Rode to preschool this morning with my daughter on the new (to us) trail-a-bike and my son on his little bmx. We take a very mellow route. Unfortunately, it means a lot of stop signs, but work has slowed down so I'm not stressed about getting to the office early. The weather is cool and clear, and we look for trucks and light-rail trains and count the streets.

Really, really, really nice way to start the day.

I just got back from a nice 8 mile ride! :D It was a beautiful 40 minute ride...cool and clear...a couple of good hills to build the leg muscles...plus it was a good way to break in the new bike. Put my new blinkie and headlight on today too!

On a side note...crazy story about the new bike:

I bought a 2008 Marin Muirwoods bike from my LBS yesterday. He put it together for me and it fit well, I rode it and it seemed fine. So I got it and brought it home. This morning when riding to my first job I noticed it was not shifting right. After work I tried to adjust the front derailluer cable tension, but it wasn't working. Then I realized the bottom bracket was completely loose!!!!

So I took it back to the LBS and he said a few choice words...before trying to fix it. An hour and a half later we find out that the frame is no good, the threads inside the frame were completely shot. So for an hour we tried to find another bike that would fit me and that he could stand to lose a few dollars on. Needless to say it was a no go :(

So his assistant goes to the back and happens to find the same model bike that I had bought yesterday, but in a size and a half larger....we thought it would be too big, but he decided to put it together anyway, this time meticulously to make sure nothing was wrong with the frame. When it was all finished and I did the stand over test......it fit perfectly! Not sure how when I was fit for a 19 the day before, but the 20.5 fit even better. He said that it was really strange because when he measured me I should have been a 19.....The Lord works in mysterious ways ;)

Congrats!

Interesting metalchef. Hope second bike will last a little longer. My commute was uneventful and pleasant at about 60 degrees on the morning ride. It was dark, but lights are adequate. First commute all week due to very busy schedule at work and school. Hope next week promises to be more reasonable. Probably have to drive again tomorrow :(.

As I couldn’t help noticing on the grocery run I just got back from. How can you possibly make 17mph wind (gusting to 27mph) more exciting? Put a gallon of milk behind your seat!

Morning ride was awesome weather, but otherwise uneventful. Evening ride was interesting. I got ran off the bike lane by a teenager with no helmet, no shirt, and a bike about 10 times smaller than my 4 year old's bike going the wrong direction. Then about a mile later, I came up behind another helmetless teenager who literally pulled directly in front of an approaching vehicle from behind us. Of course that driver honked, so the punk kid flicked him a bird. Then the driver drove past and the idiot on the bike in front of me (going even slower now) swerved right in front of another car, who also honked at him. I waited for the cars to pass and then I quickly passed this guy and continued on my way. Then, going over the Nickel Bridge, I was confronted by not one, not two, but three other cyclists (which is fine, but new for me, since to this point I've only seen one at most on the bridge besides myself). I have noticed another commuter who lives in my neighborhood. Today was my second time seeing him. He's probably 50ish, rides a commuter, and is waaaaaayyyyy faster than I am. I'm hoping that I can find him one day and chat with him and get some tips.

Responded in the wrong thread
 

Apparently I read a post in the winter commuting thread but posted my response in this one. I was referring to a poster who wrote that he commuted two hours each way to work and back. My own commute is just three miles, which I finish in 15-20 minutes, depending on how many stoplights catch me.

My commute this morning was fine. Temps in the 50's, sunny, clear, calm, with promise of highs in the 70's in the afternoon. Great day for bicycling.

Today's commute was, uh, interesting. Somehow I was talked into joining a bowling league, which now meets on Wednesday. It started last week, and because I didn't have sufficient lighting up front, I drove the car. This week, however, I had the NiteRider Sol LED, and looked forward to trying it out, so added an extra 6 miles to the commute by riding their after work.

This morning I checked the weather forecast, which listed chance of T-Storms for tonight. My backup plan was to ride home if there was a threat of rain, then drive to the bowling alley. At 4:00, however, I checked the radar for my home town, and there was a light wisp of clouds that looked mostly harmless. I packed the rain gear anyway, and decided to ride the bike.

One of the roads on the way is one lane each direction, and it is a bit of winding road, and is a well known speed trap. (Speed limit is 30 mph). I was moving about 15 mph, and cars are passing when the other lane is clear. However, at one point I notice a car behind me isn't passing. Not sure why since I'm as far to the right as I can be without worrying about go off into the gravel shoulder. I look up and see a cop on the other side of the rode. I guess this guy is afraid of passing me because he'd have to cross a double line (with one set of wheels) to get around me. Personally I don't think the cop would have pulled them over, but I felt compelled to push myself to ride as hard as I could. Once they passed the cop, the cars behind this guy honked, and he finally went around. Of course he couldn't resist telling me to get off the road. :)) I resisted responding, but simply rode on.

At 7:00 we were finished bowling. The people coming in from outside for the next round of league play were pretty wet from running through the parking lot. It was POURING outside!

I called my better half, she said there was lightening at home, but no rain. I'm looking outside and seeing it rain cats and dogs, but no lightening. Anyway, so I donned only the rain jacket, mounted all the lights, and took off in the downpour.

Cars showed respect on the way home. I guess in the pouring rain I didn't look like I was some guy out for a joy ride, eh?

Needless to say this was one of the more interesting commutes so far. A few miles of new roads and traffic to deal with. And I survived. Hopefully the lights and cyclometer survived the downpour.

In short: Another great commute.

ah. now I get it.:o

my commute today was a pleasant ride in on the bike path this morning and home on Comm Ave tonight.

Saw a rock band called Ginger Ninja who tours the US on bicycle.

see my thread

Nice. 50sF. Slight headwind. Saw some deer in our yard before I left. Passed 3 riders. Many more going the other way. High school students, I think. :thumb:

I'm craving a Big Mac. :eek: (I can't remember the last time I had McDonald's...)

yesterday's ride home was a test, ended up breaking the hanger mount on my rear derailleur... which proceded to wrap itself around my rear wheel, damaging the chain and some spokes... called the rescue ride (thanks Wifey!) and went straight to the LBS sold me the bike... took just a few minutes, they changed the chain, derailleur, new wheel, and new cable... lets see if it will be more durable than before..( I ride a Giant FCR2) and of course, it's raining today, so won't get back on the bike 'til tomorrow..

It was raining this morning so I took the car. Maybe after I'm a little bit more seasoned I won't mind riding in the rain.

After you have done it long enough you dont even know what it is doing. I dont know if that is good or not.:)

Nippy ride this morning. I did find some old gloves in the garage, so my hands were warm.

This was my first morning ride with my new lights... and wow, what a difference. I also installed my fenders last night, and the bike made it to work without anything rubbing, so I must have installed them correctly. I didn't need fenders today. There is still some beautiful weather around here.

I had one idiot pass me on the the right while I was taking the lane, but other than that everyone was well-behaved.

This has been a great, great weather week in Portland (no, the other Portland; the one in Maine). Clear, crisp, not too windy. If I could find a place where it was like this all year, I'd move there in a half second.

My commutes have been great the past week and will be awesome for another!

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1222347604

Nice weather makes all the difference for me. Been riding an extra hour on the way to work every morning (normal commute is 15-20 minutes). Sweet!

Yea weather here in Indiana has been so great for a while now. We will probably pay soon.

Rode into the wind the entire way into work this morning. That was a tail kicker. I also left late today, got hung up at home, so I ended up right behind a city bus for a few miles. Besides the obvious downside of carbon monoxide in my lungs from the bus, I also ended up having to slow down every time the bus stopped to pick up people at a bus stop, because the bus used the obviously marked bicycle lane as a bus lane. GRRR. I ended up riding the sidewalk to get around it. I felt bad, like I had violated some sort of code, but I couldn't be behind that bus. Was that so bad? I would have gone into the road, but the bus was already taking up half of one of the travel lanes, so traffic was already constricted through there and I didn't feel that it was a safe move to get tangled up in that.

Starting to get cooler in the morning, deployed the Canari windbreaker...don't want to break out the leg warmers just yet. Talked to another guy who commutes yesterday on the way out, in the elevator, he was complaining to another guy about how he got s**t from someone in his office for going out on lunch rides in his lycra riding shorts, she complained that they were too skin tight, so he can't wear them any more. Of course, while he was complaining, I got on in my gear. We commisserated about how lame some people are, you get a bigger eyefull just walking down the street.

Nice and cool this morning. Aside from unfolding a train bench onto my leg (ouch), it was an uneventful ride in.

First commute in a week. A tad chilly this morning (temp was 64°), almost went back for my long-sleeve jersey, but decided to wear my wind breaker instead. Bike seemed heavier than usual, so I took it casual this morning (about 13 to 14 mph). Gave the Romisen flashlights a good work out; very nice. :thumb:

took the extra long way home from work yesterday and this mornings ride was good too, i am still trying not to wear gloves in the morning because i just like the solid grip on the bars

it's so fun to just carve a new route home just turning on some new roads

The ride in this morning was chilly and wet. Fortunately the showers in my office building only have cold water, so I was conditioned for it...

This "nor'easter" we got in Southeastern NC looks like it'll be fun to head home in, too.

Mid 50's this morning, clear and no wind to speak of. In other words perfect. Just wore shorts, a long sleeve base layer, and a brightly colored T-shirt over top of that. Made a point of counting other cyclists this morning and counted 12. Seemed less than other days. Pretty uneventful ride except for the 4 kids walking to school on the MUP and they could not figure out what side of the path to move to as I was heading for them. Made the 12 miles in just under 47 minutes, not the best time but not the worst either.

Light tropical storm rolling in, so I got a ride from the woman. It feels weird not having a bike in my office.

The bad part was an explosively flat tire at about 35mph coming down Novelty Hill in the drizzle and dark, only 2 miles into my commute.

The good parts were:

- My new Gavia Plus tights kept me really warm and dry as I was changing it
- It happened close to a street lamp, so I had plenty of light to work by
- I got it changed in about 10 minutes from stopping to rolling again
- It was the rear tire, so I didn't wipe out when it went all insta-flat on me

Today was my first day back on the bike since returning from Texas late Monday night.

Temp was a bit chilly. I guess I was in Texas long enough to get used to the 75 degree mornings. Sunshine1 and I rode together to the top of the climb on her route, then I had to turn back to head for downtown. I sure enjoyed riding with my "best girl" on my first commute back. Thanks for riding with me, sweetie.

Ended the morning commute with 20.5 miles and almost 400' elevation gain. Not bad for the first time back out there.

beat the rain and stayed dry this morning so at least I will have dry clothes to put on 5 minutes before I go get soaked for the ride home. Yesterdays ride was crazy with the wind...at times felt like I was riding into a brick wall!

Not a bad ride in. I did manage to hit every single light going through downtown. That's 6 0-40 sprints in <5 minutes. The last one was kinda feeble, but oh well.

Yet another great day to ride, cool in the morning, sunny all day, light winds..just terrific.

However, a short distance from house, a family van was backing out of a driveway where upon I used my warning bell to let the driver know that I was approaching. The van stopped, let me pass, and all was fine until I was about 500' down the road when the van roared up behind me and attempted to pass to the left only to find a large truck in the oncoming lane. The driver could have just slowed a bit to wait for the truck to pass but insisted on forcing the issue. I have seen this numerous of times but this time it was so close that I immediately pulled into a driveway to avoid contact.

What got me was this road was a country road and the van had roof top mounted bike racks (i.e., the driver should have known better). I guess this is just a commentary on the risks people are willing to take in order to shave a couple of seconds off the clock to get to work on time. If they could only appreciate the negative outcomes that their actions might have on bikers...or anyone else. After all there are ~43,000 people killed on the roadways each year (~120 people each day, equivalent to a plane crash a day), but I guess people feel that crashes only happen to the other person and not to them.

Now that I'm done venting, I'm looking forward to the ride home. Tomorrow, it is supposed to be rainy. Time to get out the rain suit.