Stampede hangovers kept the streets pretty darn clear this morning, so it was a quick ride in with reduced traffic.

I think I had a target painted on me on the way home last night - either that or my purple jersey isn't as visible as I thought. Cars kept pulling out in front of me! Time to put the little blinky back on my handlebars, I think (it's a little turtle light from MEC, looks a lot like a camera flash in blink mode). That should make me more obvious in shady bits - I think drivers are wearing sunglasses that are too dark.

At least I had a tail wind on the way home! After the morning battle I needed that. Made the 9 miles in 45 minutes which is actually a personal record in that direction.

Today was very different - I rode my new/old "road" bike. It's more a sport-touring style really, with 26" rims and semi-slick tires on it right now, but it has drop bars and that makes it a "road bike" to me :) Wow, is that ever a different ride. I am having trouble with the shifting (new chain/old cogs issue, plus downtube shifters that I'm not used to yet) so today I just ran it in the 46 X 13 gear and called it good. I was concentrating on not killing myself with the toe clips or the twitchy steering just to start with :p I can feel that it will be a great bike for longer distances, although right at the moment a few parts of me would disagree! (Apparently I need a new saddle...)

Hazy, Hot and Humid. Went through all three water bottles. It was spooky to see the mist rising off the reservoir.

Also decided...people in oversized SUV and cell phones are a bad combination.

first commute today with a Carradice Super C saddlebag instead of my standard rack and panniers and I felt like I was flying! or at least felt like I normally do when I ride on weekends without my commuting gear on the bike.

then, some guy with a modified Specialized Allex with flat bars + bar ends passed me just as we entered Lexington on the Minuteman Bikeway and just kicked my ass. he was do a high cadence 22 mph cruise and I was almost sprinting trying to stay on his wheel. Eventually, as we approached Bedford and 128, I took a turn at pulling him and brought things up to 27mph. Then he said, "one of the straps on your bag is coming loose" and as I raised up to check it out, he just blew past me again.

Felt like someone pulled the cyclists' version of "your shoelace is untied" on me. :)

Hey! Pull my finger! Go on...

I am still sweating a half hour after I got into a/c, and it felt relatively cool this am. Maybe relative is the key, it was probably in the 70s...

Humid and quiet.

Nice quiet ride today. Was humming Oasis's "Live Forever" on the way, which seemed to suit the feel of the morning. A woman unknowingly dropped a pack of cigarettes at a corner, so I picked it up and gave it back to her. She seemed genuinely surprised, and thanked me. Then, as I was riding away, she shouted "Have a nice day!". I smiled and wished her the same. Warm fuzzies all around. :)

God I love commuting....and this community I now live in that makes it so possible. I used to want to commute so bad, but had no real safe option where I lived. I'm so glad, now that I can and do commute to know I was right about just how much I would enjoy the ability to commute on my bike.

Glad to hear that! A good commute is a wonderful thing. I'm going to miss my longer Toronto commute when I head back to Shanghai at the end of the week -- I still commute there, but it's too short and flat!

My first commute in the rain :)

After doing a 50 miler on and off road yesterday in 96F humid weather --- this morning's commute in the heat was "oppressive" -- couldn't get the inspiration going so it was a meandering kinda ride in this morning.

A nice ride in, except for the girl on the cruiser riding the wrongway and blocking the entire bike lane with her ridiculously wide handlebars.

Anyway, I rode on the Caldaro. The weather's too nice and my bella bicicleta shouldn't be hanging in the garage.

Warm...okay hot. We're going to hit 99 degrees today and it was already 75 when I headed out this morning. I only have a 3.5 mile commute and I was fine while riding but as soon as I stopped I started to sweat. I work in an office so I have to dress in business attire. I'm going to have to figure out how to make this work realistically. Any suggestions?

Actually, yes. He seemed irked that I was navigating downtown better than him.

Believe me, I don't want to get in a fight with a motorist. On top of that, I'm new to riding in heavy traffic, so I may have done something to provoke unwittingly.


This morning I ran across two other cyclists heading in different directions. Both said hello and waved.

TAIL WIND! :D

Going home should be RAINY!

Billy

One or all of the following might help:
- Carry a change of clothes (at least your shirt) and change when you get to the office
- Birdbath shower in the sink, as needed
- Arrive at the office early enough to cool down before starting work

Been so hot and humid here lately I had my wife shave my head yesterday.

Seriously.

I have the same issues with commuting to an office setting, I have (2) changes of clothes in my desk drawer and two towels and a little bag-o-toiletries- also I bring a Costco pkg of baby wipes. I also put a fan under my desk and a drying rack to dry out my gear whilst I work(also one of those plug-in smelly things) So far its been working fine.

My last ride was on a tandem so the Titanium rocketship felt like a racecar. I could barely hold it back. It's been cool here in San Jose. Light traffic, too.

The heat is really affecting my riding. I am taking it so easy on hills, it's embarassing. But better be a wussie than have succumb to heat exhaustion, I suppose. At least I am not gonna be reduced to walking the bike up any hills - to this I am firmly resolved!

Today was supposed to be my easy relaxing ride after riding 30+ miles yesterday that included some long and some steep hills... But I got out of work at about the same time as another coworker who's a roadie. He carries almost no weight, no panniers, backpacks, etc; it's just him and his bike. He caught up with me at a stop light and then took off, about a mile up the road I caught up with him at another stoplight roughly about 30 seconds after he got there. When the light turned green he took off again like a rocket.

Must be very satisfying to drop people like that :) But I kept reminding myself that the type of riding I do is different: my commutes are mostly loaded since what I'm interested in and use my daily rides for (other than getting to/from work) is training for long/tour rides. And my rig is heavy with front suspension, disc brakes, racks, panniers, light and battery, and a holder and bear pepper spray that I just added (as a precaution after last week's scare). 10mph when touring loaded is good, 12mph is hauling butt... 17-19mph on my commutes is great!!!

Anyway... these roadies have me itchin', and one of these days I'm going to splurge down some money on a nice (lighter, much lighter than the 50+ lbs I normally carry every day) road bike so that I can indulge in some speed riding at least a couple of times a week. If I can move my ballast on wheels 20+ mph when I'm rested I should be able to move faster on skinnier tires and a lighter setup.

Oh, BTW, my commute went fine, if anything a little too short for my taste. ;)

GreenAnvil

Hot, but fast one the way home with the wind at my back. I think I averaged about 25 mph on the way home, but my computer only does total averages, so it's really just a guess. Whatever the case, I was flying.

Dropped off a car rental mid-town and had to get downtown in major hurry (18 minutes or I'd be late). shot over to the West side bike path, hammered down to W. 10th and crossed over to St. Marks and got to my location with 3 minutes to spare. I was a sweaty mess when I got there but I was on time!

I'm not getting in any decent rode rides these days and am totally dependent on the commuting for exercise so it's been short and sweet.

It was ... uneventful and humid. The energy escapes me today and it was a chore to do the ride I am normally aggressive about. :(

2.5 mile hike to the bus this morning. Running after work. Naturally the A/C wasn't working on the bus, and I started literally dripping with sweat. Ugh. Not really doing much to encourage public transportation, dudes. :mad:

Yesterday's ride home was nice. Didn't get rained on. I was riding behind a guy and waiting for traffic to clear out so I could pass, and some other guy on a hybrid flew up behind me. Traffic cleared, and I let the guy behind me pass both of us, then I chased him. :o I kept pace at 18-20MPH on my knobby tires, then he left the MUP after a mile or so. I got home, waxed the chain, and tried to cool off. :)

Compared to the last 2 weeks, it was actually "cool" this morning. I enjoyed the ride in and didn't sweat as much. Had a guy in a pickup at a light yell at me when I ran the red light after waiting over a minute for the light to change. I was already going too fast to slow down and tell him that I can't trip the light.

Last night I finally caught up with the rain, but it was quite nice and kept me cool. Beat the lightning home by only a few minutes.

Yesterday I took the long way home and came across a poor young woman who bailed on her bike. I got her up and off the road and sought help from a woman in the neighbourhood to get her cleaned up. Hope she's back in the saddle today. She was hella cute.

Later I had a truck drivin' redneck honk at me for no apparent reason, which was returned by a big finger and the international 1 armed action for yankin' yer junk.

Edit: Oh yeah, passed a kid riding no hands down the middle of the street reading a book this morning.

Good ride in, got the new B17 installed and ready last night. Felt rock hard this morning, but I know that'll break in. Other than that, pretty ordinary ride. Some of the Indycar track isn't away yet so I almost got trapped in the circuit near Princes Gate, but there was an out, so I was good (I have been taking the trail or Lakeshore around instead of cutting through where they had the race stuff setup).

Yet another misty/foggy/drizzle morning ride. Oddly enough when I arrived at work only the front of my shirt was noticeably wet. Between the fog and the rain on my glasses, visibility was less than ideal. I think the wet/rain of the last few days must be getting to me - when a truck gave me a long beep while passing I actually got annoyed instead of just shrugging it off as usual.

The ride home yesterday was a study in contrasts - the sun came out, I was full of energy and I made record time.

Forgot to mention: I soaked my jersey in water before leaving work yesterday. I hung it up when I got home, and it was still damp this morning. I hate humidity. :mad: