Forgot to mention a guy started and decided to complete his left turn in front of me yesterday, causing a bunch of "HEY"s from me, then realising he wasn't stopping a big loud "HEY WTF MAN" - he opened his door (perhaps his windows were broken) and shouted "Sorry man!"... *sigh*

Weird I forgot about this 2 minutes after I got into work, heh. Thicker street-skin I guess.

Perma-packing my goretex now, so very glad I had that last night as I had some errands to do in midtown (Yonge/Eg) and it was throwing it down/sideways with the wind when I got back outside to the bike.

Grocery bags over saddles outdoors FTW.

Ride in today was simple, little cool but I was dressed nicely for it. I had the usual race-past-me-then-slam-on-and-right-turn-in-front-of-me antics but other than that, plain sailing.

Hit 3111 miles which is 4 miles over my 5000km mark I think (3107mi.=5000km I think) - the time is nearing for me to consider a chain renewal and I wore through my rear brake pads last night onto the plastic so a lunchtime run for them is needed.

Hugely overblown. The biggest potential hazards on the ARBT are four-legged. Particularly the kamikaze squirrels.

Chilly this morning but not terrible. Switched from some older tires to a set of the specialized fatboys. Smooth rolling and flak jacket technology, no complaints here.

That reminded me of the jackass last night that cut from the right lane across two lanes of traffic, cutting me off, just to park in the BIKE LANE. As I passed him, he looked at me and said, "Sorry!" Well I guess cutting me off and making the bike lane unusable for that part of the street is OK as long as he's sorry. All this happened with my HID blazing forward. I don't think it was a problem of him not seeing me, it was a problem of him not caring.

Cold, clear and very nice this morning. It was about 33 F at the low point. Waiting for my new NiteRider TriNewt battery to finish charging so I can head home. Tap. tap. tap.

Good riding weather today. 42f most of the day. Had my Snow Sneakers from LL Bean. They kept my feet nice and warm. Looking forward to using them in the really cold stuff. I'll keep you posted.

The DCR is doing work on the bike path (Boston side) along the Charles.

the other night I decided to ride past the signs and get a look at what they're doing- looks like a repaving of a 1/4 mile section between Western Ave and the BU railbridge.

rode in in the morning with my wife. met her up later for the late night ride home from Cambridge. It's pretty chilly.

...and oh yeah, slipped on a slice of pumpkin that was squashed in the middle of the road and almost went down- it was as if I had hit sheer ice.

Nice ride in. 39 degrees. Annoying headwind, but that seems to be the norm. First ride this year under 40. Decided to try wearing the new ShowersPass shell over a thin fleece jersey and found myself too hot. Rode unzipped the whole way, with rather sweaty forearms. Wish I had brought a short sleeve jersey for the ride home.

Watched a car accident happen right in front of me as I slowed down before an intersection (5th Ave in Park Slope, few blocks before Union). New BMW M3 with a couple kids in it that must've been doing 50 or so down a small residential street, trying to make the light, took the front bumper off of a car service Town Car that started moving just before the light turned green and was already in the intersection. While no one was hurt, the unnerving thing about all this was that the BMW, swerving from the impact, ended up flying through and "parked" right on the sidewalk. Damn good thing there was no one walking there at the time.

Cold cold cold cold. My gloves + lliners are no longer warm enough, my fingertips were cold-burned for the last 2 miles. I'm thinking that lobster-claw style mittens might help.

On the plus side, I'm getting better about base layers on my bike-to-the-vanpool-in-work-clothes routine. Light undershirt and arm warmers under my work shirt, and warm cackys did the job very well.

I'm liking this cold weather. So far. This has been the first week when the lows have dropped to the freezing mark in Raleigh, NC. My cold weather gear has been performing greatly -- keeping me warm enough without sweating. The end of daylight savings time also has been nice from a commuting standpoint. The sun is coming up now when I leave home, while last week it was dark all the way to work on my morning commute. The afternoon commute is also better. Even though it's darker, I feel more visible because my lights show up more and there is less glare from the sun.

I'm probably going to need some additional cold-weather gear and clothes, however, for days when the lows drop down into the 20s and teens. Probably will need a baclava and shoe covers, and perhaps a warmer jacket. Right now I doing fine with heavy jerseys, base layer and vest.

After three days of appointments after work, thus driving... I rode in this morning. 43F, sunny & clear. My feet got really cold today, time for thicker socks. I need full gloves too. Tonight will be my first post-DST commute in the dark. I am getting a better headlight this weekend, I hope I do okay.

I took a different route to work today to avoid two huge bridges I have to cross in favor of crossing one little one. The downside: I have to ride about a mile down a main road with a crater in the right lane the ENTIRE length that looks like it was MADE to eat bike tires. I might as well be taking the lane I have to ride so far out from the curb. There's a left lane too going in that direction so people can go around (and traffic is fairly light) but I still got 3 honks. It was quicker though and so worth it not having to cross those bridges. I'll have to see how it is on the way home, traffic can get snarly there during rush hour. We shall see.

Actually today was rather nice. 30F commute - but it was dry - and no wind - great commute. Plus I'm finally getting over my headcold (which has been sapping my strength) so the bike felt pretty good today!

Awesome! Got a new drivetrain so of course it feels like a new bike. And soooo quiet. After having to take it easy for a while until I got carried away somewhat and pushed it above around 30mph a few times, which tends to be a bit faster than I usually go on the commute. Then again, it was around freezing when I rode and I was more than warm enough for the ride.

I gotta stop leaving for work so late. Traffic just gets uglier and uglier so I was zigzagging way more than usual because drivers tend to hug the far left or far right of the lane rather than drive right down the middle. Turned up the street to work and after squeezing through a tight spot created by a livery driver, I took the lane in front of him and followed behind a cab. Of course the livery driver honks at me so I just give him a mean look and leave him stuck behind the cab since the light was red. Guess he couldn't wait to make up the 10' it cost him to have me in front of him. Jackass.

Brisk, foggy. It was up in the 40sF but I've been wearing full-finger gloves anyway. Oh yes, I thoroughly scrubbed my chain (down to rubbing the inner plates (on the outsides of the chain) w/ a paper towel) last weekend so it's been just a nice silent ride for a while now. It had been giving me that kind of chewing on cotton balls feeling before. First *cleaning* in ~2500 miles, 4th lube though.

A nice ride except for the impatient, rude person who honked, then leant lengthily upon their horn to express displeasure at my disposition as a cyclist.



I thought the horn was a device only for use to warn another road user of your presence in an emergency, not a device to make slow traffic get out of your way.

Like Most of the Northeast the cold has come and its my challenge to figure out before April how to layer without being too wet or cold.

25 miles to work and the real feel was 33 when I left home.
New Louis Garneau ear warmers with wintex are doing their job, but they do cut down on my hearing. Got to work on that. I did find that when I took them off at work they were soaked.

Some jerk decided to teach me how to kill myself while bicycling on Queens Blvd.
This road is known as the "Boulevard of Death" as many peole are run over in what at parts is 8-10 lanes. At my usual junction before a right lane ramp entry
to the Long Island Expressway is a red light that I almost never beat or try to. I position myself in the middle of three lanes so cars that will take the ramp need not honk me, leaving room for those who want to use the left lane and avoiding people to cut me off.
I continue merrily on my way happy that I was not crushed and this jerk in a jeep comes along on my right telling me that I should be in the right lane, blah blah blah.

I mean, dude if I was in the right lane back there I would be dead. I skipped the commentary, because as I said I can't hear so well with my toasty ear warmers.

I continue cranking away and who do I pass 1/4 mile up at a red light? Yup, Mr. Right Lane advisor. I smile, that pathetic drugged out look smile and hammer the hill.

My return home was late, I guess I left at 10:00 or so and the winds must have kicked up, beacuse I was dragging. No matter how much I pushed I had no power left. Oh well, I came home 7 minutes later than usual.

Funny thing when it gets cold.
a) I bike a bit more slowly
b) The hills don't hurt as much (see "a" )
c) I gotta pee more. I guess I will not have coffee at home until I get to work.

Back to checking out new winter gear.

Happy biking.

Dark, 27 F. and just a hint of what is to come....keeping a log of temp, wind and what I wear along with comments..might help me decide what to wear as I go along...

Yeah, drivers are pretty impatient. I'm taking the right lane at a red light, which turns into a shoulder about 20 feet after going straight through the light. When the light turns, the second I start pedalling straight ahead, a car behind me honks. I stupidly made the "pass me" signal (waving with my right hand towards the left) and he passed me with perhaps three inches to spare. I must stick to my policy of ignoring drivers who honk at me.

Really, really nice this morning. This fall I've gotten back into a groove. My buddy and I have revived our pre-work training rides. I'm at 149 miles for the week and it's only Thursday. We're going to have huge base miles in our legs by the time of the early season races next year.

Trying to get into better shape, so I have been either riding or going to the gym(or both) every day. My first session with the personal trainer yesterday, and my legs were wiped out today. No gas. I'm usually slow, and today I was VERY slow. Also developed a large and deep blister on my left foot, which certainly did not help my pedaling efficiency.

took the road route in this morning. commonwealth ave is a mess of construction these days.

got there in no time though. construction on the bike path home meant a little detour to the Cambridge side.

Proper gear is truly a blessing. I got rained on and snowed on today... and it didn't matter didly squat. In fact, it energized me.

Stopped by the bike shop yesterday and picked up another winter jersey. I've been looking for a warm jersey that is very bright. They had a new, old stock Pearl Izumi Escalation jersey that was all yellow and fit me perfect. Usually I can't find clothes large enough at our local bike shops, so order most of my cycling clothes on-line. I'm more than glad to give the LBS my business when they have what I need in stock. Anyway, the jersey is similar in weight to a Kodiak, but a little roomier. I also picked up a bell, which I've never used before, because I'm encountering more and more crazy joggers-with-a-death-wish in the mornings.

The ride in was nice today. Rang my new bell at some kids waiting at a bus stop who often holler at me. It was the "warmest" morning of the week with temps in the upper 30s. It felt colder, however, because the humidity was higher. The new jersey was comfy but I think I'm still gonna need something warmer when the temps start dipping into the low 20s and teens. We'll see.

That seems like a great idea, I think I should start doing that since this is my first winter commuting in New England.

Had a nice ride today, the only ride of the week for me, unfortunately. It was cold out, low 30s when I left, but no noticeable wind and I didn't have any close calls. Most drivers actually slowed down on the curvy back roads and waited until they could see if anybody was coming. Tonight will be my first ride home in the dark, so we will see how that goes. I have 3 rear tail lights ready to go, a front LED flashing light and two halogen lights to actually light up the road.

Odd fact of the day: You MUST wear reflective ankle straps if you ride at night in Massachusetts. It is listed in the driver's manual, of all places!