Cassave

Howling winds. The SantaAna winds that are driving our yearly fires here in SoCal.

My morning ride is 8 miles stringht into the wind.
At one point I was out of the saddle, struggling in the small ring making about 8mph. On the flats.

DataJunkie

Thank you.
However, I fear I spoke to soon.
I was sitting in a meeting and my foot started shooting flames through it.
I can't even walk but my wife is on her way to pick me up. I have a decent pain tolerance and this is threatening to overwhelm it.
Oh my goodness..........

jyossarian

I wonder if all the cabbies are back at work. Didn't seem like they were striking on the way home. I watched a cabbie push a motorcyclist over by changing lanes into where the motorcyclist was forcing him left. Then I saw a Hummer run a red when he realized that speeding up to a red light, then slamming on his brakes wasn't going to stop him in time so he just drove on through. There's some crazies out there.

trombone

Hello Amber! And hope the foot is OK, DataJunkie.

Bit cooler today; was overcast after some really hot, sunny mornings.

My ride was pretty uneventful (although I got passed - twice! What's that all about? No-one passes me!), although I did witness another cyclist giving a bus driver a good earful.

The bus was stopped at a bus stop, with his left indicator on. Traffic was passing by - it's a two lane road. Just after the bus is a small side turning - I was actually waiting to pull out from that turning.

A cyclist comes past the bus, indicating left. Just as he kind of gets up to the bus, the bus indicates right and pulls away. I can't be entirely sure if the cyclist had actually drawn level with the back of the bus when the bus started moving or not; one thing I am sure about is that the bus kind of went from indicating it was pulled in to indicating out and moving pretty much instantly.

Or course, this meant the bus started to block the turn the cyclist was trying to make. The cyclist kind of took on the bus though, shouting as he went, half pulling in front of it - basically determined to make the turn in front of the bus. In the end the bus stopped moving, and the cyclist pulled in front of him, shouted at the driver for a little while about using his mirrors (with suitable colourful phrases), and made a big show of taking the bus license plate.

I'm not entirely sure the bus driver was totally in the wrong. The highway code says to allow buses to pull out, and he night have thought the cyclist's turn signal was indicating a lane change, rather than a turn. Then again, gven that it was a bit unclear, the bus driver probably shouldn't have started moving until the situation was clear. It just struck me as just one of those slightly awkward incidents that happens on the road from time to time. Either way, I'm doubly convinced that shouting at drivers is pointless. I have no doubt at all that the bus driver is convinced he was in the right, and now hates cyclists even more. And the cyclist, rather than quietly taking evasive action to avoid the situation and then feeling good about being alert to others and riding defensively worked himself up into a froth that will probably spoil his day.

Ho hum. Stay safe out there people, and perhaps try to stay calm too!

Amber_

Well I can definitely tell I'm going to like the morning commute better than the afternoon. On the way home I got passed very closely by a lot of cars and buses, people act much more careless in the afternoon I guess. Everyone was on their cell phone or had music blaring. Kinda made me nervous but I made it home okay.

pinkrobe

I finally put the wrap on my handlebars, and tightened all the bolts - no more squeaks! Not a bad temperature today. My hands were a bit cold, but that was it. It's supposed to be crazy warm for the ride home...

scoatw

72d. Good day to commute. Took my scenic route home, same as before. I'm wondering if this will be the last good day of the year. I'm doubting it. We have a cold front moving in, but I think we'll see some more nice days with the weather pattern we're in.

Magmol

Great commute this morning, 25 degrees, couple inches of snow and clean crisp air. Life is good. Moved from sac town to get some clean air and mountains and have never looked back.
It is funny as everyone at work expects me to drive because it's cold, thats why they make layered clothing. Rode home in shorts and long sleeve jersey to find out it's still only 44 degrees. I guess I have acclimated to the weather and the altitude.

trombone

Don't let them put you off! Ride well out from the kerb; makes the traffic have to notice you, and gives you somewhere to go if a car does get too close.

vrkelley

Excellent weather both ways...very rare for Seattle esp. this time of the year

DataJunkie

Thank you as well. My foot seems fine at the moment but that is most likely the painkillers.

Anyhow, my saga continued. We were driving home with my bike on the trunk bike rack after my wife came to pick me up.
So, we were slowing down on the freeway due to a traffic jam and a teenager plowed into the SUV behind us throwing them violently into the back of our car and my bike.
The good thing is that we are all right and everyone had insurance. My 4 year old did start crying and complained that his arm hurt. Fortunately, that was temporary and he is well.
After a visit with the police, firemen, and the ambulance emts we inched our way home on the back streets that I ride on. If anyone ever asks why I prefer to ride a bike I will smack them in the head.
All in all I am out of commission for some time. Need my foot to heel and a new bike. Commuting on an expensive racing bike this time of year is not something I want to do.

Time to have fun with the insurance. This is only the 4th time our car has been rear ended. I am seriously considering trading it in for something with less bad history and much larger.

Oh and I will never use a trunk bike rack again.

On the positive side, I get to start pondering what I want as my next commuter. Maybe a fixie or another touring bike. Don't know yet.

zephyr

No bike commute today. I was sidelined by howling desert winds, dust, smoke and ash blowing though the air from nearby firestorms in the bone dry hills of Orange County, CA. It looks a bit hellish this evening with the flames glowing across the hilltops a few miles away. This will probably mean several more days of no pedaling until the air becomes breathable again. Right now if you go outside you have to chew while breathing. This is not a good thing when riding a bike.

teamcompi

Well today was the day I was dreading....time to park the bent and pull out the mtn bike. It started snowing after I got to work and did not stop. The ride home was nasty, slippery and wet. The great thing about a LWB, recumbent it that your close to the ground, making it an easy fall. I will miss the bent but the mountain bike will be fine.

buzzman

slooooooow ride in this morning. For some reason the 50+ miles I did yesterday wore me down.

I didn't have much steam today but I managed to enjoy the ride any way.

Beautiful, beautiful weather!

sloooooow on the way home, too.

teacher

Started in rain this morning, and ended with wind...phewf. First ride with my new rear derailleur, and fenders! On the way home got the first flat on my new bike..a tiny piece of glass, almost missed it when I examined the tire.

Mazaev

Nice and pleasant ride in. Last day of good weather, it seems, before the long sleeves and jackets come out in a couple days when the lows hit the 40's. Legs were sore from a hilly 130 miler on Sunday and some stop-light sprint intervals during the day. A good sore.. the kind that reminds me why I keep riding. More and more, the 9 mile commute seems too short.

On a sad note, my front tire finally called it quits and wouldn't hold any pressure over 80psi. It was a Bontrager 23 that came with the bike and had over 3500 miles on it. All this time I though there was a Mr. Tuffy under there and was surprised that the thing held together all this time all alone, despite having what must be a whole bottle worth of glass shards and a ridiculous amount of cuts and bruises in it. Now the front is sporting that monstrosity of a tire kown as the Armadillo until I aquire some Krylions.

swifty

-3C this morning, my first sub-zero commute this year. Wore gloves for the first time too. Had a really nice time, although some a-h0le refused to dim his lights for me, blinding me for a good 20 seconds

Itsjustb

DataJunkie, glad the wife and kid are OK. Damn! That is some amazingly bad luck for one day...

1ply

I don't know about luck. It's typical in a car. Sucks that it was you this time though.

Why is it that you prefer riding in again (runs for hills)

My first wet ride in to work this morning. I've been soaked before but it was always on the way home. Oh well, took a while to change and everything's behind me in my cube being blown at by two fans . I'll live.

Made me realize that I'm missing some crucial commuting equipment. I need waterproof shoes/boots as the shoes I was wearing today may withstand a light sprinkle but not a constant splashing for 40 minutes.

Something for the head would be nice too. I think I'll make a winter helmet following jeff-o's instructions (rebel-cycles.com).

vtjim

DataJunkie, if you were in Burlington, I'd buy you a beer. Or beers. That's one bad streak of luck.

My ride this morning was wet and sort of dark. MUP population density (not including me) was six-tenths of a person per mile. No cyclists. Just 3 peds.

Public Service Announcement: This is the time of year when there can be lots of wet leaves on the ground. Remember they are slippery and will cause you to crash if you try to turn or stop suddenly on them.

dbec

Man, what a morning. Hello everyone, I'm Daniel and I've been commuting in the Washington, DC area for a couple of months now. This would be my first post here; I've just been lurking and getting as much good info as I can.

So, I'm on my morning commute today. It's a super-easy commute, just a couple miles, mostly going down East Capitol Street (near the US Capitol). It's probably one of the safest streets to bike on. It's a wide avenue, with bike lanes, and the traffic is usually fairly calm. So I'm heading East, approaching 3rd St SE, where cars are stopped at a light. It's around 7ish AM. I'm in the bike lane. And before I know it, a car door opens and I'm in the air, thrown into the middle of the street. I'm down for only a few seconds before I get back up, move back into the bike lane. The car owner is apologetic; it's an older Isuzu SUV with the hood open (which I didn't see upon approaching it). He's was trying to get it running again; the radiator was leaking. I can see how I would be a little preoccupied in that situation.

The right brake on my 2 month old Bianchi San Jose is a bit mangled. The driver wrote down his name and number and I told him I'd get an estimate. I was suprisingly calm and collected. I guess when those things happen I am just in survival mode and I don't get upset. So at work I am telling everyone I talk to -- please look around before you get out of your car on a street!

As I think about it, there are things I could have done better. I tend to ride exactly in the middle of the bike lane, thinking I'm being considerate to drivers (and enjoying a little space in between them). I should probably toe the white line more so I have some room to maneuver.

Ironically, if there had been one of those joggers (who insist on taking the bike lane even though there is an expansive brick sidewalk at their disposal), I might have been better off because I would have been further into the street.

My leg is skinned a bit and my right collar bone feels a little sore, but I'll be OK. What a morning. For the record, I was wearing my normal work clothes (I think my long sleeve thick oxford helped my arms not get scraped), with straps on my pant legs, and I was wearing a helmet, although the helmet never made contact with anything.

I'm just thinking, is there anything else, either in terms of avoidance or follow-up, that I should have done?

jyossarian

Jeez Datajunkie, glad you and your family are OK.Good thing you weren't riding your bike. Getting rear ended by an SUV would've hurt alot more.

Cabbies are back at work clogging up the streets again so it was back to zig zagging across 3 lanes of traffic to get around all of it. Fell in behind a mtb commuter and a motor scooter, then lost both of them squeezing through tight spots. All that and I'm still not fully awake.

mtnwalker

The commute this morning was cold and "fast?". I found a new route that added a good 4.5 miles to my route that involves a 5 mile steady uphill and 6 miles of rolling hills. I only averaged about 14-15 mph on the uphill but once I hit the rolling hills my speed went up to 19 to 20mph. There are traffic lights but because its so early, 6:00 am, they were mostly green and I was able to keep a good rhythm. Its heaven, in the dark.

PerhamBiker

Hi everyone. I was heading out of town on my first downhill last evening just before dark and was watching a dog running loose in a yard to my left. I was picking up my speed so probably over 20 when another dog shot out of the ditch and ran diagonally right to my front wheel. I don't remember what happened at that point, but I ended up on the shoulder in gravel with the owners trying to help me. They are actually people I know and work with, but I didn't know who they were for several minutes. I must have bruised my left hip pretty good because it's a little hard to walk and be comfortable in very many positions. Other than that I'm okay, although I don't feel all that well today. The owner gave me a ride home and will be paying to fix my bike and get new bike shorts, shirt and helmet.

I have had dogs chase me and sometimes run along beside me, but never had one come so quickly right in front of my wheel. I'll get the bike into my LBS tomorrow to assess the damage. I don't think it is too bad.

I usually am watching the edge of woods and fields for moose, deer or bear. This whole thing really caught me by surprise.

I'm very thankful that no cars were involved. There was a car behind me when it happened and it could have been so much worse. There is no paved shoulder on the road, it is hilly and people go around 55 often.

I can't wait to get back to riding though as soon as I can safely and without too much discomfort.

M_S

Yesterday at the school where I work (after school program) one kid walked out to discover his bike had a flat tire. Some of the teachers were ready to call his mom and the kid was pretty upset because "they had just gotten a new tube so that shouldn't happen" when I looked up and said I had a patch kit and pump.

One of the teachers litterally let out a gasp and exclaimed something about how prepared I was. It was all I could do not to roll my eyes.

When we took the tire off the bike though, I couldn't find a leak, so I pumpe dit back up and told the kid to check it in the morning--if it wa sflat then he had a slow leak. My guess though is that someone let the air out of his tire.

Edit: dbec, I'm glad you're okay. Dooring sucks.