I just found out that one of the tutors was late today because of a flat (and he ended up *running* with the bike over his shoulder). He's currently cursing up a storm about the "stupid bike" and how it made him late - but he didn't have a flat kit and had timed his departure much too close. I don't think the bike is to blame here...

I'm going to offer him my patch kit after his session. My spare tube won't fit, he's running 700cs and I have 26 inchers, but I can at least get him sorted out for the ride home. And I hope this doesn't put him off bike commuting, he just needs a bit more preparation.

Not too bad...first ride on new Brooks. I think I need to lower it a little.

Only funny part of ride was a walker that I didn't signal because he looked like he was walking confidently and I had plenty of room on left, so I was going by without signaling. Just as I was coming up to him, I noticed a white cane he was using to 'feel' his way up path. He nearly put the cane in my spokes because he didn't hear me (because I didn't signal). I sort of panicy said "whoa, whoa...bike, bike" and scared the tar out of this blind guy.

Fun stuff.

Almost hit a deer fawn this morning.

I was flying down the road, saw a doe cross ahead of me but I didn't slow down because she was far enough ahead. Big mistake. Where there is one deer there is usually another.

Sure enough, Just as I'm coming to the location, a small fawn with spots darts out in front of me. I slid back in the saddle and squeezed the brakes.

My front wheel squeals like crazy when breaking hard. I didn't hit it but I think I scared the spots right off that fawn.

Really pleasant. Just a handful of cars once I got out into the country, and they were all very safe and courteous. Thanks especially to the painter in the white GMC pickup who took the whole lane to pass me as if I were a car.

Nice ride this morning. The warmest I've seen it since I moved here. The only bad part was crossing the Sinton Trail tunnel under Centennial... several broken bottles with glass shards all over the place. I was worried that I'd get a flat but my Armadillo Crossroads came through once more with flying colors! I'll avoid that route for a few days to let the glass be swept away by other riders/pedestrians...

I have watched my average speed times go steadily up during the last couple of months... and the routes I follow are hilly (compared with what I used to ride in NY). I live 2 miles from work but have been taking longer routes (12-13 miles) 'cause the short route now feels boring.... I'm now thinking to extend my morning rides to at least 20 miles or so. I'll cook up a new route this weekend.

GreenAnvil

I had lots of empty road at 6:30 this morning. Had a small issue where a city bus driver decided to get as close as possible to me regardless of the fact that there was NO other cars on the road. It scared me a bit.

I almost got runned over on my ride home today.

Residential area. T-intersection. I'm going straight and my side does not have a stop sign. Lady comes up to the T and she has a stop sign. She stops. I see her eyes, she see's mine. Just as I was half a meter from passing the front of her car she guns it and cuts me off to turn left in front of me. I was close enough to knock on her window. Luckily my reflexes were quick enough and I hit the brakes and dodge right, or else I would of hit the driver's door.

My ride home was super nice. I've been bogged down by a bad cold all week and just feeling burnt out in general. Decided to take it nice and easy, just cruised and enjoyed the weather ( it was after seven and starting to cool down kinda reminded me of summer when I was a kid when you know bedtime's not too far off but you've a bit longer to play.) I'd forgotten how nice a relaxed ride after work can be.

Ride in this morning was kind of windy. And of course as we all know the wind seems to always be coming from the direction we're going.... A little cool too after our rainy week. Oh well, at least I didn't get rained on like I have three other times this week.

Wet! Low 60s. Started out as a light mist about 100 yards from my driveway, and got progressively heavier as I went. By the time I got here it was steady shower. Passed one cyclist going the other way on the MUP, and 2 or 3 peds. Hardly anyone out today.

Nice leisurely ride into work this morning, with warm temps and humidity a little lower than it has been lately. I debated whether to ride because a cold front is supposed to move through today with a good chance of thunderstorms. However, I decided to go for it because I missed biking on Monday due to oversleeping -- plus I haven't been caught in the rain yet in 3 months of cycling to work. Threw my raincoat in my seatbag, although my experience is that jackets make you sweat so much you might as well get wet from the rain. In the worst cause -- that is, if severe thunderstorms make cycling dangerous -- I can bum a ride home with a coworker who lives in neighborhood.

Windy this morning, headwind/cross-headwind mostly, I offered a guy on a mountain bike a draft, but he said "No thanks, I'm turning off here". I figured I'd offer

Good ride in though, legs were tired but I just kept trying to spin.

Nice ride today -- mid-70s, low humidity, a few clouds, little traffic. Only complaint was my full water bottle, left at the house.

Wonderful and unique commute. I unpacked, assembled, and adjusted a Raleigh Twenty folder I'd bought yesterday evening. This morning I used it for my commute. Since I'm still in the process of adjusting the bike and familiarizing myself with the riding characteristics I decided to ride to the MARTA train station. It gives me roughly the same riding distance, but over more residential streets, so I didn't have to do as many traffic merges as commuting directly into work.

It went well. The platform pedals are going to have to go (I'll put spds on this evening), and I'll be replacing the 3 speed Sturmey Archer with something with a wider range (probably one of the 8 speed hub gears). Also I suspect that in the rain with the steel rims the brakes won't have any stopping power, so I need to replace the rims with something more modern.

But all that being said, it was a great commute, and I'm very excited about the Twenty.

Completed my first full week of commuting, 5mi through the city (Halsted - Lincoln - Wells for those from Chicago). Never got caught in the rain even with the threat earlier this week. Saves me 15 minutes vw. taking the bus. This morning, left about an hour later than usual, saw about 10x the riders I was seeing all week, not sure if it was the time or the weather or the fact that it's a Friday. But this morning's ride was nice and easy, decided to skip the panniers and just go with the handlebar bag.

Late. I had to change out a flat this morning before I started. I had a Mr Tuffy type of liner in my 700c that caused a pinch or pressure flat where it overlaps and has a seam. I wasn't too happy about that one. Still, I had a nice tailwind and made my 25 miles in 1:32. 185 miles for the week.

Magical.....just magical.

Made it through the wicked hill in Upper Saddle River without stopping or getting cut off by soccer mom with monster SUV and cell phone attached to ear.

Light rain and all the ignorant pedestrians were out today.

Missed the rain, but had no energy this morning

During my ride this morning, what I thought was a black cat crossing my path was not a cat. Once I saw the distinctive white stripe I slowed down immediately in an effort not to startle the fellow. Getting sprayed by a skunk would not be good. My co-workers would not be happy at all. I passed Mr. Pepe la Peu safely.

My commute sucked
My tue/fri commute is up a hill by design (to get more hill work) so this a.m. I am starting up the hill and get a flat - no problem; change the tube out and I'll be on my way. Only first I forget to take off the little nut on the tube before I insert into the wheel, wondering why the little threaded post wont stick out past the rim more than it did---duh. But wait there is more- I tear the wheel down again to fix the little nut thing, and it starts to rain, no thats OK really - but when the pump wont get more than 50 lbs in the tube, I start to feel like Homer S.
So I rode the rest of the way in on 50/60 lbs of air in my rear tube. I want my old Zefel pump back!!!

I had a peaceful, easy feeling on the ride in. No drama!

Nice ride. Did something different. My son had band camp at the school so I drove him in and then rode bike to work. Meant different roads, different hills. I was really impressed with how far I have come with hills. I did the new hills with no problems. I'm glad I tried something different.

Came in at lunch time and it was very pleasant to ride with such little traffic.

Commuted from the office to the courthouse Tuesday and Wednesday in Lansing. It's just a short trip -- only a couple miles. Just recently started doing this on an old Schwinn Traveler. I'll have to get a rack to carry my stuff on hot days like these, because it's easy to get sweaty with a backpack on. I'm learning the tricks as I read the forum.
Yesterday and today it cooled down quite a bit, and I really missed out because I didn't have to drive into town. What a wonderful ride I imagine it would have been: Sunny and cool!
While the ride toward Michigan State's campus is VERY bike friendly, the care and maintenance of the bike lane into downtown Lansing leaves much to be desired. I'm riding on 27 x 1 1/4 tires, and the bumps from broken pavement make it difficult to dodge the broken glass and gravel. Still, I've got no real complaints. What a pleasure it is to save on parking meters and the seemingly unavoidable tickes, to avoid the hunt for a decent parking spot, to enjoy the sunshine and cool breeze and the slight buzz from the gentle exercise.