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.

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.

-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 :mad:

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

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 :D :D (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 :D. 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).

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. :p 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.

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?

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. ;) :p

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.

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.

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.

:rolleyes: 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.

Thanks everyone!
My foot feels fine. I think it was a pinched nerve.
I am more annoyed about the bike than anything.
Oh well. Life goes on and I still have my health...barely. :p
I am going to take a long deserved break and ponder what I will do next.
However, our big bike swap meet is this Saturday. I may need to accelerate this decision.

I am still leaning towards a fixie or SS like a bianchi pista.
The bike's rear wheel will not spin due. I am guessing the frame is bent. Strangely enough, it looks fine except for the bent rack. Even if for some reason it is fixable I doubt I want to ride it.

Chilly and fast. A guy on a hybrid was yelling at the morons in the bicycle lane on Elston. A bit further down I hear a honk and a guy behind me is driving in the bike lane and waves furious at me to go faster so he can pass a truck. At least no buzzers or close calls today.

edit: by morons in the bike lane I mean cars and trucks not bicycists

Ouch DJ, what a cruddy run :( Glad to hear your son and wife are OK from the fender bender... and that you're now OK - might be good to get a rest for a couple days before you go to the meet :)

Ride in today was wet. I woke at about 5am and heard the rain, so I knew it was coming. I didn't have bags for my shoes, and obviously I didn't have a spare pair of socks with me today - that's the only downside, I'm just sitting here barefoot until my monitors dry either my socks or shoes out :)

Rode a fixie for the first time this weekend, I seriously think it's like learning to ride a bike again. I'm a little humbled, but also gagging over the idea of my own (waiting on the Rob Roy group buy order to come through :D).

Dude! That's quite a day you had there! Sorry to hear about your trouble and I hope you guys are OK after all that trauma. Good luck with the new commuter and the NEW LIGHTS!

I take it this wasn't your carbon flyer?

Bummer, dude. Glad everyone was safe. While I understand your concern about trunk racks, boy, uh, if that had been you on your bike with a car in front of you, it would have been accordion city.

For me, uneventful ride. Foggy! Yesterday, going home in unseasonable warmth, I ducked to go under a tree that was down across the mup from last week's wind excitement. It was just high enough that I could just duck low enough.

My bike is starting to get completely Fredded out and I'm not even sweating it. I put Freddy Fenders on it a couple of weeks ago but last night and this morning were the first time I've needed them. Man, what a difference full coverage fenders make!!! I'm feeling another one of those over the top statements coming on like, "I will always . . . " or "I will never . . . " Anyway, I rode in in the pouring rain this morning - 25 miles and my shoes were slightly wet instead of gushing water. The bike was still quite clean because of the fenders and the disc brakes. My borrowed HID quit on me half-way through the ride this morning. I'm hoping it's because the battery was getting low - it's a loaner and I don't want to have to buy a bulb for my buddy! Glad I had the helmet light going, also. "Be prepared" is turning out to be my life's motto.

Not a bad ride in today. It started out rough, as my wife was cussing like a sailor at the back door. She thought her tire was losing air, but it felt like about 100psi to me. She's ridden to work on 60psi and not noticed, so I think she'll be fine. The rest of the ride was good - I felt pretty strong in the daily sprint up 4th, and the sensors for the parking garage door are working again.

Commute to school today was awesome. Sitting at a light at a busy intersection a motorist yelled at me. "Hey." I turn to look and see a lady with her window rolled down talking to me. "Thanks for being so visible. It's wonderful." It was about 7:50 and still somewhat dark and I had on my green vest and my bike has a reflector on the rack, a blackburn light on flash, and my pannier has reflective material (I also had my headlight but she couldn't see that). It was nice to hear a complement instead of the more common harassment (which has actually never happened to me, but I hear about it).

Thank goodness it was not.
It was my steel touring bike.

Nice warm ride in. Anyone with cold feet, like me, get booties. Best thing I have tried so far. Didn't really need em today, but I can just imagine the difference they will make on a cool day.

When will people figure that on a little side street that has all-way stops every hundred yards it is pointless to pass a cyclist because she'll just catch up with them at the stop sign again? (rhetorical question) I would love to just take my place in line there and go from one stop sign to next with the rest of the traffic. But nooooo... even if I take the lane, the driver behind me will go into the oncoming lane to pass and get in front of me. Well, if you do that, don't get pissed off when I filter past your car at the next stop sign... and the next.... and the next.... and the next..... and the next........ moron.

Ride home: Soaking wet! :eek: Wow. Wettest this year. Guess I rode through a squall line or something. Deluge of rain, falling horizontally with a howling headwind.

Fun! :D At times I was giggling with insane glee. The water was running into my mouth and tasted really salty. I realized my helmet pads were saturated with old sweat. Yuck. Not any more though. :rolleyes:

Perhambiker, that sounds rough. Heal up and I hope the dog owner keeps his dog on a leash next time. He should know that he could've been facing criminal charges if you chose to call the police.

DJ & Flimflam: Fixies = fun. Go for it.

My commute home was absolutely unremarkable. I'll take that any day.

No commuting at all in San Diego right now - whole county is pretty much shut down. Had to evacuate our neighborhood yesterday morning, so we packed up kids, pets, computers and photo albums. But there wasn't room for the bike so I left it in the garage.

Looks as if our street is OK, and we should be able to go back home in the next day or so. But yesterday when things were looking dicey I did find myself worrying about that bike. I would hate to lose it.

Not that I'll be able to ride for a week or two - gotta wait till the smoke clears.