gizem310

I was a no-show at work on Monday, due to the fact that I took the neighbor's dog for a walk and the bugger ran away! Other than that, my lovely 16-mile round trip commute is going pretty strong. I just can't stand driving anymore! I get bored out of my mind. I miss the pelicans I see everyday on my bike commute. I miss the morning mist on my face. I miss the reflection of the morning sun on the water. I mkiss warming my frozen fingers on the coffee mug when I get to work...
No kidding - I'm lucky to commute to work via Ballona Bike Path in LA.

buzzman

unseasonably warm and beautiful today but it felt odd to have summer like temperatures and no leaves on the trees.

a strong westerly wind made the ride in rather quick and easy along the river. The way home was a little gusty in my face but still warm and pleasant.

lil hillbilly

ice/snow and sub 30 last night. Got the mt bike out. Its great all the comments from co-workers when they ask if ya rode in tonight. My boss told me if i got hit by a car on the way home I was in big trouble. mean croud. 5+" of new snow to look forward to on the way home. big fun!

Mr_H

Here's the situation: Freezing rain last night and this morning with 6+ inches expected today. I'm all excited, thinking about my first day of riding in the snow with my new tires. Been preparing for this for a while.

Then they go and close the university on me. It's a friggin conspiracy.....

billh

St Louis: commute last night: 30's crusty slush. I took the light rail to within 3 miles of home then rode bicycle in the tire tracks home. The tires on my commute bike were most ideal for a 1 inch crusty slush with frosting of snow. Front tire has a square waffle pattern which really dug into it. The only problem I had was both der freezing, unable to shift. Light auto traffic was not moving much faster than me.

8pm last night it started raining on top of the slush. This morning (Fri) 28F and everything is frozen. 400,000 without power in the region. Trees and lines are all iced over and creaking in the gusty wind. Light rail is down. Local streets are pretty icey. I might give it a try.

luckysnafu

On my way home last night I happened upon a man running with his dog in MY bike lane. I told him that he should be on the sidewalk as I rode very closely by him and he yelled something at me. I ended up getting into a heavy shouting match with lots of profanity with him about who has rights to the bike lane. I then turned around and biked towards him again saying that he better move or I will hit him. I ended up stopping just short to scare him and we had a civilized conversation about why he was in the bike lane. He claimed that running on the asphalt is softer on his knees than running on the concrete sidewalk. Is this true? I find it hard to believe. Anyway, we shook hands and went our separate ways but he will most certainly still be running in the bike lanes.

jyossarian

Groggily awoke
I stumbled to the laptop
To begin working

Flimflam

A night late, but I got a decent sleep last night and rode today. Has been raining on and off a fair amount for 2 days and is still warm here. Wind was blowing hard off the lake, but not such a big deal on my particular route.

Todays ride in a good rainfall taught me a few things:
1) Fleece pants hold a lot more water than you'd think
2) The crappy trainers I wear to ride in are still crappy in the rain. And they let water in.
3) My Goretex jacket is great in the rain and wind.
and finally 4) My gloves are definitely NOT waterproof.

Great ride in, loved every minute of it today. Comments when I got in were of the "Great day for a bike ride eh?" and "You rode in in this?" variety, hehe.

29 mins, 14.7 avg. (Fastest time since I've been back, I think! )

Relaxer

A rainy, warm morning in our nation's capital today. No big whoop, though traffic in downtown was a little more randy.

Was ill yesterday so I took a sickday. But by early afternoon, I was tired of wallowing in self-pity, so I got on the bike, rode to the office, and then immediately turned around and rode home. Made me feel good to get my commute in, even though I didn't actually go to work.

JohnnyOTS

Second commute in to work. High 20s to mid 30s - unseasonably cold for the part of Arizona I live in. If this keeps up, I'll need to dig up something warmer for my hands and legs. Made the 20 mile ride in 1 hour and 40 minutes, which is an improvement over the first time anyway. I could make slightly better time if I didn't go pedestrian for left hand turns, but I like the occasional short walks to let the feeling return to my fingers and toes. Brrr...

* jack *

W.I..N....D.........Y

billh

I made it in. Do I get a cookie? The streets were fine. Wet but not icey. I stuck to the major streets. Light auto traffic. There are some beautiful views in Forest Park, site of the 1904 Worlds Fair. Iced trees and grasses backlit by sunbeams flashing through the clouds. Military statues frozen with icycle beards. Some photographers out catching these other-worldly images.

caloso

Cold and clear: 32F/0C and bright blue skies. I wore a skull cap and gloves but no jacket, but I did have a secret weapon under my shirt: longsleeve silk baselayer. I got it last winter from campmor or sierratradingpost.com. I'm going to have to ask Santa for a few more.

No foot down on the way in. We'll have to see if I can duplicate the feat on the way home.

jyossarian

Get the silk longjohns too. Combined w/ some merino wool overlayers and you've got the recipe for warmth, comfort and dryness. A windbreaker tops it all off.

noisebeam

I'd say you handled the situation very poorly. Nothing personal as I don't know you, but only based on how you said you addressed the situation. No need to close pass and engage in argument.
What is the big deal about sharing the BL with ped? How hard is it to go around.
He probably was not using the roadway legally though.

Continue the discussion here if you want:
https://www.bikeforums.net/advocacy-safety/235191-what-s-up-all-joggers-bike-lanes.html

Al

caloso

Asphalt is MUCH softer and better on the joints than concrete. It's also safer since it doesn't have roots and driveway cut-outs. I run in the bike lane whenever possible, facing traffic, and but I hop on the sidewalk whenever I encounter a bike in the BL. It's just a lot easier and safer for me to move than the bike.

billh

This can-not be a good sign . . . "Page 666 of 666". I tihnk it means we have moved one step closer to . . . The Apocalypse. I'm going to throw some salt over my shoulder. And onto the driveway.

Randomus

Aside from the power being out in my town, the commute was absolutely perfect (again). Just like the past several days in the area, the weather has been right around 55-60F.

luckysnafu: Running on the street is much easier and softer on the knees than running on the sidewalk. Definitely read through the thread noisebeam posted a link to.

labrat_62

windy, and it looks like a thunderstorm on the way home. but hey, just makes life fun

ragboy

Cold -- 11 degrees. But no wind, thank GOD. Oh, and I forgot to pack my underwear

ragboy

everyone who posts on this page will grow horns tonight... crap.

noisebeam

Oh crap, I started this page with post 16626.

A couple months ago my bike thermometer kept reading 66.6F on the way to work.

Al

flipflops

You commuters are sooo lucky. i do a quick ride in the am but cage it to work. i just posted because ragboy said i'll grow horns tonight if i post.

Frankenbiker

A bad day of bicycle commuting is better than…driving

It was a dark and stormy night. Yesterday it rained hard as I rode home from work and my bike was thoroughly soaked by the time I rolled into my garage. This morning the rain turned to sleet and snow with strong, gusty winds. The roads were slick and covered with glaze ice so I rode very cautiously to work (Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night shall keep this intrepid cyclist from his appointed bicycle commute). With a couple of miles to go, I found a trashcan that had blown into the street. Being a Good Samaritan, I tapped my rear brake and stopped to move the trashcan back to the side of the road.

When I got back on the bike, the rear wheel wouldn't turn easily and I discovered that the rear brakes had frozen in the "engaged" condition. No amount of wiggling or wrangling or tugging or shaking my finger at it would free up the rear brake calipers. Water in the rear brake cable had apparently frozen the calipers in place. Stupid noodle. Fortunately, I was able to ride it and nursed it along slowly with the rear brake dragging. Well, at least it was better than dragging the bike for two miles with a stuck rear wheel.

At the last 4-way stop sign, I stopped, and as I was going through the intersection, a car coming from my right, decided to do a rolling stop and tried to beat me through the intersection. I had to hit both brakes hard to keep from getting hit. When I tried to continue through the intersection, the rear brake was so badly locked up that I could barely get the wheel to turn. I didn't want to drag the bike the rest of the way to work so I rode it slower than a walking pace, breaking the 2mph speed barrier. I was practically standing on the pedals to get the rear wheel to turn.

Fortunately, I was now on campus sidewalks, mixing in with rush hour pedestrian traffic between classes. I was riding so slowly that many pedestrians were passing me. Passersby were giving me strange looks like "what is it with this guy?" I dragged the bike into my office and let it warm up, then took the brake cables apart to dry them out.

As I left work to go home (not going back to my office), I went to the spot outside where I always park my bike, and it WAS GONE!!! Oh NO! Wait… Doofus, the bike is in your office. D'oh.

Last, but not least, I almost dumped my bike on the icy sidewalk in front of a group of students as I headed home. What a day. At least it was Friday.

chephy

I agree. The guy was legally in the wrong, and shouldn't've yelled at you (luckysnafu, I mean) either. But threatening to hit people with your vehicle because they violated a rule of the road, especially in a way that didn't endanger anybody, is definitely wrong both morally and legally. Especially when going the wrong way on the road and violating the law yourself.