14F with 10MPH headwind today. My wife bought me a set of ear bags last night, which are polartec fleece things that cover the ears. They worked great under the skull cap, and I could hear too. Dorky but effective.

Nice commute in except for the B***ch in the white corolla that tried to run me over. I gave chase long enough for her to see me in her rearview giving her a 2 handed 1 finger salute. Not really proud of my reaction, but damn...I don't feel like spending Christmas in the ICU. I did manage to maintain 34+ mph on the MTB while chasing the little car. I am kind of proud of that though.

Yesterday, I did an abbreviated commute. I had to go to a department meeting that was held at my bosses boss's house. So, yesterday I only got in 10 miles round trip. I was completely amazed at the stupidity of drivers yesterday. None of them came close to me or anything, but just how they blocked all the intersections, ran red lights, honked at people that obviously could not move, etc. I guess there's not much Christmas spirit this year for some reason.

It's starting to cool down a bit again. For a few days there I was enjoying not needing to wear my face mask, but if it gets any cooler I'm going to have to bring it along again. Other than that, another great ride. I'm really glad I replaced my chain, the other one was probably robbing 4 or 5 km/h from me!

I tried a shortcut today that didn't really end up being a shortcut. Holy crap - there was so much traffic this morning. I'll be happy when half of downtown has Friday off.

:beer:

I've seen a lot of that lately. Humbug!! ;)

Personal best for the ride in today, still pathetic time wise, but for an upright commuter not as pathetic as it used to be!!!

Another nice ride in this morning. We're having our "holiday" luncheon today (it's called "holiday" because none of my co-workers celebrates Christmas) so I'm sitting here in slacks, sweater, etc. :( My usual attire (when it's as warm as it has been :beer:) is shorts and t-shirt. :)

I hit a milestone today on my ride in: 1,000 miles of bike commuting for 2006!!!

Very nice ride with temps in the upper 30s/low 40s and very little traffic--it makes a noticeable difference when Congress is out of session.

Pretty uneventful for me. Back to rainlike activity, heavy mist at least.

Since my wife has taken over kid duty w/ a temporary change in her schedule, I've been commuting at more typical rush hour times, and finding the drivers to be a lot more annoyed/annoying than at off hours. What else is new...

Congrats man! I just hit 2600 miles for the year this week.

Had a typical ride in this morning. Temps finally feeling like winter this morning, low 30s. Today is my last day of riding in this week but I am hoping to get at least another ride in next week for the last of the year. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody :)

I've made 2 of 3 so far this week but the forecast is for snow tonight so I might be out of luck for the
rest of the week. Temps in the teens in the morning, mid 30s in the evening. I can handle that. Good luck to those who are riding for the rest of the week and Happy Holidays to all!

My first post on this thread. I'm amazing myself that I'm still commuting ( I doubted I would ever see 35 degrees as warm). It was 35 and rain tonight but not enough that I missed my raincoat (Left it home this am). It looked like a bit of snow mixed with the rain. The wet really made the Christmas decorations sparkle. The country roads between where I work and where I live were deserted as usual (8:30 PM). A nice ride.

another street ride in today. then had to get to an audition at another location did a couple of miles for that then a mile to get my hair cut and met my wife for a dinner out with friends. Threw the bike on the car for the ride home.

took the bus for the second part of the ride home. i dunno; tired, and another windstorm coming, and i may be harbouring the stomach flu. this week doesn't feel all that real to me anyway.

tomorrow i have to leave early so i can go down to my kid's school and be told he's not living up to his potential by an assembly-line of high-school teachers who probably (depressingly) are. haven't figured out yet if i'll try to do it by bike or not.

Mid 30s and clear blue sky this morning. Strange atmospheric conditions though. About 4 miles into my ride, the temperature dropped noticeably. Almost 10 degrees, according to the cyclocomputer.

Then, nowhere near a road, I had to ride through a layer of diesel fumes. I could see a layer of blue haze. Fortunately I broke out of it after about a quarter of a mile. Temperature inversion? Weird...

Great ride in this morning. Lighter than normal traffic, nice temps (mid to upper 40's), overcast, and only one day left this week:) . Almost made the entire route without having to put a foot down. I timed every light perfectly. The traffic was light enough I could roll up, psuedo track stand, and go at the one stop sign.
Then the ahole in the Isuzu tropper decides he has to pass me, and pull over into the bike lane when he clearly could not get around the traffic stopped in front of him. So, I have to stop and put my foot down because he's blocking the bike lane :mad: .

I'm still in a good mood anyway. Cycling seems to have that effect sometimes.

Light drizzle, but I'll take 44° any winter morning. Traffic MUCH lighter this AM with schools out for the holidays. Stupid guy thought it would be funny to yell out the passenger window as the truck he was in zoomed past.

Hilarious.

"Then, nowhere near a road, I had to ride through a layer of diesel fumes. I could see a layer of blue haze. Fortunately I broke out of it after about a quarter of a mile. Temperature inversion? Weird"

Possibly some farmer started up an old tractor & drove it off? Older tractors can produce what you describe if they have been sitting quite a while between startups. Mine has left a blue haze hanging low over our lake for the fishermen to avoid & in cold weather it can persist for quite a while. Don

I wiped out today. :o Riding on the MUP about a mile from work I tried to avoid a sidewalk curb and got my front wheel on some gravel, slid across the trail and went head over the handlebars onto the street (I have toe clips so couldn't catch my balance). My helmet has a good size scuff/dent mark right above my forehead where it hit the street pavement. Luckily, no cars were coming. I came out of it well, no blood, no bike damage.

Lesson No. 1 -- don't be too cute on the MUP trying to avoid bumps
Lesson No. 2 -- ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET

Glad you were wearing a helmet! Might need to get a replacement one now. I think most of them are only good for one hard hit.

I had way too much chili for lunch yesterday, which meant that the ride home was bloated and uncomfortable. Bleagh. This morning's ride was much better, as there was no wind, few cars and I made all but 2 lights.

tokolosh, I'm roaring at the description of the teachers. I'm also laughing because 1) EVERY report card I ever brought home said the same thing: "BJ isn't working to his potential". Remind me again....what's my motivation for "working to my potential"? And 2) I was a teacher for 3 years at the very same school that gave me those report cards. Hmmmm....

Back on topic, the ride today was very quiet. Almost no cars on the road.

I don't think I've ever had people wait at both crosswalks on one particular street before this morning, I am still perplexed. Great ride in.

Well, the rides both in and out were quite nice. Looks I will be telecommuting tomorrow, so I decided to go back into the city to buy some new rags and ended up covering about 50 miles overall for the day.

There really is nothing like the rush of weaving and navigating through mid-day NYC traffic. The constant interaction with drivers is lots of fun as well. Memorable moment of the day: Riding with 2 messengers up Park Ave, going about 25mph, 6 inches from an SUV with its windows opened, and hearing the most feminine sounding male voice scream out from the back seat "OMG, there's a biker over here!" I lol'd :-P

Don't think I've had an endorphin high like this yet :-D, (especially after some freshly made veggie juice to aid recovery.) At one point, on the way back, I found myself going 20mph up hills where I usually struggle to keep 12 or so when on the way home from work.


The weather was absolutely perfect too (mid to high 40's), adding to the experience. Can't wait to do it again.

Dark and wet as ****.

Apparently a guy riding about a block in front of me either hit or was hit by a pickup truck turning right into a parking lot. I saw him cruise by on the street I was turning onto and the next time I saw him he was standing with a small crowd gathered around him and the truck sticking halfway into the street. I didn't witness the incident at all and since there seem to have been witnesses and folks helping him I pressed on. The feelings of guilt and panic bummed me out for the rest of the way home.