The ride home today was very enjoyable. After the past week of sweltering heat anything below 80 F is a much needed breather. The wind was cool and it almost felt like I was the only cyclist headed my way. This translated to a relaxed, easy going, take my time commute. Ahhhh, I even smelled the scent of the trees around me.:) Life is good......on a bike.

The ride home today was awful. I was already feeling extremely weak over my entire body. Why? Who knows. Then two ladies in a sedan did a rolling stop at a STOP sign; I didn't have a stop sign and was making a right turn. I noticed that the driver was on the telephone. Albuquerque just passed a law banning cell phones in cages unless the fanatic is using a hands free device. Anyway, I was behind them, pretty far back. They stopped in the middle of the road, I slowed down and then passed them on the left. As I was passing, she sped up! She then stopped again about 100 yards up but this time put on a signal to the right and got on to the right side of the two lane road. I rolled by the driver's side very slowly and looked inside. It was two Muslim women, both wearing burkas; the driver was STILL on the *****ing phone! They were both ignoring me or totally oblivious to my existence. I was p!ssed off to say the least. About that time I noticed an unmarked police car up the road and lightly tapped on his window as not to startle the trigger happy Albuquerque Police Officer! I told him that I'd almost been hit TWICE and the lady was on the phone. I said, "It's that car that's passing us right now!" He saw her on the phone and immediately flipped on his siren for a couple of rounds...and that was it. I said, "Thank you officer...for nothing!" and rode off.

I've come across a lot of cagers that seem to lack peripheral vision. I'm wondering if a burka makes one's peripheral vision even worse? So much for religious freedom.

I'm considering becoming a full time cager next year, If I can make it that long.

I got absolutely soaked this morning. It sucked.

humid, but otherwise just fine. Probably going to drive tomorrow so I can have fresh legs for the MS150 ride this weekend.

Good ride. Weather's nice and cool. Almost didn't break a sweat.

Need to true the rear wheel after installing a replacement spoke late last night.

Anyone have a link to an easy to make truing stand (or I guess I could spend $50 plus 2 hours driving time....) Like most commuters, I'm a cheap bugger :) let's make one.

I almost talked myself out of biking to work this morning because I had ridden 5 days in a row and my legs were tired. Instead I decided to just take it real easy. It was a beautiful morning and I'm glad I rode. The humidity is low and the mornings are starting to get cooler, so I barely broke a sweat riding 10 miles. I only got caught at 2 traffic lights and both were short ones, so my total commuting time was actually less than usual despite my leisurely pace. I started using my rechargeable front light last week and feel much safer now. It's still supposed to get pretty hot this afternoon (96) but the low humidity should make it bearable.

10 days off, visiting parents, in-laws, no commute yesterday, last minute discovery of no childcare, but took 6 yr old on trail-a-bike to dentist, up big hill to pharmacy, down big hill to sign up for school stuff, back up big hill again to pharmacy, then down again to home. Whew. It was a bit of a workout. Today driving, 2 days hopefully of biking, 3-4 days on the road next week, 2 days week after, future not really visible beyond that, but at least a day of 3 of biking/wk for the next 3. Hopefully back to daily after that but I'm a bit out of touch on what are the new crises at work so who knows...

Ride the lightning!
 

I left the house early today and the whole ride I got to watch a big lightning storm just to the north of the city. I got to work, parked my bike inside the parking garage and about an hour later it started pouring rain.

Great ride this morning. Temp about 60F and no wind! Sure is dark at 6 AM now, but my new high intensity LED light helps a lot. Sure wish they had these things 50 years ago when I first started riding! Started to get a bit overheated going up the big hill, but cooled off coming down the other side. Drivers were pretty nice too. Waved at the two women joggers I often see and they yelled hi. The guard at the gate was cheerful and when I noted the weather will change, he agreed and said "Unfortunately". The cleaning lady had the men's room blocked so I had to go upstairs to clean & change. Tonight is supposed to be mid 90s on the way home. I will need to hydrate before I go, and ride slower.

Good ride. Though I should have checked one of the tubes I patched yesterday. It has a slow leak. No biggie.

Spotted a sheriffs car driving on the MUP and turned off my one remaining light. The trail is closed from dusk to dawn. Gee I am such a big rebel. :p :rolleyes:

Nice ride to work today. Installed my new Nightrider UltraFazer 5.0 this weekend and it worked fine yesterday. Today, it is totally dead. Did I buy a dud or is this model unreliable? Tried new batteries -- no luck.

Pretty good commute in, but I think the cooler weather's gotten me a bit lax on the hydration. I got to an intersection and felt a bit unstready. I then realized I hadn't been sipping my water bottle. Corrected, and the rest of the ride was better.

Good times this morning... no traffic issues, and I got to draft on the MUP for awhile. Another good thing is the lovely DC summertime humidity is finally dying off... can't wait for fall.

This morning was a head wind everywhere I turned. Yesterday I had a Heron fly just over me, which was really cool. He was rather large... On the way home I also saw a Deer and her Fawn out in the river as I crossed the bridge. It was odd to see, considering we are in the desert with no real brush around except right around the river, not to mention that just a couple hundred feet from either side of the river is homes or roads. Its neat to see the things you never really would see if you were in a car.

What happened to the sun? The sky here looks like that 50s sci-fi movie with Walter Pidgeon and the nuclear submarine.

Had a nice commute back last night, despite the light rain.

Partly because it was my last commute for 5 weeks - I am going on holiday! Hurrah!

We're actually heading to the US, which is going to be fun - I've never been there before. Only bad news is probably no riding for 5 weeks, but never mind!

Windy. So very windy.

I had planned to ride to work every day this week but the poor air quality got the best of me. Yesterday was a Code Orange day, and the high ozone finally took its toll on me. I had really bad sinus headaches during the night and slept poorly, and I suspect it was due to riding in the high ozone yesterday. So I took the day off riding today. I had ridden 6 days straight, so my legs are due for a rest anyway.

I will be so glad when this summer is finally over. The heat, drought and poor air quality are just wearing me down. I can handle the cool weather -- just put on my clothes.

Nice. A little bit damp, but not raining. I missed that part. Some thunder to the north. As I as leaving the house, the NW sky looked pretty dark and I muttered, "Spool up the FTL drive." (BSG fans will get that.)

Saw a couple of riders going the other way on the MUP.

I was waiting at a red light. Light turned green. I always monitor cross-traffic and don't jump on the pedals right away. This dude on a bike blew right around me, gets out of the saddle, and starts hammering up the hill. I thought, "No you didn't", and I just rode behind him until I needed to turn left, then shot up next to him, looked at him, and made my left. :D I'm terrible.

Most area districts started up school today. More traffic, but no major issues today. I do have to alter my route now and unfortunately I have another stoplight I tend to get stuck at for at least a minute.

On the plus side, I saw a lot more bikes out and about!

Definitely more traffic today, first ride in with the Arkel Tail Rider instead of panniers, which ended up a smart choice since I battled a head wind most of the way in. Otherwise, smooth and easy.

Replaced broken spoke on newly converted SS last night, front tire was flat this morning, WTF? Ride touring bike to work instead. Notice the hood is open on the car beside me at a light, I tell driver and latch hood for her. Next see fawn feeding on the side of the road, cool. Get right hooked by JAM in SUV with MTB on tire rack, as I'm getting ready to make the same right turn. I hit the brakes and yell j@ck@ss as he's rolling away. No one hurt, but what an idiot, I guess he doesn't ride on the road. Need to put air horn back on bike.

Great ride in today, big fun. Today, tomorrow, then 3-4 days on the road next week, 2+ more the week after.

Biking w/ 6 yr old to his 1st grade on 2 wheels completely different experience than last year on training wheels. Going like 5-6 mph now instead of 2-3. He's a very easygoing cruiser, I am impressed w/ how slow he can go w/o weaving.

Flat tire on the way in today. :>( Had to walk the last mile......

I had my first commute in a week today [time off]. It was a little brisk, but sunny and clear. A couple of JAMs, but nothing too scary. I'll be glad when I can get my disc SS built up - then I can hammer away with abandon. :D