Welcome, Ignem and Ecks51 to the Happy Healthy Commuting Muthas Club. Despite what others may have told you it's not a cult. Here, have some Kool-Aid. ;)

My commute today was uneventful though damp. We had a very light rain falling as I did my route.

Just read DJ's post - ow! Heal up soon! I'm not going to rant about bike lanes, but I totally see them doing more harm than good. Okay, that was a small rant.

We got a surprise snowfall overnight. It wasn't in the forecast, and it wasn't on the news last night at 11:00 p.m. Needless to say, there was a bit of a scramble to get lights and wheels moved around. I'm glad I didn't try to ride the slicks - the first bit of snow had already melted and then re-froze, with more snow on top. Easy work for the studs, and I'm sure it will all be gone by tomorrow.

Cold! Thick frost! And due to get colder this week. But sunny, which overall is an improvement over the intermittent snow/sleet squalls that were blinding me both going and coming on Friday. Also appreciate the dry 'cause I put a new chain on this weekend and cleaned the bejeezus out of the drivetrain (and replaced one chainring). Once I start putting the new chain through the more typical rain and slop it's a slippery slope, so to speak, toward losing that factory grease which makes me so happy.

Welcome to the Commuting Newbies. You've swallowed the Red Pill; there's no going back....

My own commute uneventful but for two aspects: 1) my buddy decided to teach me a lesson about half-wheeling. We agreed that we'd keep it under 20 as a recovery ride but I kept creeping up unintentionally. Rather than keep asking me to slow down, he decides to put the hurt on me. Pretty soon we're going 24, my HR is going red, and I have to beg him to slow down. Okay, lesson learned.

2) The guy in the yellow jacket on the gray bike: dude, there's no need to cut off buses and trucks. You're fast enough to take the lane, just do that and we'll all arrive at work in one piece.

Tried a new route today - very nice alternative to the bike/bus route which I've been using on days when I take the kids to school and get on the road later. Worked out pretty well, though at the end it had me going up a goodish hill in full sun. That's when I noticed it's getting much warmer these days! Had to sit in front of the fan for a few minutes when I got to the office before I washed up and got into work clothes.

Also just noticed the return of my bike tan - brown arms, brown legs, white white feet! Gotta start hitting the SPF 50 again.

I think our more northern brethren may be cursing your name right about now! Even here in NC it's not that warm yet--though Wednesday looks pretty promising! :D

Ah, but you northern brethren are much less likely to end up looking like the bottom of an old shoe a few years down the road. :o

Yep. It was 54F on the pre-sunrise ride in and is expected to be 90F for the ride home.
Al

starting to get hot out up here... :)

Beautiful day for riding today - 20C, blue sky, sunshine, very light cool breeze.

There's one very short section with a steep climb (a narrow MUP) on my route to work. There was another dude just in front of me who turned onto it first, and there were too many peds to get past him. He them cranked his 286-speed moutain bike down to the lowest granny gear and climbed the hill at a slow walking pace whilst spinning his legs like eggbeaters. In the meantime I'm stuck behind him struggling to stay upright whilst forcing the pedals round agonisingly slowly...!

I've felt like I've been struggling a bit the last few weeks, as if I'm out of condition. Very odd. I'm considering taking the gearing on my SS down a notch or two, as I think it's because I'm spinning less than I was (on my old bike I tended to hold it in a lower gear and keep up a very high cadence). It would also make it easier in situations like that!

I'm on the same page. I went out biking to a swimming hole 15 miles away early on Friday afternoon and had a nice burn that night. Dark tan, here I come!

My commute is a mile so I usually take a ride downtown, around, and back to get some mileage and hill climbing done. Today was pretty good except a woman who put her car in neutral on a steep hill then took her foot off the brake, almost plowing into me. I'm still astonished by the stupidity of caged drivers.

Temp wise, this morning was a bit chilly at 50 degree's but tonight it will be great in the 70's. The rest of the week will be in the 80's :D

Well, I hit a car today. I got right-hooked on my way home about a half mile from my apartment. I had enough time to grab the brake and get my speed down from about 20 to probably 15 before impact. I'm relatively uninjured - just a bruise on my forearm from hitting her trunk lid - and my bike is fine. The older woman's Saturn now has a nice large reminder in the rear bumper of why she shouldn't turn right in front of a cyclist again.

She admitted fault right away, though. Her excuse: "I didn't know you were going so fast and I didn't know there was a pedestrian in the cross walk [of the side street she was turning on.]" Of course, she sped up to try to pull this whole maneuver.

Still below freezing in the morning then 60's in the afternoon. Wow my pack is so heavy this time of year. Hopefully the mornings will warm a bit so I can lighten the load.
The bonus for after Easter is no school kids on the MUP. Full pack/clear path. Can't have it all I guess.

Business810 hope you heal quickly.

Thanks Magmol... I'm fine. I may take tomorrow off from biking and take the bus, but I'll be back on the bike very soon. I'm just astonished that my bike didn't get so much as a scratch. The front wheel isn't even out of true!

great weather recently, did have an upsetting interaction today... My MUP runs parallel to a major 6 lane divided road and crosses several cross streets, all well marked and with lights. I was at one intersection, and waiting for traffic to finish the left turn cycle onto the cross street I was attempting to cross. The last car (truck really), to push the yellow was a garbage truck... and as he was making his left across my path a funky brown-ish liquid was coursing from the business end of the truck, leaving a not so fragrant trial right across my path... I held my breath until I was well clear... even checked for spray on my bike later...:(

A wonderful 30 mi RT commute today in Orange County, today was commute day #55 for 2008. The much warmer than normal conditions the past 4 days are about to end. It was shorts and a single shirt layer for the ride home this afternoon in the upper 70s or low 80s, but the wind was shifting and a cool onshore breeze was dropping the temps back down a bit.

Much like yesterday: ~34F/1C with no wind.

I ran my balaklava through the wash over the weekend thinking that it's getting to be time to put away the winter gear--not quite yet (though now I'm dragging around cool weather gear for the mornings and lighter-weight stuff for the afternoon). Ah well, soon enough shorts will feel like too much...

A beautiful morning in NC, and it looks like the week is gonna get better day by day. We had a hard freeze overnight, and the temp was about 30F on my ride to work, but it felt great. For the first time in weeks, there was no wind. The moon was about 3/4 full and right in my line of vision for the first half of my ride. Birds were tweeting like crazy, and lots of trees and shrubs are starting to bloom. I was dressed perfectly and hardly had a drop of sweat on me when I got to work. This afternoon, it's supposed to warm up to near 60F. The rest of the week is supposed to sunny with morning lows in the 40s and 50s, and afternoon highs near 70F. Hard to beat that. I love springtime in NC.

great ride in this morning - like tarwheel said, you can't beat spring in NC - although, I did have to break out my cold weather gear again - hopefully that will be the last time. Digits did start to go numb.

Business810, I'm glad you're OK.

Off topic for a sec: Her excuse ties into the discussions here and on A&S about assigning fault in car-bicycle collisions. It seems the "report" at issue has found that in many cases the cyclist is at fault because he/she is "travelling too fast" (the term it used was "unsafe speed"). This makes me shake my head in disbelief. Drivers are constantly complaining that cyclists go too slow for traffic...yet when they accelerate to pass and then right-hook us, they claim we're going "so fast". :mad:

On topic: no commute for me today. The kid had a fever all night so I'm on call to pick her up at day care.

For what it is worth, the driver in my case was found at fault.
Then again I was traveling between 10-15mph when it happened and I told the police officer that. I can hit 25 mph on that street and was thankful that it happened at the beginning rather than when I was up to speed.

Business810, glad you're OK.

Last night I explored the back roads to avoid the insane street that links my work and home, and I was very pleased with it. Just as fast if not faster, I think, with almost zero headaches. I took a similar back route this AM and made good time (it's a very short trip, by the way) and am quite pleased.

-2 C and windy. Sounds like we're still battling a bit of cold, though it was sunny and simply gorgeous out for the last few days. I need better gloves. My hands were a bad indication of whether or not my intention to brake was being manifested. :)

frosty and sunny. Hope the rains hold off through ... well, tomorrow afternoon, but even just tonight would be fine.

-3C and dry. Yesterday's snow is completely gone, but the chill remains.

Cold this morning; sparkly frost on the wooden bridges on the trail. Had to find my winter gloves, but then wound up with sweaty paws before I was at work. Pretty pleasant otherwise, especially the lack of serious wind!

Took it very mellow. High overcast and warm. I really didn't need the gloves.

its was cold (for me at least)
 

I have so much respect for winter commuters now. I caught the bug over this past year in Florida (warm and flat) but today unexpectedly I walk out for my commute in jeans and a t shirt and its 48 F with a headwind the whole 5 miles in. I got a hoodie, but I had no gloves of any kind (I live in Florida!!!!) I warmed up and I now know why some people live in the drops. Headwinds can kill you. My hat is off to people who live up north.

-E

Day 2 of bike commuting to work was considerably less painful than day 1, despite a bit of soreness in the legs. I just keep telling myself that each day will get easier!

25 mph headwind on the way in today! Yeeeeeeeeeoouucchh.

Hope it holds until I go home. Yeeeeeeeeeeehhhaaaaaaaaaaaw.

It all depends on what you're acclimated to. If it actually hits the forecast 51 today here in Ohio I'd be ecstatic. It's climbing, but slowly, and spring has been a long time coming.

Headwinds make you stronger, it's the crosswinds that can kill ya. ;)