Yesterday's commute to work was chilly but uneventful, the ride home was good and bad. I had a personal best for my ride home yesterday, just under 45 minutes (I tried some lighter, skinnier tires for the first time on my touring bike). I had 2 cars pass extemely close, they didn't even try to move over when passing me. I may start tapping the side of the car when that happens in the future.

And for the first time since I started commuting last November, someone yelled at me, something like "get off the road jerk". This was on a 2 lane road and several cars were waiting to pass me, I think the person the person who yelled was driving towards me, so there was no way I could have been slowing them down. Go figure.

Well today was my last commute for a week. The wife and I are flying out to Portland, OR for a little vacation. I'm hoping my brother-in-law might have a bike I can tool around on. Maybe I'll see some of you Portland commuters and give a wave. I'll be the idiot tourists who doesn't know where he is going.

Great commute and warm weather

Was running a little late this morning and forgot to grab my jacket.
Now it is raining. Even if it lets up before I leave it will still be chilly.
Ah well, better that than being too hot.

Monday -Orgeon City, Or. had a temperature at about 5 Am of 39F degrees, a little chilly riding in.
but going home it was 80F something. Weird
More Weird, Tuesday at 5 Am it was 60F degrees.
Around here I have heard it said that if you dont like the weather waite 5 min.

Good news for you: In a survey released today about road rage, Portland was voted the best city in America. Good thing you weren't going to Miami on vacation: they're the worst.

Mutant squirrel?
 

It sounds like you might have seen a fox squirrel. They are not too common but it fits your description. I could not find a good photo of one but here is more info: http://www.answers.com/topic/eastern-fox-squirrel-1

Hah! I bet I know which route too! Past the Zoo and down past the weir right? I used to take that route when I lived in the South and if I saw any drivers in the line-up looking at me I made sure to give a BEEEEEEG Smile!:D

My commute is too short now and along McKnight ( Aye Carumba! ) Tonight though I'm riding Downtown to put up a notice on the MEC notice board so that should rack it up to 25km for the day. With the better weather I will try to get out earlier and take the long route around Fox Hollow Golf Course.

I made sure to wave :D They didn't seem to appreciate the joie de vivre I was trying to communicate though.

Great commute! Friend told me about riding through a greenway, added two miles but worth it!

My first rainy commute.
Forgot my jacket, but thought "no big deal - forecast called for mid morning showers, cloudy afternoon; should be fine by the time I head home."
Well, mid morning showers came, then mid-day showers, afternoon showers. Pretty much rained all day and all of my seven miles home.
Not bad, just a light rain. I was soaked after the first couple of miles though.

But hey, I did not melt or anything. I saw a few other cyclists, none with rain gear, none looked bothered. It was actually kind of refreshing.

So today was my day to take it easy and not get over heated in the first summer like 85+ degree weather. So I'm 6 or 7 miles into it sitting up pouring water over me up a hill when some sleek racer type breezes by me. Since I've never had anyone actually pass me before I thought "ooh a challange!". So even though I'm over heated and there is a HUGE headwind I talk this young feller into following me on a different route. So I haul a$$ the rest of the 16 miles and even though he didn't take the wind once (I'm just saying...) it seemed to cheer him up a bit (mostly because I took him off the main road). I guess he thought I was some schmoe out for a spin. The pace was off by 15% from the previous day (it was hot and I was tired...) but it was still a nice pace and I think he was happy with it. I'm just curious if he was faster then me and if so by how much. Looked him up on the net and he races in the Pro/1/2/3 class.

I just liked that I finally had someone who could keep my wheel the whole way. I hope he finds me on a good day next time.

I took my Aluminum frame bike out on a shakedown commute today. I've stripped it down prior to sale - 18.8 lbs. At lunch, I rode over to the LBS for a few parts on 10% day. On the way home there was a rare and glorious tailwind. I was fast even up the hills :)

The ride in was nice... Missed the torential downpour by about 5min... brought my bike inside (screw em' if they dont like it)... Rode home in the drizzle... not bad... A very "amphibous day" as we would say in the Corps... I'm soaked though, I realy need to get some fenders....

Oh, and why is it people SPEED UP when it rains? I ride on Indinapolis BLVD (US 41) and while it might be a 4 lane road, its also a 35mph speed limit... People do 50mph when its dry... I swear, they were doing 70 tonight... Whats the rush?

JMHO
Billy

Some insane cagers on the short stretch of one lane each way 55mph road I have to travel less than a mile on.

I had a tractor/trailer following me with oncoming traffic, so I'm riding center lane to make sure he doesn't try to squeeze by. As traffic clears I move to right tire track and wave him across the double yellow since I could see the road was clear. He didn't try to pass. As I'm wondering why he's not passing I see cars starting to fly by him on the left, without even knowing if the road is clear because their view is clearly blocked by the truck. Eventually there's a car coming the other way, and I hear an engine revving to the left of the truck. The car making the pass barely squeezed between the oncoming car and the front of the 18 wheeler, and would have hit me if I hadn't already anticipated and moved over to the white stripe on the right side of the road.

Then about 200 feet up the road in the dotted yellow line (passing ok) section with the 18 wheeler still behind me and lots of oncoming traffic I suddenly hear a noise to the RIGHT and there's a Ford Ranger flying by both me and the truck on the uneven, rocky, glass filled dirt shoulder. I was so surprised I didn't even think to get a plate # until he was already out of range, but I at least had time to swerve to the left to get out of his way as he was cutting off the truck. That has to be the craziest thing I've seen so far in my short commuting experience.

Just another fun day dodging cars! Just think...if I didn't ride my bike to work I wouldn't have so many "Wow! feels great to be alive!" moments.

Another nice ride in. Uneventful and very pleasant despite a headwind. Supposed to rain in the late PM, but hopefully not until after I get home

ok well its been a year nearly since i have been cycling and tonight i had a bike rage incident. My first and hopefuly my last.

Coming down Burwood highway, i was riding on a flat section alot of traffic passing pretty quickly. Then a cyclist, undertakes me on such a silly place i could hardly believe what had happened, doing so he also nudged into me pushing me further into the path of traffic. Not good. Obviously i thought id catch up with him and just explain he nearly pushed me into traffick, he then, wait for it. Told me to Foxtrot oscar (if you know what i mean) and that i was to slow.

Taking a while to take in this guys attitide i decided to give chase and prove to him however fast or slow you might be riding you DO NOT undertake especially on a road like burwood highway. I then tried to talk to him again at the next lights, obviously as i was not to slow and he once again told me to foxtrot oscar as he has been riding up this road for 20 years.

I then decided i would prove to him how slow i was and keep up his ass until i had had enough and left him behind on one of the hills.

If any of you see this guy, or it is you (about 40 riding an old Bianchi in bianchi colours with black forks and black rear triangle) please give him a piece of my mind.

I got an element of satisfaction from it though as he was trying his hardest to get away from me and even on my shopping bike as the mrs calls it (the commuter) he couldnt pull away.

All in all what a PRICK

Wet! :eek: Haven't had a good soaking rain ride like this in quite a while. And there were 3 other cyclists out. I passed one guy on a commuter tank hybrid, saw a "regular" going the other way, and passed another young'n on an MTB. More runners out in the rain, too.

Got to work dripping wet. Shorts, gloves, and shoes soaked. I giggled mischievously and got into dry clothes. :p

Another nice morning commute, though a little warmer and more humid. Finally saw another commuter this week, said good morning and he enthusiastically said it back. Still surprised I haven't seen more cyclists out this week around here.

excellent weather this morning and traffic was reasonably well behaved as well. Could smell the smoke from the wildfires south of here.
They're over 200 miles away :eek:
Supposed to be thunder storms this afternoon, so might be interesting ride home.

50s and wet. Wasn't too bad, had one cager want to turn right, but didn't put on his turn signal and got mad at me that I didnt know he didnt want to turn right.
My ESP must not be working right this morning.

Rested yesterday, too bad as I'd have loved to have ridden in the rainstorms that passed us by.

Ride in today was a little cooler (great riding temp), nice and fast with a decent tailwind most of the way. Smooth sailing so far.

I actually met and rode briefly with another Ft Worth commie this morning. Messenger Bag, fixie and calf tattoory were all in evidence. Not really a chatty Cathy, though...

Then there were 6 bikes on the train - 2 Dept. store level bikes, 2 GT mtb's, a recumbent and my roadie.

I guess gas prices are taking their toll.

Also, I'm not accustomed to a 20 mph headwind on the ride in. Damp from a shower, it actually got a little chilly.

Windy today. There's a storm blowing in; hoping it holds off long enough for me to get home dry (and letting tonight's local Ride of Silence stay dry would be nice too).

A bitty chilly this morning for what I was wearing. Because I was with a partner, the moderate pace didnt' really warm me either. But it was a good ride. It should be perfect going home. Upper 70's lower 80's. Utah dry.