The return commute is no problem, I commute to and from work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 46 miles round trip. Phoenix summers are 110+ F during the day so I grab a ride home. I can make it about 10 miles in the heat but then heat stroke and exhaustion becomes an issue no mater how much I hydrate.

I usually work outside, but this past week I had to sub for someone at City Hall writing permits. I was busy all week with phone fax and walk-ins. I commuted to work and it was a life saver for me. When I got to work I was refreshed and I got all the frustration out before I got home.

Going over the Missouri river bridge (hwy 9 Heart of America) was busy but I had a shoulder to ride on. I stopped at a park outside of City Hall to cool down.

Round trip 14. My normal commute is 7.4

Well no riding today since it is the weekend and I don't ride for fun in 95 dgree weather.

I did hit 1000 miles for the year this week so I am excited. This upcoming week is bike-to-work week here so it should be interesting to say the least. I'm looking forward to chatting it up with some newbies perhaps.

Damnit! Biking is too fun. Just checked my car in the garage and noticed the layer of dust on it. It's to be expected since its been parked there since April.

Now I gotta wash a car I don't plan on using until August. :(

Two words......CAR COVER! :D

I got a new jersey just for this next week! Mine starts Sunday night.

Got hit by a Prius, today. How you doin?

Ouch... Whats the Damage? When I got hit by a Mustang I put my elbow through the Fiberglass hood.... That was fun :p And I was walking....

Hope you and ur bike are ok.

Billy

Hey there, from someone who can relate to what you said about the breeze from L. Michigan.

After installing my new (solid) rear axle (the original quickchange one broke) and repacking the bearings, the ride is noticeably better, smoother. Plus I just rearranged my bike equipment to something much smaller that I can fit in a pocket. The roll bag was a little cumbersome, having to take it off for fear of people stealing it or its contents. Now all I have is a small Amphipod pack with two large adhesive bandage pads, a Topeak Toolbar (plus additional bits in their holder), a Park Tool GP-2 patch kit, and a folding titanium spork (for those times when I want to eat on the road, but not use disposable plasticwear). This is of course in addition to my every-day carry.

Man, it sure gets warm in Raleigh in the morning! Hot and humid, just seems like it's harder to pedal to work on Monday. Yesterday was a nice ride in Durham, oh well, only 7.5 hours to go before I can get back on.

Beautiful morning for a ride, 68, sunny, light breeze. And the cars were pretty nice to me too. They must have noticed that I have a camera mounted on the bike now.....
:D

Had to ride up to the grocery store for something for my lunch today, so I had a slight variance in the routine. Good ride in, told a guy about his pannier strap hanging low/loose - in case it got in his back wheel somehow, he was grateful. Other than that, good run in, felt good to be able to push a bit up the hills to keep my speed steady.

Last week I heard a grinding/crunching sound at the bottom of each right pedal stroke when I was in my middle gears. Since I'm not mechanically-inclined (and even worse about doing preventive maintenance), I figured it was probably something bad in the bottom bracket. I just didn't realize HOW bad....

I took her in to the LBS Friday night after work. The wrench looks at the bike and says, "How many miles you go on her?" "Uh oh," I think. "Probably about 5000," I say. "She's my everyday commuter and I've put about 2k a year on her for the last 2 years."

He puts her on the rack and "flexes" the pedals. "OK, you've got play in the cranks," he says. "That crunching/grinding sound is probably a seized bearing." Then he shows me a ring at the bb; it's got a noticeable crack in it. And finally, the chain was stretched to 100%. Total for a replaced bb, new chain, and some general cleanup was about $85.

So, how was the ride today? Really, REALLY quiet. ;)

P.S. The funny thing is, my 3-year-old van is due for a tune-up this week (oil change, stuff like that). That regular maintenance on the van is going to cost more than essentially replacing the entire drive train (ok, no new cassette, but still...) on the bike did. It makes me think (again) about going car-free.

Good ride in... Not too warm (mid 70's) and NO WIND! Its amazing, you leave 1/2 hour early, and there is no wind.... Wife wont like it, but I sure do :D .

Passed my first fellow commuter this morning (I think, that our just out for a ride on busy streets....). I had just crossed into Hammond IN, and was taking northcote N. He pulled out of the Cabella's construction site and was riding a very nice GIANT.... Ergonomic handlebars and all...(I'm jelous:p ) I didnt slow down, just said "hi". I got stuck a the light crossing Indianapolis Blvd.... He caught up just as the light turned green.... Seemd to be more out for a stroll.... Just an observation...

I need to see if its feesable to ride into Gary , IN (scary thought huh :eek: ). I start Nursing School in August and I'm not looking foward to buying a car... I'd love to ride to school.... would prove to people that I realy AM CRAZY to ride 10 miles each way in the Chicago winters.... :D

Happy Biking!
Billy

Back to work this week. Took last week off for Ride The Rockies. The ride in was great... lacking the 20mph headwind we seemed to have every day last week. It's good to be home, but sucks going back to work. At least I get a nice ride between the 8 hours of heck.

May have to fire up the tandem tonight and take the little misses out for a starbucks run.

Nice ride this morning. Primo biking weather and I have cut way back due to achilles tendons and actual scheduling conflicts. Bummer, but at least the conflicts are good ones.

Any thought of Gary, IN is a scary thought... One nice thing about biking there though is that there is hardly any traffic, apparently, the town being half-abandoned and all. Crime is a different issue though...

Lovely ride in today :) The construction at Glenmore Trail has finally eased up and I was able to get through the lights without risking life and limb. Yay!

The goslings in the river park are getting big. They were grazing under the watchful eyes of Mama and Papa. Every so often when I look at birds I get this flash/overlay effect when I realize these creatures are the descendants of dinosaurs. The goslings are at the gangly stage where they look a little bit creepy when you think about them as dinosaurs!!

Put new brake pads on the Raleigh yesterday - it was nice being able to stop at the bottom of my one big hill. I hadn't realized how bad the old pads were! :eek: I wanted the Koolstops with the multiple surfaces but couldn't find any - went with basic Super Cycle brand from Canadian Tire while I scout online sources. Definitely an improvement though I'm going to be pretty careful if it rains this afternoon, of course.

Added 30 psi to my tires this morning - riding took noticeably less effort. :rolleyes: It's supposed to rain sometime today, but then get nice later in the week.

A nice morning, but a little warmer than expected. I thought I could get away with riding in wearing my office clothes but I was glowing when I arrived. Good thing I packed a jersey and bibs for the ride home.

At one intersection I waved through a "too nice" driver. I was trying to make a left turn, she was going straight but stopped in the middle and tried to wave me through. I shook my head and mouthed "No! You go." She frowned and shook her head at me and now she's probably on carforums.net complaining about the ungrateful cyclist.

Exchanged good mornings with another commuter going my way at 15th and L. I didn't get a chance to mention that her rear tire looked low because she took to the sidewalk. If you're reading this (woman in the blue shorts on the hybrid): make sure you pump up that tire! And stay off the sidewalk!

Great morning ride in. I had excuses to not ride--had to drive my DD somewhere this morning, anyway, so I was already in the car, and I also had to transport an extra duffel bag in with me--but I didn't use them. :)

I felt like an arbiter of good cheer on two wheels, this morning. There seemed to be an unusual number of people who were coming out of parking lots or intersections to my right, and in almost every case they had enough time (and appropriate gap in the cars going past) that if they'd wanted to, they could have gone before I quite got there. Since I have learned here at BF that just 'cause they appear to be focused in your direction doesn't mean they actually see you, I'd smile and wave to see if I got a response. They all smiled back and most of them gave a little nod or wave back, too. All very nice and polite and not in a rush or annoyed at the mere presence of Ms. Fred, here.

Then, I hit most of the lights green, which is nice, but it also means I end up working a lot harder. If I'm coming up on it and it's still green, I need to get up some speed. Otherwise, if the light changes to yellow just as I hit the intersection, my usual happy little 12 mph speed won't get me all the way across these 6-lane streets before it turns red. It's against my moral code to stop for a yellow light :p but I do not want to be just halfway across when cross traffic starts thinking it can go! So I pedal HARD.

Happy to be here this morning.

Easy for you to say.... If I dont ride on the sidewalk, I'd get plasterd by some idiot in a hummer going 55mph in the 35 mph US-41..... Not my idea of a good time... Staying on the sidewalk is the only way to ride safely around here... Atleast on US-41...

JMHO
Billy

Fair enough. But this situation was on L Street along Capitol Park in downtown Sacramento. Way too many pedestrians on the sidewalk. Way too many cars entering from side streets (and not looking for sidewalk riders).

I see (Said the blind man, to the deaf dog).... I passed 2 ppl on my 5mi commute this morning... So yeah, if your dodging pedestrians, not cool.... I ride (I'm gonna get a tommato for this) AGAINST traffic... It keeps me from having to cross a VERY busy street twice... And I can see when cagers are going to pull into/ out of a parking lot and dont see me... Happens at least twice a day...

I cross at the cross walks, only on either a solid green, or with a "walking man" signal....

Billy

Heavy police presence today. Wondering if some threat occurred from some Jihad fool.