Tha first broken chain evah for me today! Thank God I was carrying the toolkit with me this time (I don't always). Due to this delay, I arrived at work with full 15 seconds to spare. :)

a little shorter commute today. But a nice afternoon ride in and beautiful late night ride home with my wife.

It's been cooler here the last two days after having a streak of basically perfect weather (sans wind), but so what! I rode in zero degrees in the winter, so 40s are nothing now. I wore a long-sleeved shirt under my high-vis jacket, and was just dandy. The winds were lesser than usual, too. The only hint of a problem came as a car on my side of the road (which I was on the edge of) moved into the oncoming lane slightly to get around me, at the same time a car was oncoming. There was no collision, but it certainly is irritating. Apparently, it's too much to ask some drivers to WAIT a few seconds. This more than anything else has had me worried lately, and I've been thinking more about taking the center of the lane. I'm gradually getting braver and moving into the lanes more instead of hanging out on the fringe. On part of the highway I do much of the commute on I have been riding in the right lane most of the time, and I started doing this after riding the new bike (more concerned than I was on the MTB about flats from riding in the shoulder). The highway has two lanes in each direction and when I'm riding it the traffic is very light... plenty of room for the few cars I do see in the left lane and me in the right.

I was glad to see that gas is up to $3.65 here, too.

Hurrah! Am finally over a bout of tonsilitis, so rode today for the first time for nearly 2 weeks.

And a lovely day for riding it was too. Felt great to be on the bike. Legs felt OK, but throat / chest still a bit phlegmy from being ill. Very nice ride though.

My old bike is at the LBS at the moment getting an overhaul. I intend to kit it out more as a tourer / utility bike with panniers etc. I was also looking at the extracycle. My LBS was very disparaging, but I kind of like the idea - I think it's the only way I can carry my trombone on the bike. Anyone have an opinion?

Wet, wet, wet. I really need to add fenders. 43 degree F. and raining. Overall, the ride was exhilirating. It was a joy as always to be on the bike. It's supposed to rain here all day, so I'll be riding home in the rain as well, at least in should be in the 50s by then.

I've ridden in the rain a lot for pleasure, but today was my first commute in it. The temperature was 45F with driving rain.

I have full fenders, custom made mud flap, and rain paints/jacket. Fifteen miles later and I arrived at work 99% dry and with a smile on my face.

Uh oh. The weather is deteriorating. :eek: Overcast. ~50F. Had a headwind but didn't really notice it, and got to work in average time. Saw a couple of cyclists going the other way.

The ride home should be wet. No snow here though. Whew!

Pretty nice ride this morning. Temps dropped significantly over the weekend, all the way down to 40* F:eek:! That meant shoes instead of my normal Shimano sandals, broke out the tights and jacket (had washed and put them away for the summer...), and more fogging of the morning glasses at stop lights. With the sun coming up earlier, me getting a few minutes later start than normal, and getting more comfortable with my route, I was really able to enjoy the scenery this morning. Most of the last half of my commute is along a road with very large lots, very nice houses, lots of horses and ponds, and beautiful trees. It's not the Pacific Northwest (where I grew up) but it's about as nice as you can get in the DFW area, so I'll take it...

Second bike commute of the year (I am a proud fair weather commuter). It was sooo nice to be out on the bike. Plus, it is a NEW bike. I got a Giant Bowery and am loving it so far. I have it set up freewheel right now - not brave enough to switch to fixed yet.

Supposed to be a beautiful sunny day today - just in time for MORE snow/rain the rest of the week. Sigh.

A beautiful morning!

Wet. See all that yellow? I rode through that. :)

It's sprinkler season again.....

Woot! No jacket, no mittens, no winter bike shoes! It was finally WARM this morning! Wheeeeeee! I get to ride home in a t-shirt! Wheeeeeee!

yeah, it was a nice ride in, wasn't it? I'm down to 3 more days at this old job, Wednesday being the last one. The only thing good about this place was the facilities we had at the building (showers, secure bike lock up, etc). Hope my next job has something similar.

shorts and t-shirt woohoo! Even sun through the sprinkles. This time it is really feeling like a spring rain that makes things grow rather than the usual winter wetness that keeps drowns all higher life forms.

It was pretty rainy but I got to try out my new rain jacket (J&G Cyclewear) and it works great.

rainy here as well, but it was a great ride in this morning. Just a few sprinkles got me and then of course all the road spray, why??? BECAUSE I STILL HAVE NOT BOUGHT FENDERS!!!...dumb***!!!...I'm so STUPID!

anyway, slight chance of t-storms this afternoon that I may get to enjoy and most certainly some rain.

ah the fenders are a must. I screwed up though and bought ones without mudflaps. I have to go to work in a few (luckily its only 1.5-2 miles from school so I won't get too wet) and I'm going to use the fact that I got exercise in today as an excuse to drink a soda and then cut the bottle into mudflaps and tape them on.

I'm going to have to ride home tonight though and I kind of hope there aren't any thunderstorms. Up until a few years ago I was insanely paranoid of lightning but I still don't like it.

good ride in this morning returning to work from vacation...got some new sneaks to ride in and they were awesome

they fit in the clips just right and they are so comfy
i got the onitsuka tigers, ultimate 81
very nice shoes

rain in the forecast for most of the week so i may ride the singlespeed weather bike with a cape
cheers~

yeah, I'm a little nervous about the t-storms too - I don't know, maybe it just the combination of my body touching some metal and an electrically charged atmosphere - oh well - I think have more to worry about with belligerent drivers

I think most commercial mudflaps, including those sold with Planet Bike Cascadia, are too short. You could make your own. See an example here.

Cold cold cold. Can you believe the temperature yesterday evening and this morning was only 8C? (46F). brrrrr. That's very chilly. I had to wear two layers! Imagine!

Still, the sun is shining and the sky is blue, so it's not all bad.

the ride in was wet, wet, wet and windy! Boston drivers turn into complete idiots in the rain. I hit a pothole after a bus right hooked me and there was so little distance between his rear bumper and me and I didn't see it coming.

Had a kind of stand off with a 57 bus on Brighton Ave. I'd passed him at a bus stop but he caught me at the light and whipped around me after the light changed and hooked me as he pulled to the next stop. I hit the pothole (no damage!) then went around him and he gunned it to get around me one more time- I was fighting a fierce head wind. Finally I got by him at another stop and hammered as best I could past a couple of bus stops and he never caught up again. Couldn't understand why he didn't just let me be ahead of him- I'd have eventually left him anyway without the effort.

The ride home was much more pleasant. Left work at 8pm and it was raining but much lighter and no wind. Rode along the bike path- naturally at this time of night and in the rain had it all to myself.

~50F/10C and clearing skies. Shorts, T-shirt, and rain jacket against the off chance of a shower. Very comfortable.

The ride home yesterday afternoon was in a steady light rain, but my own riding and that of the drivers around me was just about textbook. Maybe I'm just lucky, or maybe I'm finally getting the people on the road that time of day broken in to my presence (breaking in a Brooks is faster :D ).

I think some guy in a minivan actually gave me a friendly wave, as well (either that or he was reaching for his climate control).

about 54F this morning - great ride in, but a little chilly

just got a little wet yesterday on the way home - the rain and t-storms held off until later in the evening around 7:30

fenders
 

[quote=jterribili;6598391]rainy here as well, but it was a great ride in this morning. Just a few sprinkles got me and then of course all the road spray, why??? BECAUSE I STILL HAVE NOT BOUGHT FENDERS!!!...dumb***!!!...I'm so STUPID!QUOTE]

Jt -- Pickup up some SK RaceBlade fenders. You can get them at REI. They snap on and off in about 2 minutes. Don't work as well as full fenders, but it's all you need around here unless the drought turns around and it starts raining every day.

I've used my RaceBlade fenders several times in the past couple of weeks since it started raining again. They keep your back and butt dry, feet not quite as well, but certainly better than nothing. The best thing is how easy they are to take off and put back on, which is perfect for the weather around here where you can avoid riding in the rain most of the time.

i am going to pick up some race blades for my steamroller...no commute today since it was raining heavily so i carpooled with my ladyfriend

does anyone have any experience with one of those cheap rain suits, pant/jacket combo?
i think on the warmer days i could just be a little wet but i am thinking about trying the suit out when i want a little more coverage

the rest of the week looks great for riding
:)

Brrrrr. Freezing this morning. Apparently on the ride in at 6:30 today it was 0°. Face was a little cold but the paws and the ears were fine :D Preparation is key - but I don't have a facemask.

One of the worst commutes ever, yesterday riding home I broke a spoke so I switched everything over to my wife's bike until I can fix mine. Riding in this morning about 7 miles into my 16 mile commute, flat tire. Wouldn't you know, my son took my patch kit out of my bag and apparently didn't put it back, yes I know shame on me. Nevertheless, I ended up limping the bike in the remainder of the way. Sure, I'm going to have to buy a new tire now, but I wasn't going to be defeated. Overall, my 1 hour 10 minute commute turned into over 2 hours. Making me late for work.

Low 40Fs. Raining all the way in. :rolleyes: I caught up to one trail-regular cyclist, and we both passed a runner. That was it. 2 other people on 5 miles of MUP. I was surprised to see another cyclist, frankly.

It was in the 70s for two weeks, and now that's wet and in the 40s, all the New Year's Resolutionaries have skittered back into their nests. :p