Great weather for the ride in. Sunny, calm and about 50% humidty. Traffic is starting to build up a bit, now that people are trickling back from summer holidays. The first week of September is going to suck.

On the way in I saw one of those police radar-gun-with-speed-display trailers set up on a side street. My lucky day. I dialed it up to 400 watts and dropped the poseur.

Hit 31 mph, which seemed like the limit of stability on my slightly Pringle-shaped wheels, although I know some members can average about 20 MPH over very long distances. I'm just getting started and I'd like to get to that point in due time....

Set a record (I think) for my ride home last night. Usually I don't give too much of a crap about speed but last night I forgot that I had an appointment to bring the dog to the vet. I remembered when it was all but too late to try to make it home in time to get him there. Hammered what little brains I have out on the way home and did 13 miles in ~40 minutes. Got home in time to shower, change and make the appointment. Computer had my average speed for the ride at 18.9mph! And that's on a 68cm, lugged steel touring bike, with a british style touring saddle bag full o' crap and 35mm tires. Anyway, for me that's a fast average!

This morning I took it easy as usual and it was a beautiful day to ride. I took an old route that I hadn't taken in a long time. I don't know why I stopped using it. It's through residential areas with virtually no traffic, quiet, birds singing, etc... Supposed to be sunny, 77 degrees, and less humid today!

It's sorta weird at first.....basically, it's like sitting in your chair and flexing your left glute then right glute...but just do it on the bike.....the rest will happen naturally! I usually use my quads/thigh muscles to start my downward stroke, you know, just using the tops of my thighs.....when I flex my glutes before hand it sort of pushes against the quads and give me more umph!! I was cruising on the flats at 25-26 mph for a couple of miles whereas before I would only cruise at 21-22 mph.....the little hills that I encounter on my commute are nothing now.....before, I would just rock slightly back and forth in my 39-17/18 to get up these little pesky extended speed bumps, but now I power over those suckers in the 53-16 range! (side note: your bum may feel a little "spent" the first few times) :D

It's really hard to explain here , on a forum, what exactly goes on...you've just gotta try it! Flex those glutes each stroke! Try it on a straight-away for a couple of minutes and then just pedal normally....then try it on a little hill......see if it doesn't make a difference. It has with me....

Some of you probably do this without even knowing it.....it's a technique thing, I suppose that one wouldn't normally do unless told about it......

My route is a little over 27 miles one way.....I usually do it in the 1:45-1:50 range....the last three have been sub 1:40!

Mine was short for the ride in today... I was running late due to changing my tires with new ones I bought last night (it was too dark to change them last night, and I was lazy waking up) ... About mid way a co-worker pulled up beside me and (jokingly) said 'see, I told you driving was faster'... But I tossed my bike in the back of his mini-van and accepted a ride the rest of the way given that I was already running behind.

I changed my Kenda 27 x 1 1/4 tires which where bald after 2000+km (ok, they where bald after 1400km...) with 27 x 1 1/8 Continental Ultrasports... Bumpy ride, but zippy for the 10km I've used them for.

mtn biked it, took the unpaved rails-to-trail route. Unfortunately couldn't find a connector past a certain large intersection, wound up spending last ~3 miles in unfamiliar Stripmallia. Fun anyway.

Good on you Tude!

Personally, I avoid night riding as I just know I'm gonna get clipped by some idiot that can't see my flashing red taillight or reflective vest or high beam headlight....:(

On the other hand.....has anyone heard anything about the planet Mars appearing as big as the moon on the evening of August 27th or 28th? Something about its orbit around the Sun and at that point being at its closest to the Earth? It may be another 200+ years till it's that close again.... I may force myself to hop on the bike and find a nice spot to observe....

Edit: Nevermind....found out this was a joke...... :(

Decided to investigate the River Road between W. Sac and Woodland this morning which was part of Stage 2 of the ToC this year. Decent enough road, but a little too much traffic for my taste. Might be a better bet on Sunday mornings.

On the way into the building I was chatting with a coworker and it turns out she has a bike and rides recreationally. When I asked whether she's considered riding to work, she said "Nope. I'm just too vain."

Well, that's an honest answer I guess.

I lost my pedal last night as I cycled under the bridge on the bike path. Came close to going down! I thought I snapped it, but turned out the pedal had just unscrewed (really old Onza's!). A couple threads were messed up, but I managed to put in back on. I always wondered what would happen if the pedal snapped/came off..now I know!

Well i must try it and see what you're talking about. I am not sure if i've been using these glutes or not.

Over 106 on the ride home, but I saw a baby deer again. :)

Today I was slothful and took up too much time this morning to ride in.

Yesterday I rode my bike for the first time after a major upgrade (wheels, tires, 10-speed Ultegra conversion with Dura Ace barcons on a bullhorn bar, etc) and man...did it ever ride sweet. Amazing shifting improvement over 8-speed Shimano 600, better position and clipless pedals. I beat my benchmark time for the 6 mile climb by 8 minutes! First attempt was 40 minutes, this time was 32. Even better, I got to ride back this time as it wasn't raining and made it in 14 minutes. Considering I was going to sell off this bike before even riding it, I'm pretty darned happy I kept it. My commute is now my own personal time trial course. Uninterrupted, a fair distance and the double is perfectly geared for it. Glad to join the commuting ranks. :)

Met my wife at her office this PM after work. Only 5 miles instead of the usual 17 miles. Had a rare tailwind thanks to a tropical storm spanking Texas today. Held 25+ for 4 of those 5 miles. That is so rare it was worth bragging about here. Covered those five miles in 14 minutes. Saaweet!

Had a bike vs. car accident 2 weeks ago, so I've been off the bike for 2 weeks. Good ride in today - nice weather - and I took it nice and easy. The ride back was a little harder as this pro chick was pushing me and I bonked <sigh> ... had my ass kicked by a chick. :rolleyes:

Nice ride this morning. High 50s. A raccoon wandered out onto the MUP ahead of me. :eek: It scurried back into the weeds when it saw me. I caught & passed one rider. Only saw one other rider going the other way.

Yesterday's ride home was fun. I was just leaving the building and a guy on a road bike with fenders and a back pack goes blasting down the hill past me and totally ignores the red light at the bottom of the hill. :rolleyes: I decided to see how fast he was, and fortunately the light went green so I didn't have to wait for it. I managed to reel him in on the MUP but it took some doing. Once I did, I could slow down to his speed which was just under 20. I gotta put my street tires back on the Liquid so it's easier to ride fast.

Anyway, he "forced" me to ride that fast all the way into my neighborhood. 5 minutes after I got home, the skies opened in a pouring deluge. So, I thank the roadie for keeping me dry. :D

Good commute today, but very humid. Did my best time ever and it seemed like all the idiot drivers took the day off! Looking forward to the ride home and for riding in the Covered Bridge Metric Century in Lancaster on Sunday. This is going to be a great weekend!:D:

I will agree with the humid part, nasty here this morning as well. I think the idiots left your state and came down here this morning. A town pickup truck was waiting in the left turn lane at a red light as was I across from him going straight and he didn't have his turn signal on. When the light turned green he went to the middle of the intersection and was waiting for me to cross. I yelled at him "nice turn signal" and the first words out of his mouth are "F*ck You" and then, this is the kicker, he went straight across the intersection even though he was in the left turn only lane. I really wish I could have gotten his license plate because I would email the town about it. Another triple digit day here, fun fun. Hoping to hit some rain on the way home though to cool things down.

Kind of cool but beautiful. Came around a curve in the trail and was greeted by 2 coyotes walking along, then about 100 yards later a nice buck deer munching flowers alongside the tail. At the door of the office, two tom turkeys were eating worms, got some nice feathers for fly tying. Lots of rabbits all over, kind of an animal day today...

Good ride in, I guess Fridays are rocket powered days for me, without consciously trying I still got here in 10 minutes. Rode out to Markham last night and back to pick up a chainring, weird easterly/south wind meant I *flew* at times - having the rack trunk + backpack on gave me extra 'sail' coverage to propel me :) I was having to use cog 5 on the cassette holding 25mph for a good while. Needless to say, the ride back was much faster than going there :) Got buzzed by a semi on the way up, that didn't feel great (first time I've been scared to a 'wobble' by a buzz in a long time). Had a car fly by me too, but I caught him and said "You came awful close to me there, I'd appreciate if you gave me a bit more room next time" but he didn't really say anything - I'd be surprised if he understood my English :(

Anyone else from Toronto or nearby coming to the memorial ride tonight? Details here:
http://bp0.blogger.com/_-M-Edwn-coI/...ide_single.jpg

Very slow and tired ride today. Sleepy... At least it's not as beastly hot today as it has been for weeks. Though I miss the heat. The cold nights are painful reminders that the summer is drawing to a close...

I'll try to make it. I still have trouble believing that Shiznaz is not with us on BF any longer...

I rode in without my wife this morning, so I got to work early. :D I keep thinking the Bianchi Roger may just be the answer to a question I'm not asking...

I'd love to see pictures of this set up. It's just great to see bikes customized for their specific riders and their purposes.

Me too. I got a little choked up when I saw that flyer with the picture of Charlie on the velodrome with a HUGE smile.

I bet heaven's roads are as smooth as a wooden track and every day is a no-chain day.

horrible news.

I was excited to ride my Axis with the new 35 mm silver SKS fenders I installed last night although it isn't due to rain in this area for a few more months.

Homeless lady living in the bushes on the patch of land off Ferry Morse Way was angrily ranting again. Some days she's quiet, but most of the time, she's angry about something. She's fortunate that I regularly see a car stopping by her abode and helping her out. She's been in that same location for over a year, but I'm not sure how long she's been there in total. I've become used to her voice as a counterpoint to the reverie of my morning commute. I hold my breathe when I ride by her since that patch of land is also her restroom. She's a daily reminder that at the very least, I have my sanity.