Gorgeous morning today. Nice breeze, barely anyone on the trail. Back was heavier than usual due to work I needed to take home last night and I woke up late and didn't stretch so now all my joints hurt.

Nice ride in. Traffic was still unusually light, although a bit heavier at the edge of downtown (Atlanta). It was a bit warm but I kept myself hydrated. I need to call in the traffic sensor at the intersection of Memorial Drive and Grant Street. It's barely responsive to small autos, much less bicycles.

Rode east last night, nothing ground breaking speedwise but it felt nice. I stayed in that side of the city after visiting a buddy, rode in from there today meaning a nice longer 8 mile commute in. If I wasn't running late, I'd have circled the block or something a couple times as I'm now at 798.xx miles on the odometer and wanting to make 800 really (that'll teach me to get lazy and stay over).

Good ride in, weather warming up again - had a nice ride though, lots and lots of bikes heading west into downtown, which was great to see (and 'compete' against :D).

First flat in several months.

I was starting to think that my Specialized Nimbus (non-armadillo) tires were blessed. A staple put an end to that dream.

Worked out ok. The gas station I pulled into even had a picnic table I could work at so I wasn't scrounging in the grass to get it changed.

woo! 11 miles in 40 min, personal best since my ankles fell apart on me in May.

Beautiful day...70 or so. Rode to work/summer camp (me to work, son to summer camp close to work). had emergency in middle of ride.....he forgot to bring brownies...lucky for us a supermarket was two blocks away. Dropped him off and raced for the meeting (I lead) that I was a bit late for. Noticed I was working harder and losing efficiency....figured it out at work...my seat slipped. It is amazing how much more work it is if your seat hight is too low. Life is good.

I finally got off my dead arse and rode today.

Ok, so it's 78F, sunny, and slight breeze. As mentioned above, I also did quite a bit of recreational riding this week on my high end roadies. So, I took it easy today, and only avg'd about 15mph. I wanted to enjoy the sun.

Oh, the horror. :D

{bawk bawk} I chickened out over the high temps. Stupid, really...I swear I could be halfway home by the time I walk out to my car in this god-forsaken parking lot.

On the ride home I was the first person to report a Jeep Grand Cherokee that had crashed into the ditch on the side of the 2-lane 55mph road I ride on...looked pretty totaled (front end caved in to the wheels, rear end less damage but still not too pretty). It had lost control, swerved across the oncoming lane, hit the ditch front first, then spun in the ditch several times before coming to a stop. Looked like a tall boy beer can in a paper bag in the back seat...driver was gone, engine still warm. My co-worker that had just come in to work said it wasn't there when he came in, so I had missed seeing it happen (or being hit by it) by less than 10 minutes. Called the local law enforcement, they came out and started looking around the nearby ditches and farm fields, I headed on my way. Good times.

Nice ride in this morning although it'll be brutal this afternoon with temps around 98. So hot, in fact, that I left my helmet at home-I tend to get really overheated when the temps hit the upper 90's and figure I'll ride a little more cautiously and place a higher priority on avoiding temperature related illness instead.

Had some knucklehead pass without warning, while I was getting ready to pass a jogger. I caught him and suggested he announce his pass next time. His response was to get right on my wheel and catch a pull-some nerve. When I noticed this I put the hammer down and pulled away, he turned off shortly thereafter. Oh well...

Anyway, trying to stay super-hydrated today in anticipation of 2 days of 98 deg. temps. By the time I'm done w/ this I will be on my way to finishing 32 ozs. of Vitamin Water with my breakfast of yogurt, pineapple, and a banana muffin.

Back from 2 weeks of vacation. (sigh) Woke up to thunder and heavy rain. Fortunately the rain had mostly stopped before I left for work, but I still got a little bit damp.

No cyclists seen this morning. Should be a tailwind for the ride home. Yay. :)

76 this morning, at 7am.....and humid. I really hope it storms today otherwise it's gonna be a hard ride home.

On the plus side, I watched a cat try to chase two rabbits. The rabbits had to have been playing with the cat, cause they were confusing the heck out of it :)

Just beautiful! Quiet and still after yesterdays storms.

Great ride this morning. I haven't been on my bike in 2 week, due to the bike being at the shop. Anyways, I saw 2 deer, 1 raccoon, 3 rabbits, a crap load of cats and dogs, 1 hawk, a bunch of crows. Its suppose to reach 95 here in Ohio this afternoon, so it might be a long 18 miles home.

Refreshingly less wet which was a nice change of pace after my ride home Friday and my Sunday ride. Of course it is raining now, so we'll see what the ride home brings.

I took a roundabout way in today to add more miles, and out in the country a guy turning left from a T almost t-boned me. He then launched into the far lane away from me, and apologized very sincerely. Otherwise I got a lot of hill work today lol.

Commute was smoother since I changed tires. Humidity was very unpleasant though. Even just standing there next to me bike I could feel the nastiness. It actually got better as I started moving and got some wind.

No wild animal sightings today. Phew! :)

Took a road that runs parallel to the Santa Fe trail (Mark Dabling) so that I wouldn't have to go into the trail so early in the morning. I was riding pretty loaded (large Novara panniers and trunk; Mondays are my days to carry stuff for my locker at work) but still managed to ride 13.34 miles in 1:01 with 782 feet in elevation. This time was mostly due to my first attempt at climbing the Fillmore hill going up to King Soopers. I was successful, but I felt like my head wanted to explode... had to slow down after reaching the top to catch my breath.

All in all, I'm satisfied with my progress. It hasn't been a year when I started commmuting (will be one year by the end of the summer) and I've already put in close to 1300 miles and I'm consistently weighing in at 175 lbs (from 200lbs a year ago).

I'm using my daily commutes as training for touring (which is the next thing I want to get into). I want to be a better climber; I just "discovered" that if I lock my front suspension I don't bounce as much, then I select the largest chainring and the second or third largest cog and get off the saddle and I can climb better and faster (although I seem to use more energy). This must be (or close to it) how the roadies do it....

I would also like to lower my weight to 170lbs or 165 (I'm 5'9"). I consistently average about 16-17mph mostly on flat routes but the hills here in CS conspire to slow me down... Would love to get me a (light!!!) road bike for quick 20 milers before work and start doing centuries on the weekends.

GreenAnvil

Nice ride in today. I love this time of year when it's 60 or so on the way in. Motorists seem to be more attentive to cyclists lately. Might be because there are a bunch more on the roads these days.

Finally found my missing pepper spray [Halt] and clipped it back on to the pack. Cue up the wild dogs and crazy JAMs.

I am loving this overcast from all the storms flowing across Centeral Texas, except for that head wind. Wonderful ride this morning, did an extra 2 miles after putting a few lbs on during vacationing in Galveston. Seems to me, on days when I ride in, there is less work to be done.

A little cool this morning, and the wind had picked up by the time I got downtown and it started to rain. About a block from work, the wind really picked up and a little dust storm rolled down the street, removing hats and lifting skirts wherever it could. Hopefully things clear up a bit for the ride home...

Ugh. Headwind. Cross wind. Headwind again. Actually got off the bike and walked one section because the wind was so bad!!

Now I'm sitting at my desk too tired to think. Ugh.

(This came up really suddenly - it was dead calm at 7:00, then by 8 it was blowing northwesterly at 43 kph, gusting to 60! Ack!)

Hot & Stickey! This afternoon is going to SUCK!

5.52 mi
23min 42 sec (23.7min) (0.395hr)

13.97 mph! Fat kid is starting to scoot!

:P
Billy

First full commute on the new bike (a 2007 Fuji Touring) this morning. Much faster and easier than my normal commuter (2002 Specialized Hard Rock Comp). Other than that, not much to report except being passed on campus by a driver who was a complete idiot/jerk. I'll spare you the details as they were nothing you all don't see on a regular basis too. :(