 70' by the time I got to work. Probably go out for a smooth spin tommorrow, and just chill. I need to clean my chain. It's horrid.

Last year I discovered a really easy way to make my own neck gaiter...Take that worn out pair of cycling shorts that you never wear any more due to holes or thin fabric and cut off one of the legs at the crotch seam. Wear it around your neck with the crotch part of the leg tucked into your coat. If the riding gets really cold you can even pull the "gaiter" up over your mouth and nose to keep your face warm. Works quite well for me with XL shorts. I guess if you wear small shorts, the leg opening might be too snug to fit over your head though.

COLD! Low 20s again. Supposed to cloud over and start raining tonight, back up into the 40s indefinitely...

Bummer! Glad you're ok. Typical of many Atl drivers. :crash: Did you call the cops?

Killer idea. I have a pair of performance shorts that I retired sometime ago that may fit the bill.
However, a scarf sounds like an intriguing idea. I bet roadies would find that entertaining. :p

Nah, I figured I was violent enough to be a toss up. I'm sure I had flaming skulls coming out of my eyes, and my fist turned into stone. I think I taught him a valuble lesson about people on bikes though. Oh, and I don't own a cell phone (I know, Ima alien). Good luck finding a working pay phone in downtown ATL, btw.

I had a great commute home last night.

There's a stretch of path that's next to a major road that is always really busy with bikes, but the start of daylight saving and a nice night brought heaps of people out, and I ended up in a pack with about 10 riders. Half of us turned up another path, and I managed to leave most of them behind.

At the top of a hill I got passed by a couple of guys on road bikes (I ride a MTB), and managed to keep up with them until I turned off.

OK- It's not quite winning the Tour de France, but I felt good about it :)