Yep.

I guess I just beat the latest storm in this morning. Typical fall/winter/spring drizzle, moments of notable headwinds, but nothing leading up to the 2" of rain we're supposed to get today. It's picking up now, though, I see.

Today wasn't too bad except for the 25mph+ crosswind I had to deal with on the last leg of my journey. The ride home should be teh suck, as I'm going to be dealing with a 27mph headwind with gusts of up to 35mph for the 16.6 mile ride home. No sweat!

40-something degrees, raining and dark. Almost got hit today. Came to a stop sign at a road intersection with two cars lined up at the stop sign on the crossing road. I let the first car pass since he came to the intersection first, then when it was my turn to pass the second car hit on the gas and almost ran me over! I was so mad!!!!

Lesson learned: let EVERY car waiting at an intersection go first; cross intersections last. It may not be fair but I'm the guy ON A BIKE...

GreenAnvil

My commute today was great - 6C and foggy this morning, 8C and clear in the evening. Since it wasn't raining (seems like a rare event these days) I decided to try a new route on my way home. It was a 17.5 km ride instead of the usual 13.5 km. I think I'll go to work the same way tomorrow. The big hill at the end will probably kill me though. I hit 56 km going down tonight (coasting, with a little bit of braking since I'm a chicken and didn't want to get going too fast). My regular commute takes me up the other side of the hill every day, but it's much more gradual on that side. Should be fun!

Not really. Not for me anyway. This way I'd have to wait FOREVER for long lines of cars that form at four-way stops sometimes. Partly because there are so many of them, partly because most of them will stop and wait for me because they are law-abiding.

I say go, but always be ready for idiocy like this, and have your airzound and escape routes ready. And yeah, a good light in low-vis conditions is a must.

Good luck out there.

Had a good ride tonight, blew by quite a few bikers as I left much earlier - I guess many bikers don't stay as late as I often do.

Pretty slow tonight, though that did include my stop by MEC to grab a PB 5000x at 37 mins/13.0 avg. Wind in the face across Cosburn was enough to take the edge out of my legs and make me (what seemed like) crawl along at 14-15mph. Maybe my legs were burned from giving 'er on Bloor past all the other riders hmm... It's only more training!

I usually always prefer to let cars go in front of me, that way I know they're out of my worry-zone - sometimes it's obvious that the driver acknowledges and let's you go, again I must admit most of the drivers in the core at rush hour seem to handle their crap well with bikes - at least with me, granted I've had some run-ins, but the majority seem decent.

Nice ride both ways on the MTB. Felt like riding it today instead of the roadie. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain, so today consisted of several coworkers telling me tomorrow's forecast. Does no one remember me riding all through last winter, rain or shine? I guess they feel if I drive, they aren't as lazy. Wrong. Anyway, if I don't ride I am grumpy all day.

Well, not a whole lot has happened on my commutes as of late, which is a good thing. Or is it?

A big change. I've switched shifts, I was working a 9:30-6 but now going in earlier, 6:30-3.

Now what I really loved about the 1st leg of my commute is the views of the Arrowhead Ranch neighborhood here in Glendale, AZ. Nice looking homes, pretty mountain backdrops, but most especially the same series of cool cats I wave to in the bustling morning hours:

The jogger with the unusual stride.

The elderly couple on their morning walk, always holding hands, in their other hand, a mug of coffee.

The fully kitted roadie who drops me each and every time as I cross Deer Valley and 75th Ave.

The fully bearded newspaper deliverer in that ratty red truck.

The construction workers building that new house, always friendly when I need to stop and use their portapotty.

The 30-something woman, in her long khaki skirt, form fitting tops of varying colors, her light-brown hair pulled back, walking her beagle on Melinda Dr.

All that's all gone now. Granted, like some of you I dig commuting in the dark, it's definitely a lot more peaceful nowadays. Eerily peaceful, and dark, and I love the sound and feeling of the cold wind flowing into my helmet.

But I really honestly miss those folks I regularly ran into.

took the Comm Ave route into town today- it's quick but not the most relaxing of rides. Lots of parked cars so I've got to watch the door zone. for much of the ride I can take the lane completely because it's so heavily travelled with cars going about 20-30 mph that I can move right out into stream of traffic. But tons of BU students crossing at odd moments make it like I'm playing a video game.

Then rode to Dorchester and later back home via Mass Ave, cut through the back of Fenway park and over to Comm and to the west. Had some strange state constable type guy in a black SUV with Commonwealth of Mass. plates and wearing a white shirt with a badge and baseball hat with a state insignia buzz me intentionally on the way home on Mass. Ave. He was screaming a blue streak of expletives when I caught him at the next light. I just took note of his plate number and moved well off to the side and let him go- he seemed like a nut and was probably legally packing so I wasn't about to argue with him. Other than that it was a very pleasant ride tonight- no wind, just calm, damp, unseasonably warm air.

whoo-hoo! we had us some weather today. wind warning, rainfall warning, and they weren't kidding about the wind part at least. 55kph headwind, with gusting crosswinds up to 65 on my way in. the wind had been blowing all night, so the road was just littered with crud all the way in - twigs, leaves, small housepets . . . i gave up any expectation of a normal commute as soon as i got out of the house and just took the whole thing steadily and carefully, so it was extremely fun. mostly because it was at least 9 celsius and not raining yet, i suppose.

coming along the long flat approach to the bridge though, i saw something huge blow across all six lanes of traffic, just missing all of it, and fetch up against the road-facing side of the barrier about 50m ahead of me. when i got to it i discovered it was basically a chunk of the side of somebody's house: a ragged-edged sheet of vinyl siding about 4 feet long and at least 2 feet wide. that sobered me up a little, but also made me awfully glad i hadn't been out there in a car. on a bike you can at least see something coming and change course or stop, no? i turned it long-side down against the barrier so it wouldn't give the wind anything else to pick it up by and flip it onto the mup and went on a bit more cautiously. the warning was still on with an extra 10kph tacked onto it when i set out for home, but i can't say i noticed it much. the main feature of the ride home was the eerie quiet of having a wind like that at your back instead of your front.

overall, probably my coolest ride so far this year.

I will definitely try to be more aware out there. He had absolutely no excuse: My bike has a CygoLite Night Explorer pumping out 25w on the front, a blinky on the back, I wear a safety vest, my pants have reflective strips on the sides, so do my booties and helmet, gloves and water pack, and I also tie reflective wraps around my ankles for added visibility. I can easily be mistaken for a UFO one of these nights... On top of it all, there is a very bright street light right at that intersection and all of us came to a complete stop before the sequence. The guy was just annoyed that it was my turn to cross.

In my anger, I stood right on the intersection (I know I shouldn't do this) staring at the guy as he sped away, and I forgot to try to get his license plate number. Please don't laugh (or do if you must) but I even thought of throwing the CygoLite's battery at him. (Of course I can't do that since the battery's cable is coiled around the bike's frame and the guy was already beyond my range, but honest to goodness it did cross my mind.)

Most of the traffic is local so I'll keep my eyes open for that car (I remember car make, model, color and I think based on the car's features I can identify the year); I'm sure the guy will show up again.

Thanks for your comments and advice.

GreenAnvil

High 40s. Almost no wind. I was rolling along at a good clip on the Liquid. Lots of energy today. This afternoon I'm supposed to have a nice tailwind.

I wore my stylish Pivovarský Dùm jersey.

My Slicks got a slow-leaking pinch flat tuesday from hitting a pothole too fast. I tried to bunny-hop it, got the front wheel over, but I was moving too fast to pop the rear up in time. Anyhow, I fixed that last night and put the slicks on my backup bike, knobbies on my regular commuter (I wanted to play in the dirt! There's a bunch of parking lot construction and dirt mounds just 1/10 mile from where I live)

Nice morning, was dark when I left, getting brighter when I showed up to the bus. It's kind of overcast and it was right at freezing when I left.

I took my newly-frankensteined backup bike in today just to see how it fares. This was the first measurable seat time I've gotten on it aside from the quick zip around the 1/2 mile walking trail surrounding my apartment complex that I used as a shakedown right after I bought it last week. I thought riding a hardtail with slicks was brutal. This one's a rigid, and it's absolutely relentless over any kind of bumps. It will probably be my snow bike once it gets nasty out.

I'll get pics of the backup bike later today.

62 degrees and a light but steady drizzle in the nation's capital today. Patches of leaves lie around the streets like bear traps; it almost makes it fun trying to avoid them, along with the rush hour traffic, pedestrians, potholes, broken glass, car doors, homicidal bus drivers, clueless cab drivers, slick man holes, errant squirrels, and all the other things that make commuting oh so much fun.

Man I tell you after the 20 mph winds yesterday It was a very brisk 42* F here in south Texas. I tell you I felt like a freight train moving through traffic this morning. I did however weigh myself this morning and found I am down from 265 lbs to 251 lbs and ffrom 38% body fat down to 31 % body fat. It was a nice little gift to myself as I headed out this morning. It was cold though. My legs never really warmed up this morning. But I got to work without incident. I really have got to get some cold weather riding gear.

I have been suffering headwinds every day to and from work. argh! well, they're only little bitty winds but they feel big on the bike.

After a couple of sluggish weeks on the ice bike, it was time to break out the speed machine. I was about 25% faster on the commute, and it should be a bigger difference on the way home when I have to climb the hills...

I actually had my first day without winds in a few weeks yesterday!

This morning's commute was slow. My guess is that i have not been eating enough. Started to get a little dizzy when I was finished. The heck with my oatmeal breakfast. Visited the sub shop next door and picked up a huge sausage egg and cheese breakfast burrito with a soda and donut.

I noticed my malt-o-meal breakfasts weren't always cutting it either, so I started supplementing it with a little bit of maple syrup on top, and then an apple or orange on my way out the door. Also, I get dizzy if I don't have enough water, so I usually gulp about 8-20 ounces before I even hit the bike, then hydrate a bit on the road as needed.

Yesterday's commute was great! Up until my light died on the way home. Gotta learn myself to bring that charger to work... Got a 1993 Trek 520 a couple weeks ago for commuting and touring and it performs great on my commute. No wind, but a ton of rain today.

I skipped the usual cereal breakfast (as I need to let it settle, my stomach isn't used to morning food) and got a Mars bar and rode in. I consciously noticed I hadn't been taking water on whilst I rode in this cooler weather, so I have started taking gulps at any red light just to ensure I keep the levels up - once my body is reconditioned to eating in the morning, then I'll be better prepared. I just get nauseous if I ride after eating so soon in the early mornings.

Last night was raining all night, and this morning was wet, but not actually raining bar the last 2 minutes of my ride, I escaped a nice downpour.

Good ride in, had a hefty headwind when I was heading south, and with the wet I took a little extra care of the leafy areas, 32 mins with 14.7 average, happy with that time. Got passed by a guy on a roadie, he buzzed me a little (due to traffic) and I hadn't realised he was behind, so moved over a bit and yelled a "sorry!" and he replied with something like "no problem!" (I ride in the middle or the left side of the bikelane usually if I know I 'have' it).

It was a brisk 28F when I left the house, but nice and clear without even a hint of wind. Pretty uneventful except for the bunny that sat next to the side of the road, then ran out 6 inches in front of my wheel. Almost bunny stew, but not quite.

The studs are goin on this weekend... too many icy patches here and there.

I need to post more here more often. It keeps me inspired to ride.

After wimping out due to the high-wind warnings in town (40-60mph), back on the bike for the last two days riding a different bike each day so I don't get burned out. I find it is tougher to get motivated to ride in the cold mornings and evenings especially when I feel like I have to put on so much clothing. So this morning I put on a regular pair of pants and a regular jacket and just hopped on the bike.

Polished off a box of donuts, a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread, two muffins, and a box of cookies in the last three days. Guess I'll switch to oatmeal next week...

Had my first official Christmas light sighting of the season last night on my ride home ... on November 15th? Are these people on Christmas crack or something? To each his own I guess.

The ride in this morning was uneventful. 25 degrees. Scared some geese with my bell. Used it for an off-leash dog and pedestrian too. Served it's purpose.

The ride this morning was wet. And the wind was back after a calm day yesterday. Why does it always seem to blow from the East when I ride East in the morning, and from the West when I ride home to the West in the afternoon? Oh well, just makes me appreciate the calm days more.

I tried out the new longer route, that I took home yesterday, on my way to work this morning. It was a lot of fun - I found out there's a MUP near the end goes up by the river, then under the road I was on last night. It's not marked on my cycling map, but I decided to go exploring. The extra bit near the end on the MUP made the trip 18 km. The big hill at the end was hard. I didn't have any energy left to stand, so I sat and peddled up at about 9 km/hr. Sloooow. But I made it all the way up. I really like the new route; its a nice change from the 13.5 km route I've been doing twice a day every (work)day since August.