First commute after having last week off. Felt like I was slogging up a mountain in mud on the first couple of inclines I faced. Pulled a fairly stupid maneuver that had me swerving in front of a moving taxi w/ only 5-6' between it and the car in front of it to get around right turning traffic. Had to swerve again so as not to hit the police car in the next lane over and so I could lane split past slower moving traffic. After doing that, I mentally berated myself for it and reminded myself that I wasn't an invincible teenager anymore.

It was nice...i conserved my energy on climbs and actually got a PB...

14.2 miles in 38 minutes... good day.

Riding last night was a touch wet to say the least. Never the less, wasn't too bad - the wind proved the worst element out there.

Another nice ride in, warmish but windy today - promises of all kinds of crap to come down today/tonight, should be interesting.

Last night I rode home on completely dry streets, cursing the heavy studded tires on my bike. Before I went to bed, I checked the streets and the forecast. Dry, clear skies, relatively calm. At midnight, I put on my slicks. At 12:45, I look outside again - no change. At 6:45, I awoke to 1.5" of fresh snow on the ground. I quickly changed the tires back to studs. I didn't even get halfway up the stairs before hearing the tell-tale FWUP of the bead popping off the front rim at a whopping 50 psi. ****. It holds at 45 psi, so I run upstairs, shower, throw on the gear and head out the door. 1 km into the ride - FWUP! ****!!! It's the rear tire this time, and I don't want to mess with taking the wheel off in the snow. I let out all the air, then work the tire back onto the rim and throw 30 psi in. I made it into work without bailing, but I foresee the walk of shame on the way home tonight. Time for a second wheelset so I don't have to deal with this crap again...

brisk (<40F), sunny. Coming home last night was a total downpour. Gloves soaked through, but they dried out for this am after I left them on the water heater. My shoes did not dry out, but the insoles did (I took them out).

On the way home last night I was nearly right hooked by a white Chevy Tahoe. It pulled up alongside of me, pulled ahead, hesitated, and then pulled right. I saw it coming, braked to avoid the collision, and let it go past.

I would like to report that I was all zen about it but the truth is that I was pissed off. I caught up to the Tahoe, banged on the driver's window with my gloved hand and asked her "WTF?!?!" She nearly dropped her cell phone and stammered "I-I-I didn't see you! I'm lost!" I was even madder now. "Then put down the ****ing phone and pay attention! If you're lost, pull over and call for directions!

On the one hand, I wish I'd kept my cool. On the other hand, I hope that I might have planted a seed in the mind of at least one driver that cluelessness has consequences, especially when you're driving a 3 ton vehicle on city streets.

Feh.

you just hit the nail on the head on why I don't run two different sets of tires. It melts too frequently here to have studs, IMO. Knobbies do the trick, you just have to be more careful. The ideal would be to have a separate bike decked out with studded tires for snow days like this one.

Yesterday was really wet. Rained on me on the way in and on the way home. It was that 40 degree bone-chilling rain too. I think I got home with about ten pounds of water weight in my clothing. On the plus side, the road bike did really well despite the nasty conditions. However, I think it is about time to build up the KM frame with some fenders for inclement weather. At the very least, I wouldn't have the stripe of road grit and funk up my back.

On reflection, I certainly prefer cold and wet to the 95 degree and 95% humidity days we had this summer. That riding was just downright unpleasant.

Finally back on the bike today after a 3 week layoff due to a crash. Got my Townie 3 back from the shop with the new fork, and a new Electra rear rack, which fits better than any of the one-size-fits-all jobs from Performance. 65F on the way in, 53F on the way home.
Rode a little more carefully today due to an article in the latest issue of Bicycling mag. The article had some pretty scary stories in it about cyclists who had been hit by cars, and how the legal system is skewed towards the driver of the car. Scary stuff.
Anyway, so glad to be back on the bike.

Best time home from the carpool yet - 19 minutes. MY heart was pounding pretty hard when I get home, but I felt great!

temp was nice this morning. kinda disappointed at the shortness of the ride . think ill leave early and go get breakfast sometime after i get a new bike lock . when i got to the shop the peircer girl kinda giggled at my helmet guess shes never seen it before.

really couldn't have asked for a better ride this evening. temps in the low 50s, the wind has died down. enjoyed a nice jaunt downtown (four mile round trip) to the library via a moderately traveled four lane city street. everyone was courteous. no buzzing, no yelling, no honking, no spitting, no throwing of random objects. seems like i had good communication with everyone around. found a documentary i'd been waiting for at the library and made it home before it got too dark. while cruising along a quiet street towards home, i saw a little boy and his mom in their front yard. he pointed and said "hey mom! look at the bicyclist! and all the pretty lights!" (dual head and tail lights) it was cute. kind of the same expression i get when driving by some kids in the ambulance with the lights and sirens going.

One of the roughest rides I have ever had. This morning's ride was nice. Met another commuter and we chatted for about 2 miles as we rode. The home trip was something different. Very strong head winds. I was sitting at a light and looked up to see a flag flying straight out and pointing at me. It was like this the entire way home. My legs were tired and I was going so slow. I thought about turning into one of the train stops and getting on. Decided againt it and kept riding.
Most of my ride was done in the smallest chainring, felt like the entire 10 mile trip was uphill. I did get a few breaks where the wind stopped for about 5 seconds. It felt like I was slingshotted (?) ahead, but then the wind would pick up and stop me in my tracks.

I was run off the road by a State Cop tonight.

The commute home includes a mountain climb on a busy road with a small shoulder. I'm nervous going up this section, because the cars are fast and there is nowhere to go if a car decides to skirt the shoulder. If a car honks the horn on this section it makes me jump.

I was on the right of the fog line (off the road) with a steep grassy bank going up next to me. I heard a car coming behind me (as usual), but just before he got to me the cop hit his siren. I jumped out of my skin, tried to pull over more, hit the grass and fell over onto the bank. The cop went past - never noticing that I fell. The fall wasn't hard because the steep bank prevented me from going far. It was just a scare and an embarrassment.

That sucks, why did the cop turn on his siren?

oh, man! what a drag!:(

Once I put on the studs I keep 'em on until the snow is gone. Actually I sometimes think that by putting on my studs the weather stays warm and nice.

Today my commute was grand with a strong tailwind that whipped me down Commonwealth Avenue- still got the slicks on the bike.

Rode home and met up with my wife for the ride home along the bike path. We went slow but nice conversation.

This morning 39f. I worked a slight sweat fighting that 15mpg headwind out of the west. Came upon another biker at the beginning of my commute. Didn't notice him until he was about 30 ft from me. Startled me. He was in dark clothing with no lights. This afternoon was nice ridin' weather with the sun out and all. This evening about 8pm rode home with a tailwind. Thats' always nice cause I get home quicker. Temp down to 36f. Passed another un-lighted biker. Pretty dangerous ridin' in the dark with no lights

Oh i know the feeling, like the stuff i've been dragging is cut off for a nice moment, and then bam! :o

Normally I ride home in daylight. I had to work 1/2 hour late and thot OK only a 20 minute wait for the bus. Wrong the Transit system has added a new transit mall to improve service and most busses are running 20-40 minutes late. The sun had set at the bus stop and I was putting my morning commute cloths back on before the bus got there. Glad I had my new 100 watt headlight with me.

another 50 or so k's today, 30 degrees and the only thing wrong with the ride is the 8 hours of work in between.

all in all im loving the riding to work

IMO he didn't need to. I was off the road. I heard him turn it back on when he got behind the next car. I guess he was treating me like any other vehicle. Thing is, I was already way over. He had 2 full lanes to pass me.

Well today it is -7...feels like -14. That's roughly 6 degrees F. Anyone biking in today? I cannot

18F, with a 20MPH tailwind. Got some snow last night. I should have put my knobbies onto the Trek. I didn't have any problems but it made me nervous running street tires. Tonight I'm going to have to change tires. It's supposed to get sloppy over the next couple of days.

Saw a couple of other bike tracks in the snow as I got closer to Burlington on the MUP. Maybe more people are discovering the fun of winter cycling (or just experimenting... who knows...)

Forgot my shirt! I'll have to wear my wicking cycling shirt today. (Fortunately, it's black.) I really need to leave a set of emergency clothes at work.

rode out to a friend's house for a dinner party last night and while she used to live in an old neighborhood of mine in Somerville, I seem to have completely forgotten all of my secret shortcuts on how to get there from downtown Boston. Kept on hitting red lights. all. the. freaking. time.

This morning, decided to be indulgent and stop at a swishy little yuppie bakery for breakfast. As I was picking up my breakfast biscuit with bacon, one of the other customers looked at me and said, "god, those things are so good, but so full of butter. I'm getting a heart attack just looking at it."

I pointed at my bike and said, "See that over there? That's my heart attack postponement device."

It looks like I'm off the bike for a while. I tore a muscle in my calf Friday playing Ultimate. I've been working from home all week and thinking maybe I'll start riding next week. I tried to jog a step or two last night. I took one step and nearly collapsed; I don't think I'll be doing much of anything for a while. :(

Traffic was a nightmare. Cars backed up, blocking intersections and packed together like sardines. I actually had to stop a few times and scooter the bike around traffic. The tree at Rockefeller's being lit tonight (I think), but I doubt that's the reason for all the traffic. But if you ride through midtown tonight, keep that in mind and be careful.

I probably wouldn't have been even that nice, I've have quite the temper when people almost kill me. I keep wondering when some driver I curse out for almost causing an accident is gonna pull over and beat the cr@* out of me, but it's hard to not get angry when your life is in danger.

Felt tired and unmotivated....glass everywhere.....cars suck

This morning, about a block from my house, I was damn near run off the road by a driver heading the other direction. Apparently, they needed the 8' of clearance from their passenger side to the parked cars, and decided to leave me 3'. Normally that isn't a big deal, but there was 8" of sloppy snow piled up on my side of the road, and I had to dodge into that mess. Oh, and the battery on my light died just as I was heading into downtown. :mad:

I hear you on the melting aspects. Unfortunately, about 1/3 of my route never gets plowed, and it takes a good 10 days to get the snow and ice off the road after the last snowfall. I tried running regular knobbies, but they were useless on the black ice at intersections and not much better on the hills, so I went to studs. I ordered a wheelset with wider rims that will be my official winter wheelset. I can swap out the wheels faster than I can swap pedals, so that should do the trick. I wish the city would plow after they salt/sand the roads. The slop that's left behind is very difficult to ride in, and it's all over the city.