Wow! One thousand pages. I feel like I need to report something special. Well, I did my first 100F+ ride of the summer yesterday. The temperature actually peaked at 101F during my afternoon commute, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I had driven on Monday because forecasters said it would hit 102, but it only reached 100 that day. Tuesday the high was supposed to be 98, so I rode and it got even hotter. Maybe I'm getting used to the heat, or perhaps it didn't feel so bad because the humidity was lower. After I got home, my wife and I went kayaking for an hour, which was a nice way to cool off, although the temp was still in the high 90s. Our hot spell is supposed to ease off today, with a high in the mid-90s but it is much more humid and we may get some thunderstorms. Happy 1000, "How was the commuter today?" posters!

1000 pages is great ! I almost didn't notice it till I read last few posts, and thats when the light went ding !!! Be safe, be careful, and keep them legs spinning, and then keep writing to this thread how it went ;)

So anyways, today was beautiful. Around 70 degrees, clear skies, no wind, no rude drivers, traffic was a bit high, but nothing unusual. LOT of debris on the road from yesterday nights thunderstorms here. I mean I am talking about not just fallen branches here and there, or some trash here and there .. I am talking about fallen trees along the sides of the road and trash cans floating around !! Had to be a bit careful due to that. But other than that, morning was beautiful :)

nice ride home yesterday - rode with another commuter for a little while - goes the same direction I do for a portion, but I have never seen her before. Chatted about our commutes and how things are going. Let her go ahead of me at a nice downhill that I love to fly down, but resisted the urge to pass her after we had just chatted - just felt wrong - I don't know :rolleyes:

like the other two NCers above, things have cooled down a few degrees, but heat index is predicted to be 100F today. The heat hasn't really affected me at all - but then again, I drink at least 64 ounces of water while I work everyday, so I am quite hydrated :thumb:

I had good karma yesterday. The bad storms completely missed me. In fact my ride home was a little bit sunny, and the sky was beautiful with cumulus clouds.

I came across a little painter turtle on the MUP. She was soon going to be "stuck" because she was on an elevated boardwalk, and the sides were fenced. She couldn't have fit through or under the fence. I stopped, picked her up, and moved her into the woods where she'd be safe. :)

Cell phone pix:
http://home.comcast.net/~mcbrook/turtle_1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~mcbrook/turtle_2.jpg

The ride home yesterday was brutal, had to stop in the shade at least 3 times, took about an hour to get there. This morning was much nicer, temps in the 70's and no humidity. I was tired and struggled a bit but decided to tack on a few extra miles by bypassing the 14th St. Bridge and crossing the river at the Memorial instead. I just put a computer back on the bike in order to verify my recent claim of accumulated annual mileage, it's enough of a change to re-invigorate my cycle-commuting interest after a tough few months. The ride home should be nice.

Can't pass up page 1K!

My heartiest "Well done!!" to all bike commuters new and experienced, young and near-young! :D

You do have a point there... and we'll get our fair share of triple digits over the next several months. Have to think about it some more, and see if I can find the $$ in the budget to buy a set that I like. I have some cheapo Nashbars, and they're fine except the attachment is flimsy and annoying. A nice pair of Arkel's might do the trick, but those are going to have to wait a while...

Felt great this morning. Set out with the intent of taking it easy, as I'm planning 3 consecutive days of full round trips, which I normally don't do, and I want to make sure I have enough in the tank when I'm done tomorrow, as I'll be celebrating my anniversary with DW on Friday afternoon/evening. I guess my mind was wandering, though, because about 3 miles in I realized I was pushing pretty hard, making good time, and feeling great. Resolved to take it easy once I passed the stoplight that marks the first 1/3 of the commute. Forgot about my resolution, and 10 miles in realized again that I was pushing hard and still feeling great. Oh well, not much point slowing down now. Press on, realize I'm making REALLY good time, and end up with my 3rd PR in as many weeks, knocking almost a minute off my previous best. Computer said 18.9 MPH when I got in, which is a record for me on any ride... And, I still feel great!

On my way in today I noticed about 1/3mi in that I had hit the computer's sensor and it wasn't working so I had to stop and reposition it. Other than that it was very uneventful. I did made good time today and I feel like I'm getting used to riding on the hills around here more.

Nice ride down. A bit hot. 74F, UV 9.
Not much special about it. Fairly uneventful, except for getting cut off by a taxi pulling into the bike lane right in front of me.

Down to 30 minutes for the commute! (vs 45 by public transit)

Fairly warm morning, got buzzed while riding through a construction zone (again), and then stung or bit by something that flew into my helmet later on the ride. Still couldn't wipe the smile off my face when I arrived at work, endorphins flowing. :)

Last night i narrowly missed a gopher, i'm probably being lambasted right now on gopher forums. I also had my first "close call" last night. I was going along a through road and some jam burned a u-turn from an intersecting road. He came within a foot or so of hitting me. I yelled loudly at him and swerved... i think i scared the tar out of an old man walking a poodle. I shoulda been further into the lane.

This morning i did one of my best times yet... 20.31km in 39:43 avg speed of 30.7kph, normally i post those kinda times only with a significant tailwind, there was hardly any wind this morning.

Yesterday when I rolled my bike outside, it was immediately wet from condensation. I just took it really easy and had a nice ride to work. Today, it was about 8 degrees cooler when I left the house -- amazing how just a few degrees feels. I actually felt very cool for about 2 miles. I kinda like it in the low 90s, so maybe I'm crazy. A woman passing the guy in front of us had a blow-out. We were on the MUP so not sure what casued it -- maybe a stick or a thorn. Anyway, she kept riding on a flat as if it was no big deal -- I guess she didn't have any options.

Uneventful rides yesterday and today, but I chatted with another commuter last night. I was out walking The Kid around our neighborhood when a cyclist wearing hi-viz orange rode past me. I spotted a milk crate on his rack so I called out, "Are you a commuter?"

Turns out he works on the same road I do but our routes are different--if I went his route I'd be doubling back to get to my building. He's only been at it about 2 months, but he had his bike well-outfitted for commuting.

I missed my opportunity to ask if he'd like to bike-pool for the route we share. Maybe if I see him again I will.

I've been commuting on and off for two and a half years.

Today was the first day in a week that it didn't rain on me. I'll take 49 and cloudy over 49 and rain anyday! My commute is 7 miles one way.

40sF heavy mist, otherwise fine.

I DIY'd my own pannier with an old bag, an Arkel hook kit and some eyelets. Much cheaper than buying a new pannier. Not as cheap as zip tying a milk crate to your rack which was my other plan.

Last night's thunderstorm broke the heat and humidity so it'll only be 87F today. Felt much nicer riding to work today.

Foggy enough to break out the lights, but refreshingly cooler.

I wonder if that's what it is for me?

97 F yesterday when I left the office (actual temp), and I took a longer-than-usual route, but it didn't seem bad at all... except that my recovery took longer. I was more tired when I arrived, and it felt like I never really cooled down.

But I drank about 16 oz of Gatorade just before I left the office, and a good quart or more of water on the ride home (which wound up being about 8-9 miles instead of my usual 6). Once I became resigned to the fact that I was going to be drenched in sweat the whole way, not so bad.

But we've been spared the worst humidity; that helps a lot with comfort levels.

Was a little lazy last week but now I've kicked myself up the rear and commuted this morning in sunshine. It was wonderful, albeit a little cold but I've more than made up for it by sitting out in the sun on my breaks. I'm close to getting a sunburn. ;)

another good ride, it was a foggy ride and i left a little later than i usually do so there was more traffic to deal with but it was manageable
fog burned off and the sun is out in full force so the ride home should be bright and warm
must clean the chain tonight...i picked up a lot of crud from the road last week during the wet rides

Huge increase in commuters here lately. Passed 6 other cyclists on the way in. Used to be a special day if I saw even one other person on a bike.

I think that the cagers are getting to be a bit more tolerant towards cyclists too. Seems that since we are in greater numbers they are more aware of our presence. [Slightly more aware anyways :) ]

+1
seeing more people on bikes up here too...no honking from cars in a while

That's a thought - didn't realize they sold a hook kit. I'll check into it, as I do have a plethora of bags of one sort or another that are just taking up space in the closet. What style bag did you use?

Cool and 65, beautiful, low humidity, did it in 15 minutes today and hit 30 mph. What a great run.

Windy, windy, windy. I'm just getting sick of it.

Today was a bit faster than in recent weeks. Monday going home was a new "personal best" time (58 minutes, vs 1:03 to 1:05 usually) despite (becasue of?) 95 degree heat. I rode in fairly fast this AM, so I'm a bit amped about what I'll do on the trip home this evening.

Breezy and cool again this morning - lower 50's. I'm not used to the morning breeze, the afternoon wind is another beast altogether. The ride home yesterday had 15mph winds instead of the forecast of 25-30mph so I was thankful for that. The ride home today might be wet and cool - in the 60's.

Another beautiful day - even saw some sun this morning. Pulled a slightly illegal maneuver on the way in. No harm, no foul, no honking. But now I feel a little guilty. Superego much?

Daughter is graduating from 5th grade later this AM, so will catch a ride with my husband to the ceremony & back. (Note to self, bring hankies!) Have to be back here in the afternoon, alas - but it's shaping up to be another nice afternoon.

Had a great ride to work today. It was very nice out in regards to temp and humidity. Oh and very light wind as well. Hopefully the afternoon will be as nice!

The heat is making drivers delirious. That's the only explanation I can think of for them being all over the place. I couldn't ride in a straight line because of all the cars in my way. I pretty much zig zagged around cars back and forth over three lanes for half my commute.