Weather was great for riding. It was supposed to rain, but it was clear and beautiful. I just bought some new panniers from REI, and I could really tell they were heavier than the old ones. I think if I pack smarter I can get away with only one pannier. I only had to yell "*******!" to a driver once today, which is good. I still see too many cyclists on the wrong side of the road. I feel bad for them. I paid a high price for doing that, and I wish they would just use the correct side of the road and avoid some potential pain. Still need to get some decent rain gear. Bought a Schwinn Super Sport DBX off ebay last week, and I am impatiently awaiting its arrival.

Nice and cool this morning--perfect t-shirt and shorts weather--but for the ride home the temperature must have dropped 10 degrees from the morning and the wind was blowing pretty hard. As I left the work parking lot, several coworkers shook their heads in disbelief, and one lady even yelled that I need to wear long pants and a sweater tomorrow. Luckily, I get warm really fast (must be this walrus suit I grew over the last 4 years. . .)

It's been said that whales and other sea mammals once left the ocean to live once again on land. Sounds like you and I are both living proof of that!

Gah! Had a slow speed tip over when my foot overlapped w/ the front fender, jamming it into the front wheel and bringing me to an abrupt halt. Next thing I know, I'm on the ground and feeling stupid. Some peds came over to help, but I told them I was fine and the only thing I hurt was my pride. Then I yanked the fender back into place and rode home wondering if keeping my pants clean was worth the overlap.

Transcendant.

I caught the mother of all tailwinds on the way home which made me forget about the morning from hell and at many times I could have sworn I was flying.

surprisingly nice weather today- I was expecting clouds and rain and instead it was a clear morning- a little cool but I still wore shorts.

sweet ride home with a moderate tailwind. rode into Harvard Square to meet up with my wife on her bike and we rode home together- nice ride.

Nice warm (mid 60s) weather and a great 18 mi commute for me this morning. Worked up a good sweat and saw a lot of deer moving about near the two MUT sections that I use. I also broke in my new Tri-Newt headlight, and it pumps out a huge amount of light.

The good news is my new commuter bike is due to arrive any day. A couple of months ago I ordered a Specialized Sirrus Pro and hopefully I'll retire my Giant Cypress to permanent duty on the trainer by weeks end.

Bicycle commuting ROCKS!

The last warm ride in to work of 2007, +15 C plus a very bright Venus looking over my right shoulder as I rode along the lakefront trail. As Sixty Fiver says, "transcendent!"

Cool and cloudy morning, and a speedy commute. Felt great.

It rained this morning. :D Cold, wet, rain. It was beautiful. I received some astonished looks at work. One lady even asked "Aren't you cold? How can you do this?"

I replied "The ride keeps me warm and, besides, its only rain." with a big smile on my face. She just shook her head and I though to my self, yeah, I know, I'm crazy. Wonderful day. ;)

I had a mixed mode commute today. My wife had an early appointment so it fell to me to get the kids to daycare. I thought about trailering them in but the streets were wet from last night's rain and I haven't gotten around to reinstallilng my fenders. So I put them and the bike in the minivan, dropped them off, and then drove down to Front Street where the cheap skates (I mean economically enlightened) park for free and rode in from there.

I had to ride in a whole hour earlier than usual. It's fargin' dark at 6:30 a.m. I also didn't notice that I forgot to change the lenses in my glasses to a lighter tint. D'oh!

I think I need a new middle ring cause my chain is sliding over it when I crank hard from red lights.
I'm off the bike for a week anyways 'cause I'm goin' to vegas.

warm and foggy, drizzle started w/ a mile to go, full on rain as I walked in the door. Everything was soaked the whole ride drip drip drip everywhere, except me that is, love those cascadia fenders.

Today's commute was wet. Soaking wet as only a SE Alaska commute can be. Absolute downpour the entire way.

Kinda chilly too...about 40F... not exactly "great" commuting conditions, but that's the joy of living here!!!

Do you play the bagpipes by any chance?

cloudy but no rain on the ride in today- I think it rained after I got to work. took Comm Ave. instead of the bike path to meet my wife after work. It's faster but the cars are mighty aggressive at that time of night on Comm. Ave. Did the grocery store run after I got home.

It rained today. I HATE soggy cotton pants! Arrgh!

Anyone know of a place in Toronto to get good water-resistant pants with lots of large zippable pockets?

Try a cape. Really.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=292431

Will try. Thanks for the tip. Aerodynamics doesn't matter to me much on commutes after all.

I beat the bus :D That always makes me happy! Also got several admiring comments from classmates about my bravery in riding when it's "so cold" (it was 6C). A few weeks from now they won't so much admire me as edge away slowly from my possible insanity... hee.

Eyeing the bikes today to decide which one shall become my winter steed (steel rims, alas, mean Sir Lancelot must take a winter vacation). I do see a MEC shopping expedition in my future (lights, better rack, fenders, and a saddle for the mountain bike that won't kill me).

Yesterday's commute was uneventful, But this morning I really got a kick out of the scenery. Woke up an hour early so decided to go to work a bit earlier as well. The second half of my commute takes me trough a forrest, which gives way to beatuful moors. A thin fog was suspended above the moors just as the sun came up. The scenery was just stunning. The best Holywood special effects have nothing on moter nature I tell ya!

I also got to try my B&M Lumotech IQ Fly this morning. This is a new LED powered head light introduced during the EuroBike show 6 weeks ago. I use it in combination with a Shimano DH3N71 dynamo hub, and the output is just amazing. More than adequate on unlit forrest (tarmac) roads up to 20+ mph.

We're finally getting some cool temperatures in NC. It was 60 riding into work this morning at 6:30 am, which may seem warm to many but it's cooler than we've seen in a while after the hottest summer on record. Temps are supposed to dip down to the low 40s Friday through Sunday. Bring it on! I'm sick of the heat. We've set record highs for the past 3 days. My cycling clothes were almost totally dry when I got to work this morning. Usually I'm dripping with sweat.

FAST! :p Partly because I topped off my tires with air and put fresh lube on the chain this morning a few minutes before I left. Temps in the low 50s. No wind to speak of. Overcast.

Saw a few cyclists. Passed one kid on an MTB while reeling in a guy on a road bike who was moving along pretty well (~20MPH) but wearing dress clothes. Stayed behind him until he went another direction. Then another guy on a road bike came up behind me at a red light, and went before the light turned green. I waited the few seconds for the green, then testosterone got the better of me and I sprinted past him up the hill. :o

I was happy to get in before the predicted rain started. Some new roadwork going on - hopefully to fix the road surface around some old railroad tracks. Always gratifying to bypass cars stuck at a construction delay :)

Yesterday I had to ride out to a post office in a different community to pick up a package. I thought, "no big deal", as I used to ride that route all the time while I was in university. I did well at the start, outpacing a roadie and several mtn bikers with slicks, and generally keeping up with traffic. Then we moved into a "speed zone". Ho. Lee. Crap. Traffic speed jumped significantly, the road surface turned bad and actually got narrower. Then I got caught at a light at the bottom of a short, steep hill. Boourns! I had to bail from the main road and take some creative alternate routes to get to my destination. The way back wasn't any better, as the road is just as narrow and crappy going the other way. I may have to commute along that road next spring, which fills me with a bit of dread...

The ride in today was fine, other than the ungodly hour at which I sprung from bed. I got the LEDs and lenses for my DIY light build, so I'm looking forward to that this weekend. Anyone know how to solder?

Time for my annual minor crash. I was going through an area that has been under construction, and as a result loose sand has collected in a few places along the MUPs and roads. I decided to take a slightly different route than normal, which meant that I need to make a turn through one of these piles instead of just going straight through it. My rear wheel slipped and down I went. Nothing hurt but my pride. Ah well.

On a related note, the new cool weather gear I picked up worked well, possibly a bit too well. I think I would have been more comfortable if it was just a bit cooler.

Tomorrow, I'm trying a bus/bike trip across town to see if I can make it from work to class in a reasonable manner.

Met my buddy for our newly renewed daily training ride before work. It's a 20 mile out and back. He said it was the first time he'd been on his bike all week and he'd be happy to take it easy, just have a mellow spin. The ******* dragged my ass up and down the trail at 21, all the while chatting about work and his kids and the book he's been reading. As I struggle to breath, most of my responses were, Uh huh. Pant, pant, uh huh.

Yes, if you're asking for tips - heat up the "biggest" part of the joint first (whichever takes longest to heat), and warm up the wires/connections then apply the solder to the join area - the heat you've applied already should pull the solder over the joint and seal nicely.

It can help to 'tin' the bare ends of the wires you're working with too. This is basically applying a thin layer of solder onto the copper/steel wires prior to soldering them onto a joint (and it keeps them all neat and tidy, too).

Good luck.

My ride this morning was fine, a little tired in the legs and cooler (wore pants!) but otherwise normal. Last night I popped in at home to pick up my waterproof kit to ride East, in that 11 minute ride home I was *soaked* (yay for no fenders? ;)) - was glad to bundle up in the goretex. Oh, and I got a new Brooks saddle (B17 green w/copper) so am running that on my roadie for now to break it in ready for my fixie build :D Going from ~2600 miles on my black Brooks and going back to this is a bit of a culture shock for my rump.. :)

I hooked up with another commuter for the ride in. About 3/4ths of the way there was another commuter behind us. Who knows how long he was there. The more the better. It makes being seen in the dark easier .
Life is good on a bike.