I got lazy on my return trip, and cut about two miles off my commute by taking the train to the Candler Park/Edgewood station (in Atlanta). It also gave me a chance to veg out and read for awhile. The ride itself was nice. My office (basically a glorified cubicle, but it has a really nice view to the east) was moved about a half mile northward recently, so I've been going through the fun of trying out new routes. On the return trip I took an alternate route past Grady Hospital. The only problem with that particular route is that I either have to ride illegally on a bus corridor, or get off my bike and push for a block. I try to set a good example, so I pushed. I'm going to time that route (which is more direct) against the alternate parallel streets.

All in all it was a good, though very hot, ride home.

Went to convenient store to get two 12 packs of soda. Learned that one bungee cord is not enough. Next time I'll bring two.

Hot today, almost 90 on ride home with head wind. Heavy traffic long backups at lights, the driver of a pick up saw me in his mirror and swung in front of me as I started to pass him on the shoulder. Very intentional.

A co-worker and I went to play tennis and then badminton, than he drove me to the train station and I pulled my bike out of the trunk. I haven't played tennis in years, and it was quite the workout. People on the train were sidling away from me. Those silly, touchy commuters.

Hot on the way home. I had to dump water on my head to keep cool.

I think I have been overdoing it the last few days. I still made pretty good time on the way in but felt so much worse than when I left, my legs hurt, my lungs hurt, my head hurt, and I was super cranky. Either I'm getting sick (not feeling quite like that though) or I'm just tired from the heat, my new day shift, and the fact that I haven't taken a day off my bike in two weeks.

Got a ride home, stopped for dinner. I'll take tomorrow off.

16.5 miles this morning at 91 degrees. Took 1hr20min. The ride home at 107 degrees took 1hr30min, for a total distance today of 33.1 miles. I made an "oops" on my route and had to backtrack a little. It was pretty damn hot, but I'm used to it. Still went through ~70oz of water on the way home and sweat like crazy! Met a newbie on his first commute this morning and gave him some pointers. Hopefully I'll see him tomorrow just to make sure he survived!

Sup Arizona buddy. What route are you taking and when do you bike it? I live near Baseline/Stapley and bike to Priest/Washington - majority of route is on Main then up Mill. My shift is highly irregular, so some times I work days, or evenings, of 3rd shift any day of the week. Joy.

Back home, tried not to exert myself too much.

16 mile ride post commute.

total = 7+7+16 = 40 miles!

Yeah, get some rest. You should be able to do the math better tomorrow. :)

AM conditions still pretty good around here--though humidity and air quality predictions are fairly dire for the afternoon (as they are for much of the northeastern quarter of the country).

Been dragging all week, and this morning was no exception. Pushed pretty hard last week, and that with still continuing fiddling with the bike setup (i.e., "ugh, feels a little weird this morning") haven't let me get recovered. Could also be one of those low points on the curve of gradually rising strength and endurance (sounds good anyway :D ).

Short version: Nice ride this morning.

Was having a steller ride in this AM, nice and cool, light traffic, first ride in several days, averaging 18.2mph, when all of a sudden "POP". Spoke busted. I stopped and got off the bike to check it out and was surprised to find the busted spoke was on the front rim. I've busted many, many rear spokes, but don't believe I've ever broken one on the front. I'll take it a little easier on the way home, and swing by the LBS. Hopefully they will perform an emergency spoke repair and truing for me.

This morning went better than I thought. I did 36 miles last night as part of a group ride. This morning was 68 degrees and a little more humid than earlier in the week, but not too bad yet. I pushed a bit and rode faster than I would have expected. The ride home is going to suck - it'll be hot and sticky - 90 degrees and humid.

Nice ride home yesterday. I caught some guy with an electric motor on a MTB-type bike. Either he wasn't running the motor, or the motor wasn't set at 400W. :) I bet the motor weighed more than his bike.

This morning I dr*ve to work. Might need to leave on a moment's notice and get home fast. I haven't dr*v*n to work since March, and it really makes me appreciate bicycle commuting. Lots of scooters out now, and some of them are going 5MPH or more under the speed limit and nobody wants to pass them.

One dolt was "taking the lane" doing 30 on a 50MPH road with super-wide shoulders. Not so bright. Then some roadie ran a red light in front of me and tried to sprint to match traffic speed (25-30MPH). I shook my head in dismay as I passed him. If I was one of those bicycles-don't-belong-on-the-road types, he would have been quite a target for some road rage.

I didn't cycle today. I wanted to. But for some reason my girlfriend didn't want me to cycle. She worked a half hour later than me today and said she'd drive me. I told her I could drive myself, I don't cycle cause I can't drive. I cycle because I like to. But she was so adamant about driving me. Last night she asked if I wanted a ride. I was sore from Kung Fu tuesday night, and was really tired. I told her I'd let her know in the morning, but I'd likely shower.

When I woke up, the first thing she asked was if I wanted to be driven, I said I'll just ride. But she kept asking and then just got up and got in the shower at the same time I would normally. This made it infeasible to get to work on time via cycle.

I didn't understand why she wanted to carpool so much. So I asked her. She said that she really wanted to cycle, and she doesn't like driving. But she doesn't because her bike isn't finished being built yet, and she feels bad for borrowing her brothers bike so much, and it's super highly geared, so it's hard on the knees, and simply hard to get up hills. She didn't say it, but I assume she just didn't want me to cycle because she couldn't and it made her feel like she was missing out. She said she liked car pooling. It might have been because she doesn't like driving alone everyday.

Anyway. I really wanted to cycle, and I was a bit perturbed that she sabotaged my ride this morning. But it's only one day, and I got to spend some time in the morning with her, so it's not all bad.

I just feel ****ty taking a car to work. I mean, My commute is only 8 miles one way. It seems silly, and stupid, to get in a two ton vehicle drive at 70 mph, and pump toxic gases into the air, just to save 10 minutes of commute time. When I could get on a bike, leave 10 minutes earlier, get fresh air, get exercise, get endorphins(sp?) , and have and have an enjoyable start to my morning. When I drive, it' just waiting for the bad part of the day to start (work), when I cycle, it's starting the day with sometime fun, and it cheers me up for the rest of the day.

This is why I love cycle commuting. I just wish my girlfriend would have let me cycle. It's not all bad. I was able to get a coffee and a muffin, and such. But it would have been nice to cycle. Plus, whenever I am feeling down at work, I just go downstairs, stare longingly at my bike and feel better.:love:

You haven't driven in how long? 'Cause you sure do complain like a true motorist ;)

Ride in was alright. Stayed at my girlfriend's place so it was a really short 3 mile commute which was actually good. Didn't get enough sleep last night so I had that tired leg feeling where you could swear you're riding with the brakes applied. By the time I fully wake up in the afternoon I should be feeling alot better though :)

First Commute - not so great...
 

I am commuting from Riverdale, NY to midtown Manhattan (about 12.5 miles along the Henry Hudson Greenway).

Anyway, i have ridden the route on the weekend, but this was my first commute, so naturally it didn't go very well. About 3.25 miles into the trip i rode over (with no chance to avoid) a shimmering patch of glass. I figured my road tires with flack jacket kevlar would protect me...nope. 8 seconds later, the dreaded "hissssss." So this is my first flat on this bike, my first flat in 10 years (that's how long it's been since i rode a bike), and my first time caught without a patch or spare tube.

Luckily, i was only a mile walk (up a very steep hill) to the A express subway, so i still got to work on time.

Bottom line: I'm going straight to the shop during lunch for a repair and all the necessary equipment to make sure i don't get stuck like a fool.

A bit warm, but very nice.

My sluggishness continues. It was nice riding weather this morning, but the next couple of days are going to be HHH-Hazy Hot and Humid, so it could get messy.

I guess one good this is that even when I feel completely drained of energy, I can still make the commute.

Good ride today. Nothing special but real muggy. Got stuck in a one lane construction zone with nowhere else to go but the lane. Some girl thought that honking her horn and keeping it on for a minute or two would make me go faster. I thought taking the lane and going slower might be a better option.

The cool thing is that I found another commuter at the office. Two out of 70. He comes from a different direction and has the self proclaimed "Urban Assault Bike."

I know the guy but didn't know he was a rider so we had a good bike talk while we were doing the cool down.

This morning it was sunny, warm (74°F) and humid (901%), which meant I was sweating like a w****e in church. Realized that while my GripShift said "2", the chain was actually on the third cog; I should correct that, but since it gave me a good ride time, I'm almost tempted not to. No problems to speak of, but I do have some new threads for my head today. That should help keep the sweat out of my eyes. :)

Great ride in today as it was not too hot or humid. I was also able to hit 32mph with much less trouble than last week. Ah progress, gotta love it :).

That's unfortunate! I got my first "commute" flat yesterday, I had gotten slow leak flats from commuting, but didn't notice them until the next time I went to ride, which meant I could fix it at my leisure. When mine went flat on the way home it happened right in front of the bike store I go to, I was stopping there to ask about thumb shifters and when I got back on the bike the tire was flat. How convenient that it happened right there?!

I still had to change the tire with my stuff, but I was able to buy a new tube right there, and use the shop floor pumps instead of my hand pump. Lucky!

Argh. I commute from 177th to Wall Street, so your route is more or less mine, too. Where'd you catch the subway, 175th Street?

No, I am going to try to get up early and ride it. I rode shelby again. I almost rode in the car with my wife today because my legs were kinda tired. After a cup of coffee I felt great so left late around 7 am. I will try it but I think you have the right idea, it has to be early. You ride home that way too in rush hour. How do you get around that construction accross from the Eiteljorg?

Okay commute. Legs good - head not so much. I was tired & out of it for most of the ride. At one point thought it would have been much safer if I had driven...

Yesterday, some guy honked at me cuz I wouldn't let him into my lane (the bus lane) so he could right hook me. I'm such a meany.

This morning, had some guy from NJ honk at me cuz I was in the middle of the bus lane and he couldn't get past me so he had to change lanes to pass me, then cut back into the bus lane to keep going straight. In NYC, bus lanes are for buses and bikes ONLY. If you're gonna come here from out of state, don't start causing a ruckus.

I left later than usual this morning and had to run a guantlet of cars backing out. One backed out fast and i had to jam on the brakes. Wow i was mad but then she waved and let me go by so i cooled right off. The ride was awesome, it was my first commute in 5 days as i had taken some time off. Really nice weather this morning.

That's when you yell, "Go back to Jersey, ya bum!" :lol: