They're in the process of re-striping the lanes on the main street of my direct route to work. It's going from 3 lanes, no bike lanes to 2 lanes for cars and bike lanes on both sides. On paper, this ought to make this route more bike friendly, but in practice I'm not so sure. Before, I had no problems taking the lane and because I can ride at traffic speed, I'd have no trouble changing lanes to make my left turn. Now with the bike lane, I'm wondering if it'll change the attitudes of drivers when they see me leaving my assigned lane. I guess we'll see.

I can barely recall the ride to work today. I think it was fast...

Hey! I was in that too, and I also got soaked. Today wasn't so bad.

Thnx guys!

Did my 2nd commute today. Felt more confident & relaxed. I'm definately getting addicted.
Took the lane a few times and felt good doing so. Another beauty of a day, 60F-ish on the way in & 80F-ish on the way home.
Gonna have to look into getting a winter bike, as I only own a road bike now (not including my BMX thrashers).

Streets were a little wet this morning. The rain gage in my backyard showed 0.3 of an inch. The ride in was not cool at all. But I enjoyed it. Stopped at the Missouri river and got a photo of a tug boat going down river.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...riRiver005.jpg

On the way home was blown a little bit by the south wind of about 12 mph. 9.4 miles round trip.

It was a bit foggy this morning and I debated getting on the train when I rode past the station but decided to go ahead with the ride. Headwind was on me all the way home and I was tired after leaving the gym so I took a leisurely pace home. It was a nice ride.

Nice riding day. No crazy roadtrips for work. Stayed home late, dropped both kids (opposite directions, one on his own 2 wheels, one in trailer), into office, then ran some errands before retrieving kids. Good mix of road, mup, grass/dirt, pretty much everything my area has (except for chunky gravel, still save that specific shortcut for mtn bike days)

Rode my Bruiser bike to and from the shop today. I love that bike, except the 165 mm cranks. They make the hills that much harder.

I am dealing with the aftermath of my own stupidity and spastic-ness. I gotta spill:

For months I have been pining away for a cheap used road bike to come into my life so I could build it into a single speed screamer. I haven't owned a road bike in like 15 years. I love single speeds, and I want to spin big skinny wheels.

Well, there it was. A yard sale bike for 15 bucks. A Matsuri Jaunter XII, in rough but promising condition. Steel lugged frame, 27" wheels, lots of aluminum components. I fell in love. A few hours of loving attention, new wheels and tires, and presto! I have a 52x20 single speed road bike! It's still a little rough looking, but mechanically tight. Giddy like a school girl I can't wait to ride it...

and the frame is too big for me. I can ride it, but I feel like an 8 year old. I can't even straddle the thing.

I was blinded by lust! I feel like a complete idiot.

And I have a bike I don't know what to do with. It's a 64cm frame. It's huge! How did I not notice that?

Today the ride in was great, mid 50's, and every light was green. The ride home was nice,great to be riding fixed again. I passed a bunch of high school kids who hooted and cheered as I went by at about 22 mph, made me laugh. Today was a great day to ride. Tomorrow is supposed to rain, am I crazy to be looking forward to riding in the rain?


Scotty

Awesome. I am THIS close (finger and thumb very close together) to going fixed. I've done my homework and I have read about brakes and and no brakes and spinning and being careful working on them and watching your pedals when you lean into a big turn. I LOVE the simplicity and low maintenance thing (and I'm a professional bike mechanic!).

It's weird though. I love single speed coaster brake bikes. I know those hubs are grind boxes and you might as well chain an anvil to your bike, but I love them. I love the simplicity and how cheap they are. And I love no controls on my handlebar.

Does anyone else commute in a small town? I have to worry about deer about as much as cars where I live.

cruzMOKS - that is a neato photo. thanks for sharing that.

I am pondering going fixed for my next bike. Perhaps build up a frame this winter.
However, it is conflicting with my desire to build up a mountain bike for riding around in winter.
Too many wants. Too little time and money.

Ride in was fast and un eventful. On the ride home I was doing about 20 when my handlebars rotated down in my hands. I was standing at the time, so the bike almost threw me off. I should have checked the bike more carefully before I left work. Good thing it didn't happen crossing the highway.

Scotty

That would actually be "eventful" in my book. I must be a boring person.

That reminds me of an old Chinese curse. "May you live in interesting times."

I made pretty good time on Friday. Overcast skies and a slight drizzle must've been the cause. I had finally gotten a rear rack and some other accessories, making the bike heavier, but I was still able to stay in only one gear. On the ride home, the wind was stiff I noticed the chain slipping when riding up hills. I almost killed myself when the chain slipped while I was off of the seat.

I got the bike home and noticed that the teeth on my favorite cogs were shiny and worn. Anybody have a crank set for a Cannondale 3.0 series mountain bike? I am amazed that the original parts lasted after almost sixteen years of abuse, but I really don't want to spend any more money on replacing parts right now (rent's gotta be paid first). Maybe I should spend the money to get one of those Dynamic bicycles. I hate dealing with grease and those fit the bill for easy maintenance. They are not cheap, but then again, I ride almost 130 miles each week just for transportation and need something reliable. Now that I sold the car, it's back to public transportation until I get the bike fixed. *sigh*

This morning my normal commuter bike (Giant Cypress) was out of commission with a wheel at the LBS. That gave me an excuse to ride my Specialized Roubaix to the office. Man, what a difference ... My 18 mile commute normally takes about 1:25 minutes and I did it in 1:15 this morning! I did resolve to not turn the Roubaix into a daily beater, so it will go back to weekend long-haul duty once my wheel is back.

Once I got the office, for some reason they have the heat cranked way up throughout the 5 story building, so after the shower my office is a bit like an oven. Very weird on a monring they probably don't need to expend any energy on HVAC.

Got all the way to work this morning and realized that I had forgotten my ID badge that I need to enter the building. I went around to another door that gets more traffic and someone let me in. Then I had to find someone else with an ID to let me in my section of the building. First time I've done that in 6 months of bike commuting. I got thrown off my routine this morning because my wife got up earlier. Usually I've got the downstairs to myself and run through a checklist of items I need before leaving. With her there, I didn't do that -- which is my excuse anyway.

I rode a couple of fast 40+ mile rides over the weekend and my legs were tired this morning. So I just took it easy riding in. It's getting so dark in the mornings that I'm riding slower anyway. Pretty soon it will be dark all the way in.

Upper 40s. Really nice. Sunny & clear. Spotted a 'bent less than a mile into my ride and caught it shortly after. Then rode behind him all the way in. Nice easy pace. We passed one regular cyclist, and I didn't see any other riders.

Been there. Done that. :rolleyes:

864 miles per hour... not bad on a Giant Cypress! :D

It's still hot and humid here. I'm ready for some cool weather. This morning, the traffic aggravation factor was "moderately high". I only caught one of my 8 or 9 traffic lights on green and it seemed like some vehicle was at every other stop sign. The good news is that I saw 4 other commuters on my route this morning. I've seen 1 guy before on occasion, but the other 3 are new. Let's hope they keep it up.

It's brisk, baby! 'Twas -3C with frost on the windshields of motorists all over the city. :rolleyes: I almost got hit 2 blocks from my house by somebody who doesn't own a scraper. The windows were so frosted over that I couldn't even tell that anyone was driving. I can't see them = they can't see me, so a quick dodge to the right and... SAFE! The rest of the ride was okay. Plenty of traffic - cars, peds and bikes. The bike lockup at work was surprisingly full.

How was the commute? Excellent. See my other thread:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=346693

+1, except we use the badge to log in on computer as well. I could talk myself into the building (we're a smallish group, security usually recognizes pretty much everyone), but I would not be able to do much work.

--J

Spent the weekend repacking bearings and decided to go back to the Dura-Ace pedals after I realized I had a bent axle on my ATB pedals after rebuilding one of them. For the record, 29 pinhead bearings per axle are really hard to keep up with.

Commute was nice this AM. Good weather but warm. I think it was in the mid-70's when I got to work.

The ride felt slow this morning but my cycle computer said otherwise. I struggled since my legs and body were beat from working on cars all day on Saturday. Warm and humid this morning, I was all sweaty by the time I got to work. Only two more weeks here in NC and then I am moving to New England :) Bring on the cold! I have had enough of this 90 degree heat.

First sub zero ride of the season. Sounds of car engines turning over, squealing power steering belts and ice scrapers.