Commute starts at 4:30am. Temp at 39d. Had my Showers Pass rainjacket and light cycling jacket with Sporthill XC pants and shoe covers. Thin balaclava and cheap cotton gloves I got for .99. I felt comfortable during my 35min ride in. Afternoon temps were mid 60's. Nice ride home. I took the long way home on the bike path to enjoy the weather. Listened to the football game on my radio that I installed on my bike. Makes riding real nice.

Beware of advanced greens when turning left... Some moron today almost ran over me. When the light changed to display the left turn arrow for both directions of traffic, some moron in a pick-up truck saw other cars moving thought he could proceed straight, even though the light was clearly red for him. I yelled at him, but from what I saw through the windshield he didn't even hear me and remained oblivious to the whole situation. *sigh*

It was pretty cool out. I was glad I put a lot of layers on today. ... It's still cool in my apartment (there is no way to control the temperature of your unit in this dump of a building). I'm wearing shoes, a turtleneck sweater, a jersey over that, a long-sleeved cotton shirt over that, and a pair of heavy cotton pants just to keep warm.

3 flats in one ride? You have my sympathy. That was a ****ty commute indeed.

And I know that feeling of puddles in shoes. Ick!

Life seldom offers a second chance. Here is tonight's sunset on the ride home:

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...arlesforBF.jpg

needless to say but it was a gorgeous ride home tonight.

Hello again all!

First commute (and ride) today after a 5 week holiday with no cycling. Beautiful day - spring is here, the temperature is lovely, blue skies...

But hard work. Jeez, you wouldn't think 5 weeks off would make such a difference! But good. Nice to be riding again. I left early too (result of jetlag and not being able to sleep), so not much traffic either.

Just to keep you all entertained on a quiet commuting Sunday. One more picture of the sky on the late night commute along the Charles River. And people wonder why I ride a bike to work...I'd have barely noticed the sky if I drove to work this week.




http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...theCharles.jpg

Cool but not cold this morning (6C). No clouds, no fog, no wind. Had a nice time.

A couple of firsts for me this morning:

1 - First chilly commute for me (I started commuting back in July). It was 39F when I left the house this morning. I put on some warm up pants and full-finger gloves, but found my arms and feet were particularly chilly when I was up at speed. After warming up the rest of me was fine. I'll be researching cold weather apparel options on the board today ...

2 - I just upgraded my 4-year old Giant Cypress to a Specialized Sirrus Pro. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Although still a flat bar bike, it is much closer to a roady than the Cypress. Of course lighter frame and narrow tires help a lot. I found myself really crushing the few hills I get to climb on the way to work.

Life is Good!

Good ride in this AM, It felt chillier than 50F (10C), but I warmed up a few miles into it. Seemed atypically dark too, I guess perhaps because there is no moon yet. Nearly ran over a possum as he/she scurried across the road. The first live possum I've seen in quite a while. Lots of dead ones, but hardly ever a living one. Luckily my headlights reflected well off of its eyes, so I had plenty of time to steer around it.

I did a hard metric century yesterday where I attacked on the steepest climb of the day (+-18%). 1 guy held on and we finished the ride 1&2. It was nice to see that I had it in me ... but I paid dearly this morning (extra gear, backpack, colder temps). So glad my car is here in the shop. Of course I don't know if I can even force my gas pedal down the way I feel right now. :) All is good though.

That's when you yell back, "I'm trying!" :p

Anyway, I was dumb this morning. Temps in the low 40s. I felt cold so I wore one of my cool-weather long-sleeve tops, my windbreaking high-viz jacket, and gloves. 2 miles into the ride I realized this was a mistake as I began to overheat. Unzipped the jacket and kept riding. Got to work with a very damp shirt, and happy I was wearing shorts, at least. :o

Chilly morning, but otherwise alright. Woke up late so I wasn't able to get to the gym for weights, but oh well.
My roadie's handlebars are starting to look crowded as I've got my camera, bike computer, head light, and healight switch on it. It's a good thing I have the drop bars, or else I wouldn't have any place to put my hands :b

I have forgotten which combination of clothing I need for various colder temperatures! I was way overdressed this morning. My legs were still tired from a great ride on Saturday so I took it easy. The road was wet but nothing was in the air… until the semi passed! Yuck! Hopefully Accuweather is accurate and I can make it home dry this evening.

New chain, new fenders, new borrowed HID headlight, clean bike, resealed bottom bracket - life is very, very good.

Crowded today w/ drivers all over the place so lots of zigzagging around them. Peds were no help either w/ their jaywalking. Serves me right for leaving later than usual.

An electrical transformer exploded on a pole across the street just before I passed by. Luckily I saw the flash first, so the noise didn't scare me out of my seat.

Otherwise, uneventful but chilly. First day with jacket & warmer gloves.

Buzzman, thanks for the fabulous photos! I should grab the camera today and snap a few shots along my route - we are having a gorgeous autumn here.

OK, I really just came down to the computer to check the weather... gotta go :)

Fairly dark....able to give a real test of some of my new lighting (not all here yet) this morning.

Found these little blinky LEDs that have something like little stretchy cords attached....could attach to sides of helmet perfectly. I was blinky McGoo this morning. :)

The morning commute was a balmy 8C (46F). That's warmer than some of our day time highs from last week. It was nice not to have to wear as many layers.

Low 60s, no rain, low traffic... Good 6 miles up the Island.

Chris

This is how I commuted today (Except I am also wearing a tweed suit). It's worth it just for the looks I get :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2331/...23bea21cca.jpg

Cool, overcast, and breezy. Perfect weather for a bike ride.

Got out of the house a little late, but it was smooth sailing for the most part. I got caught in the wrong lane 2 blocks from work, and got stuck doing a roundabout back to my building with 5 stops at lights, all left-hand turns. Oy!

4:30am commute. Temp 54d. Nice ride in. I've been commuting for about 5 mos. now. Saw another commuter for the first time on my route coming the other way. Forecast is rain for the rest of the week, we'll see if he braves the rain. On the ride home it was 74d, took the bikepath home to enjoy the fall weather. We have a real nice Bikepath here in Columbus that winds along the river and thru the woods.

damp, but not yet rainy like right now.