Realized that I had ridden all of last week without a pump. I discovered this last night as I was moving stuff from one backpack to another. I move this pump from my commuting pack to a Camelback on the weekends when I go mountain biking. Kind of a big deal as I seem to flat frequently on my commute and the thought of having to walk home or taking the Metro bothers me. Also, I rode a nice, clean bike in this morning. After letting my bike suffer through Friday night's downpour outside and uncovered, I figured I owed it a nice wipedown. Now it's clean and shiny.

All things considered (left late, rt. hamstring tightness, general fatigue, etc) it was a good ride in this mornig: cool, dry, avg speed of 18-19 mph. Hopefully I can outrun this afternoon's thunderstorms.

Great weather this morning in Houston. I was killing my usual time, and then it happen. I felt a slight pull in my right quad. If I pushed to hard, it pushed right back in pain. I had to take it easy the rest of the way. I hope it doesn't bother to much on the way home.

My ride has gotten easier! :D I raised my seat, that was a big part of it. I've also been making it a point to commute every day, and towing my 25-lb. toddler in the trailer on my days off. After lugging her to the playground, the ride to work is nothing.

As for today's ride...it improved my day. I had a crappy morning. I overslept, didn't have much clean laundry, spent all morning running behind, lost my keys, didn't get breakfast...and then I rode to work. I saw two cute cats, a gorgeous sunrise, and a baby fox. Now, I'm at work and in a much better mood than I was when I left.

Nice ride this morning. Lots of rain last night but things were mostly dry. Mid 60sF. Saw a couple cyclists heading the other way. Noticed thin tire tracks after damp patches heading my way but never caught up to the person. I did see someone on a road bike just before I left the MUP, so I guess I would have caught up if I had more time.

We've had about 2 weeks of unstable weather. I almost got soaked on Friday's ride home. More of the same today.

My ride in this morning was very sticky/muggy. I was sweating within the first mile or so and was drenched when I arrived at work. I am hoping the storms are out of the area before I head home this evening.

Nice and easy commute today. Traffic was a little heavier than it has been recently, but not too bad. I went passed the office to the bank to use the ATM. While I was there, this lady sticks her head out the window of her car and asks me how much a bike like mine cost. She was amazed when I told her I bought it for $16 at goodwill and maybe put another $100 or so into it. I think she might be a candidate for future commuting :D

Near-perfect weather, but still pretty brutal. This is my 3rd straight go at a 30mile R/T and I have some getting in shape to do. Still, I made it, and the sense of accomplishment on the home stretch always feels great. My bike (Kona Dew, in case anyone has any tips for tuning up this bike) is only 3 weeks old, but I was hearing a squeak at low RPMs and felt a slight grind at times during the downpedal. I think I'm gonna take it to the REI next door to work and have it tuned up during the day for the ride home. Hopefully soon I will be able to diagnose and fix all this stuff myself!

It was a fast slow ride. I put 40 psi of additional air in my tires, so that was the fast part. The slow bit came when traffic caused me to miss light after light. It was like everything de-synchronized just for me. :(

Beautiful day - fresh air from the spring flowers, feeling strong, great ride in.

Very nice... I've been basically off the bike since Wednesday p.m. due to Mr. Mom duties at home, and then a busy weekend, so it was great to roll out of the driveway this morning.

Weather was perfect - 70F, cloudless sky, very light wind - hardly noticed it. Traffic was kind, and I rocked... I'm seeing definite improvement on a couple of the hills on my route (okay, not hills to most of you, but compared to most of N TX, they're monsters!)

Last year it about killed me to go 13 or so both ways, now I am questioning if it is really a good work out. It does not take long, hang in there.

Riding up Mt. Evans to 14,100 feet in elevation ruined my commute. How can it compare to summiting a mountain? It can't.
So I took it easy and made it to work quicker. My knee has been having issues so I am running the salsa as a SS. Much nicer. Love coasting. I think I may add gears eventually. I drank the koolaid. Liked it. Now am bored with it (I think).
This is my once or twice a year week that I ride in the entire way and back the entire way full time in one week.
That should make something like 280 miles for the week. Thus ending my 1000 mile month.

brisk! 42F! Otherwise speedy.

Smoky from the huge grass fire in Solano County. And there was broken glass in at least 5 different spots. So that sucked.

On the positive, I rode my latest neo-retro project: '86 Gazelle Champion Mondial with 10-speed Campagnolo. The 531c frame feels almost alive. I can't wait to put some serious wattage in to her and see how she responds.

And I noticed quite a few other bike commuters, despite the crappy air, including a guy who had a small wind chime hanging from his handlebars.

Sunny and 50 this morning. I can't believe I only saw 3 other people riding this morning, it was perfect weather.

Perfect weather on the commute in nice temps no wind. It was my first ride in a week because i was working out of town the week prior. I think i'm alittle sore (so hard to take it ez).

Ride into work was nice today. Mid 60's, clear, polite traffic, made decent time (for me). I was really strong on the biggest hill of the commute (right at the end, of course), so I was pretty happy. I've been doing my 30 mile round trip commute for about three weeks now, and I'm starting to see improvement. I thought I was going to have to swap out my cog for something a little easier, but I think I'll be able to get away without doing that.

Good commute today.

Tried riding with a hip pack instead of a messenger bag. Worked well and I stayed cooler.

Still mighty warm but not as brutally hot as the weekend. Drove the kids to camp, then biked from the drop off site to the office. Made good time (12 miles; 50 minutes). And the AC feels pretty good now I'm here!

Two asshats within maybe 200 yards today. The second one looked right at me, waved to me, then pulled out in front of me to make a left turn.

Hey Jen,
You weren't down on the Bear Creek Trail last Friday morning were you? I was taking photos of the creek from one of the bridges and was passed by a gal pulling a about a 2 year old child in a trailer.

I later passed her along the trail.

Today was my first commute ever. Guess I have to start someplace right - a new forum and a new lifestyle.

The temp was 55 and no wind. Beautiful clear skies. Going home will be a bit warmer though as it is in the 80's and I'll have a 15 mph headwind.

I don't have exact mileage but it appears to be about 12 miles one way and I made it in in 45 minutes. I guess I better pick up one of those little computers to start tracking all of this stuff.

It was my first commute today, also! First day at my new job, too. The morning was fine. There was some not-quite-heavy rain, but I had my rain gear and lights on, and cars gave me plenty of room. I arrived a little disheveled, but certainly presentable. The ride home was fine until I got some people behind me that just laid on the horn and shouted at me for a good while. They eventually passed me, and I gave them a friendly look and a ring of my bell. All in all, though, it was a very positive experience. I'm really looking forward to it.

This morning's ride in to the office was different. I encountered another bike rider on my way into the village at the middle of my ride. We got stopped at a light together and had a chance to talk for a little bit. He was riding for recreation and I told him I used to do that during my lunch hours but now ride twice a day.

Right there at the traffic light I saw a rainbow forming in the western sky. That meant I was headed into rain but the sight was beautiful just the same. Further down the road the rainbow got even more brilliant against a darkening sky. I stopped in a quiet side street to put on the waterproof cover on my pannier and pedaled into the rain. It was brief and not too heavy and had let up by the time I reached the office.

Closer to the office, I stopped for a traffic signal at the busiest intersection and was getting worried about a car creeping up on my left. Until it turned out to be a friend from work who lowered his passenger window to talk.

Today was a good commute... I was at a friend's house all day and didn't leave until about 9:30 so it was dark on my commute home. It was nice though, it was cool and there was hardly any traffic so I was able to share the main roads with the cars. Made for a nice comfortable ride.

I had my second commute ever to work today and absolutely loved it! I have a 3.2 mile commute to and from my workplace. I packed up my work clothes, a small towel, and some small toiletries for when I arrived. I took it at a leisurely 13-14 mph and when I got to work all I had to do was towel off my head from helmet hair and I was ready to go. I am thrilled to be part of the commuters out there doing this everyday.

Greg

Forecast today was for thunder showers and boy did it rain.... about two hours after I got to work. Stopped raining later and I rode home on dry roads. I have been living a charmed life re the rain; if the forecast is for rain and it's not a torrent I ride.
I don't see very many commuters on bikes here but with gas as high as it is I'm getting lots of inquiries. Someone commented how well they feel when they get to work after their ride; ditto to that.

Good to hear from all the new commuters!

Fun commutes today; nothing special just nice rides.

Odd thing though. Shortly after arriving at work, I got a terrible cold. Streaming nose etc. Then around lunchtime I started to feel a bit lousy, achy, and a bit 'spaced out'. Through the afternoon I started feeling a bit better and my nose dried up, and then by the time I left I felt fine again. Very weird - kind of a 6 hour bug!

Am I a sicko for enjoying the burning sensation of ICY HOT? It feels damn good. Yesterday morning I felt a slight pull in the right quad so I've been combating it with ICY HOT; it seems to be working. I did see 3 lighting strikes in the distance but overall it was a great ride with no rain.

I got passed up by another rider in the early morning in the trail. The dude was fast but I couldn't tell if he was a commuter or not. As soon as he past me I tried my best to keep up with him, he opened a wide gap but I kept him in viewing distance until he exited off the path. It got me to work quicker trying to pace him :)

Rode home yesterday with one of my co-workers. She commutes by bicycle every once in a while. I'm trying to encourage her to ride more. We got rained on but it was just a brief summer shower.

This morning it was a little bit foggy. Temperature around 60F. I reeled in a couple of guys on hybrids early in my ride, they stopped shortly after that to check out Lake Champlain, which was enveloped in fog. Eerie. :) Later, I caught up to another guy. I think it was the same guy I almost caught yesterday before I left the MUP. Also saw a 2 or 3 cyclists going the other way.

Sadly, one of the bolts holding my right brake lever sheared off in my driveway. Guess I'll have to try to extract it and get a new bolt. No idea how that could have happened. I tightened the other bolt so the lever is secure, more or less.