Over 106 on the ride home, but I saw a baby deer again. :)

Today I was slothful and took up too much time this morning to ride in.

Yesterday I rode my bike for the first time after a major upgrade (wheels, tires, 10-speed Ultegra conversion with Dura Ace barcons on a bullhorn bar, etc) and man...did it ever ride sweet. Amazing shifting improvement over 8-speed Shimano 600, better position and clipless pedals. I beat my benchmark time for the 6 mile climb by 8 minutes! First attempt was 40 minutes, this time was 32. Even better, I got to ride back this time as it wasn't raining and made it in 14 minutes. Considering I was going to sell off this bike before even riding it, I'm pretty darned happy I kept it. My commute is now my own personal time trial course. Uninterrupted, a fair distance and the double is perfectly geared for it. Glad to join the commuting ranks. :)

Met my wife at her office this PM after work. Only 5 miles instead of the usual 17 miles. Had a rare tailwind thanks to a tropical storm spanking Texas today. Held 25+ for 4 of those 5 miles. That is so rare it was worth bragging about here. Covered those five miles in 14 minutes. Saaweet!

Had a bike vs. car accident 2 weeks ago, so I've been off the bike for 2 weeks. Good ride in today - nice weather - and I took it nice and easy. The ride back was a little harder as this pro chick was pushing me and I bonked <sigh> ... had my ass kicked by a chick. :rolleyes:

Nice ride this morning. High 50s. A raccoon wandered out onto the MUP ahead of me. :eek: It scurried back into the weeds when it saw me. I caught & passed one rider. Only saw one other rider going the other way.

Yesterday's ride home was fun. I was just leaving the building and a guy on a road bike with fenders and a back pack goes blasting down the hill past me and totally ignores the red light at the bottom of the hill. :rolleyes: I decided to see how fast he was, and fortunately the light went green so I didn't have to wait for it. I managed to reel him in on the MUP but it took some doing. Once I did, I could slow down to his speed which was just under 20. I gotta put my street tires back on the Liquid so it's easier to ride fast.

Anyway, he "forced" me to ride that fast all the way into my neighborhood. 5 minutes after I got home, the skies opened in a pouring deluge. So, I thank the roadie for keeping me dry. :D

Good commute today, but very humid. Did my best time ever and it seemed like all the idiot drivers took the day off! Looking forward to the ride home and for riding in the Covered Bridge Metric Century in Lancaster on Sunday. This is going to be a great weekend!:D:

I will agree with the humid part, nasty here this morning as well. I think the idiots left your state and came down here this morning. A town pickup truck was waiting in the left turn lane at a red light as was I across from him going straight and he didn't have his turn signal on. When the light turned green he went to the middle of the intersection and was waiting for me to cross. I yelled at him "nice turn signal" and the first words out of his mouth are "F*ck You" and then, this is the kicker, he went straight across the intersection even though he was in the left turn only lane. I really wish I could have gotten his license plate because I would email the town about it. Another triple digit day here, fun fun. Hoping to hit some rain on the way home though to cool things down.

Kind of cool but beautiful. Came around a curve in the trail and was greeted by 2 coyotes walking along, then about 100 yards later a nice buck deer munching flowers alongside the tail. At the door of the office, two tom turkeys were eating worms, got some nice feathers for fly tying. Lots of rabbits all over, kind of an animal day today...

Good ride in, I guess Fridays are rocket powered days for me, without consciously trying I still got here in 10 minutes. Rode out to Markham last night and back to pick up a chainring, weird easterly/south wind meant I *flew* at times - having the rack trunk + backpack on gave me extra 'sail' coverage to propel me :) I was having to use cog 5 on the cassette holding 25mph for a good while. Needless to say, the ride back was much faster than going there :) Got buzzed by a semi on the way up, that didn't feel great (first time I've been scared to a 'wobble' by a buzz in a long time). Had a car fly by me too, but I caught him and said "You came awful close to me there, I'd appreciate if you gave me a bit more room next time" but he didn't really say anything - I'd be surprised if he understood my English :(

Anyone else from Toronto or nearby coming to the memorial ride tonight? Details here:
http://bp0.blogger.com/_-M-Edwn-coI/...ide_single.jpg

Very slow and tired ride today. Sleepy... At least it's not as beastly hot today as it has been for weeks. Though I miss the heat. The cold nights are painful reminders that the summer is drawing to a close...

I'll try to make it. I still have trouble believing that Shiznaz is not with us on BF any longer...

I rode in without my wife this morning, so I got to work early. :D I keep thinking the Bianchi Roger may just be the answer to a question I'm not asking...

I'd love to see pictures of this set up. It's just great to see bikes customized for their specific riders and their purposes.

Me too. I got a little choked up when I saw that flyer with the picture of Charlie on the velodrome with a HUGE smile.

I bet heaven's roads are as smooth as a wooden track and every day is a no-chain day.

horrible news.

I was excited to ride my Axis with the new 35 mm silver SKS fenders I installed last night although it isn't due to rain in this area for a few more months.

Homeless lady living in the bushes on the patch of land off Ferry Morse Way was angrily ranting again. Some days she's quiet, but most of the time, she's angry about something. She's fortunate that I regularly see a car stopping by her abode and helping her out. She's been in that same location for over a year, but I'm not sure how long she's been there in total. I've become used to her voice as a counterpoint to the reverie of my morning commute. I hold my breathe when I ride by her since that patch of land is also her restroom. She's a daily reminder that at the very least, I have my sanity.

My morning ride was close to perfect. I have a 4KM ride through a residential district then 10KM along the Rideau Canal to downtown Ottawa then three blocks on Laurier Ave. Here are some pictures. Does anyone want to move to Ottawa?

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailsh...00000:SFOPRD09

Son's first commute.
 

Today was my day off from commuting. After arriving home from work on the bus I grabbed the touring bike and rode the 9 miles to my mother in-law's house to pick up my son and take him on his first ride home using the trail-a-bike. Upon arriving there filled with trepidation and noticing a large lightning storm we waited for it to clear up. Once it stopped with the lightning and rain we took off but then the heavens dumped on us again. :eek:
Anyhow, 9 miles later we arrive at home completely soaked and muddy. The kid had a blast but was a little cold at the end and I spent my time being insanely cautious. Fortunately the route is along slow residential streets and bike paths. We do cross a few busy streets.

Oh and I got in trouble. When my son rides his own bike I make him dismount and walk across busy streets at the light to be more aware of what he is doing. Otherwise he tends to aimlessly ride through the intersection. :eek:
I did not dismount at one light. The following conversation ensues between me and my 4 year old son.
Him> Daddy can you pull over?
Me>> Um. Ok?
We pull over on the bike path
Him> Daddy you are supposed to walk across those streets.
Me>> [nothing said. I was a tad amused and confused]
Him> Will you walk the bike next time?
Me>> Yes I will thank you.

:p

I posted before and after pictures of it in this thread.

It's a strange mix, for sure. The bike had almost new 20c Bontrager tires on it, but after my first ride I realized they'd have to go. My driveway and the road to the highway is dirt and gravel, so the narrow tires really knifed in, making for a sketchy start to the morning. Even before the highway was recently chipsealed, I was fearing a flat the whole way in on the 20's. The 25c Armadillos gave me much more float than I expected on the gravel and rode with confidence and speed on the chipseal. Supporting 215 lbs + baggage, they'd better be tough, though time will tell how the lightweight wheels hold up.

The second ride was a lot better, both for time and my own confidence. The semi trucks whipping by gave me plenty of room and I was much less nervous. Better hand position and judiciously placed Cinelli gel pads under the bar tape, as well as the PD-A520 pedals (so I can use the same shoes for mountain and road) gave me a lot more comfort. I had several comfortable hand positions to choose from and could pull up on the pedals to give my legs and feet some relief.

Finally, I'd love to say my mechanical mastery led me to the perfect gearing ratios...but I just got lucky. I went with the double already on the bike, added an Ultegra 12-27 10-speed cassette, and had a great range for the climb on the small ring, and the same for the descent home with the big ring. No need for new chainrings or a triple crank, thankfully. I can foresee gearing up just a tad as I get stronger. That descent home is just too much fun to not have a huge chainring to spin out.

Overall, I couldn't be happier. It looks great, good comfort and fast as the dickens at 20 lbs; Plenty light for this clyde. ;)

Real nice this morning. 46F and sunny. Very comfortable for riding. I had a long-sleeve jersey and shorts. No raccoon today, but there was a cute little puppy out for a walk with its human.

Back to 80s later this week. Yay.

excellent ride in this morning...tried a slightly different route using a new road that's not open yet. Was very nice having all that pavement and no cars for about a mile or so. The road did not come out where I thought it would, but I was able to figure out which way to go and still made it to work with time to spare.
Bottle dynamo light proved to be sufficient light, but I'll be glad when the new headlight gets here...hopefully today.

Nice morning actually. 'cept I'm sitting here smelling like a rubber tube. Ahhhhhh.

Flatted on a huge piece of glass (stashed the tube behind bushes to pick up later to patch). First time changing a tire on this new bike. Wasn't too bad, however - NOTE to self ... bigger tires .... means more CO2. Got enough air in to ride back home (no LBS open/garages with air pumps avialable) and fill with floor pump.

And of course I took the bike out and rode some steep inclines --- and hit horse trails. Fresh horsey trails - lots of horses out yesterday --- and of course I picked up some "souvenirs" - and didn't clean off the tires when I got home --- so of course as luck would have it - today was the day to get a flat with horse poo still on tire.

:)

And of course as I'm changing it I have three workman smoking their brains out across the street - making kissing noises at me.

:)

MORNING!!!

I don't remember my ride in this morning. I remember waving bye to my wife and then riding down in the elevator at work.

I do remember my bike was covered in wood dust from making new china lead free blocks for the kids this weekend.

Great commute in today. Humid, but not too bad. First day of changing out my clipless pedals to eggbeaters. They rock! I searched and searched the forums for feedback and opinions on them. The posts were helpful and I am glad I took the step to buy them. Great set of pedals.

The ride home should be great too....only 91 degrees today - cold front!

txbiker

Windy and much cooler. A sign of things to come I guess :( Now have a gnats pube over 1900 miles on the roadie, yay (took a longer route to get that this morning :))

Blah. In a car. Twice in 2 wks! On the bright side, got to see something on the freeway I never would have seen from a bike, a convoy of double-flatbed tractor trailers toting container-sized blocks of chickens in individual cages. Boy did they look unhappy. Windswept at best.

I got run off the road by an cell phone-wielding SUV mommie. Did a nice rear slide out into the grass. Hopped back on with only some minor cosmetic damage.

Exchanged a few words with tank mommy, and went on my way.

School's back in session!

Crappy. Rode into rain about three miles into my 13 mile commute. So the last ten miles was in the rain. I'm not a big fan of riding in the rain. Had a rain shell with me but I didn't bother putting it on becuase it wasn't a particularly cold rain. Hopefully the ride home will be better.

We've had 3 straight days of rain here for the first time all summer. I rode in today and it wasn't too bad. It's still warm enough that getting wet isn't a big deal.

No ride today. My wife had an early meeting so we all carpooled in the minivan. Just as well; my legs need a day after some hill torture yesterday.

Warm, but not too warm. A fellow commuter snuck up behind me and dashed off down the big hill, so of course I gave chase. I sat 8' off his back wheel the whole way down, especially after he looked around to see where I was. :D Childish and immature? Of course, but plenty of fun.