I used this morning's ride to scout out some parking lots that could be used for a combined car/bike commute. I have a few coworkers coming up from Elk Grove and the existing route is pretty poor, especially for the novice cycle-commuter.

Of course, no one's asked yet, but when they do I'll be ready with some suggestions.

damp, but otherwise fine.

Today was a GREAT ride. Why? I got my lazy butt back on the bike and commuted on it for the first time since last fall. 42F, so the cool weather gear came out. Now to make it 2 days in a row ...

Wow, glad you didn't get hurt in that incident!

I rarely see more than a couple of people on that part of the trail, and they are almost always walkers. The first video I posted was actually once a regular road, but it runs through a Civil War battlefield/national park so years ago they blocked it off to auto traffic, which is great. Part of my commute is an MUP, then that road, then a narrow, high traffic road for about a quarter mile, then finally another quarter mile on a busy four lane road. The old abandoned road is by far the best part of the trip.

Walked home because I had nothing in my toolkit capable of handling the problem....

Decided I would go down to the lake to see if the cherry blossoms were out yet. Got down to the end of the MUP and saw the crossing of the main road had a gap, so I could actually cross instead of having to wait for a light. Stood up to hammer to get up to speed. *Crack* Bzzzzzzzz. Pulled over, looked at the tire rubbing the chainstay. Darn nut must have loosened and slipped. Pull out my wrench center the tire and tighten it up again.

Start to pull off Bzzzzz wtf? The other chainstay. That's what I get for rushing. Stop, wrench, recenter, repeat?!?! Look down as I try to pedal - wheel is going from one chainstay to the other. Try coasting or riding slowly.... nope, I can walk faster. Look at my speedometer to see how far I have to walk.... 4666km. Hmmmm.

Get home (6km) and confirm it wasn't the bearings giving out, it was the axle. I snapped the axle pedaling too hard (not jumping off a curb or anything.)

The commute was terrible today. OK, my commute isn't the same as the rest of you guys. I was in a car.
I have to get a bike now....like yesterday!!!
I work construction and I am currently (and will possibly be for the next couple of years) on the largest construction job in all of Las Vegas. It took me almost thirty minutes to get one car length ahead to get out of the parking garage. By the time I got out of the garage I could have been half way home if I was on a bike.
I'm dying to start commuting, for a variety of reasons. But I'm looking at a couple of bikes right now, so hopefully I'll be riding very soon!

Absolutely beautiful weather today! But the best part: one of my coworkers rode with me! I never thought I'd see the day, but it happened and he loved it. I have another who seems to be interested in it, but he keeps wussing out. It's okay though, I think he'll crack eventually.

lamplight: That is good news, little by little. As far as my commute today pretty straight forward nice weiather besides the bit of wind otherwise a good day.

I believe it!

Last night I worked the swing shift, made my first commute home at 1:30am. Adventure!

Not as safe as riding early in the morning when I usually leave! The few drivers were driving fast and somewhat scary. More people than usual out downtown, usually drunk, sometimes arguing. I was a little uneasy. That sets the stage...

I got to my back door... no keys!

I turned around to ride the 7.5 miles back to work, since I wasn't tired, I had paced myself well. But a few blocks in to it, I saw a lot of cop cars scattered around a few streets, then a couple cops shining their lights on a guy spralwed out on his back looking like he was hurt. No ambulance. I decided this was no longer a safe area to be in and turned around to go home and wake up my landlord, when i heard gunshots!

Got home, landlord never answered his phone, waited an hour and a half until it was really quiet out (and felt like morning rather than late night), and rode back to work. Fell asleep on my sister's couch, then took the bus home. I got a 27 mile day out of it!

The ride in was NICE. I'm starting to really like the ride in to work. It's my favorite time of day, and the weather is getting nicer.


The ride back sucked. I called my husband, who sounded like he had his hands full with the baby. I decided to hurry home. I pounded huge gears and didn't take a rest break (normally I pull over for a couple minutes halfway through my ride). As soon as I got home, I bonked.

Then I ate three slices of pizza and some potatoes o'brien and a fruit leather. Now I'm okay.

Another perfect commute... perfect weather, perfect bike, and a perfect job.

I've been commuting to jobs since 1969. It's still the same- I LOVE IT!!!!

It's especially amazing at this time of year. So nice to ride without all kinds of clothes and gloves.

Allergy this time of year- doesn't make it bad. It does make it interesting when I start sneezing 15 times in a row when I'm riding down Commonwealth Avenue.

Wimped out. Drove. So, commute sucked. Here's to tomorrow!

Mid-week report: Delightful weather!! Pre-dawn lows @ ~ 50F/10C, and afternoon temps in the low 70s and up (you centigraders are on your own on that one ).

The only thing wrong with my commute is that it's not long enough. I think I can fix that...

nice ride in this morning - this weather is so perfect - mid 50s mornings and mid to upper 70s evenings - couldn't ask for better

Almost didn't make it this AM. Turned the TV on to check the weather, and got chilly so layed down under the covers to watch it...next thing I know I snap awake and see that I had dozed off for ~ 5 minutes. The ride in was just fine, 55F with no winds. Got to see the sun rising over I40 as I crossed the Miami Blvd bridge at ~ 6:20. Saw 3 other commuters this AM -very unusual for me to see that many- I guess the nice weather, increased gas costs and earlier sunrise all play a role in that.

Coyote snacking on road kill scared the crap out of me this morning. It was on the side of the road and I didn't see it until I was right on top of it.

Yesterday it was warm, sunny, and I was tempted to not commute. Just as I didn't commute on every other day in 2008. But then I said, "what the heck" and geared up.

I left the house later than I normally did when I commuted last year. Fortunately there was no wind, I didn't stop for any reason, and so I made the 16 mile ride it in 90 minutes. The new route is a little faster than the one I used last year, but there's a nasty descent to a stop light and a right onto the Main Street Bridge in Phoenixville I could do without. I could have been faster, but a bicycle 'advocate' collared me on the pedestrian bridge over the Schuylkill River, and it took me a minute to break away from him. Add in 12 minutes to change and I was in my cubicle.

The return leg started at 9:45 this evening. I need more light, but aside from that, the trip was OK. I failed to drink any water on the way back, and I neglected to wear a jacket, so I was shivering in the 50 degree weather. I stopped at a store to pick up a couple of grocery items, but again neglected to drink. By the time I'd reached my home at 11:45, I was very tired, and my balance was being impaired. The climbing didn't help.

Had a great song in my head on the way in thanks to the bicycle movie scene thread. Sunny and warm and I rode over a bit of glass in the road but just sort of steamrolled it, seems appropriate enough since I ride a steamroller, this made me laugh. Checked the tires and they were fine.

Should be a warm ride home also!
Bring on the gorgeous weather!

Looks like I've recruited some more bike commuters. I gave a presentation at work on Monday about bike commuting, with the emphasis on safety and logistics. About 20 people showed up, and at least a couple of them are going to try commuting during Bike to Work Week. One of them is going to ride to work with me on Monday since he lives near me. Also had some occasional bike commuters show up, and we exchanged a lot of ideas about routes, etc. Showed some folks how to use Google maps to plot routes, and now they're all playing around with it looking for alternative roads.

Right on! Sounds like an effective meeting.
I saw a lot more pepople out this morning, it seems to be catching on.

do you travel Davis Blvd.between 6-7:00 am?.only have seen a few commuters in this area.

I was shocked. I actually saw another commuter riding out of my neighborhood this morning. Appeared to be new to commuting given the new-looking knobby tires on the mtb he was riding. He was definitely going somewhere though, not just out for a stroll around the block.

The shameful part is that I was driving... first time in weeks. I suck.


Odd that when I drive is about the only time I see other cyclists. At least it tells me I'm not alone out there.

Still haven't seen any other commuters...don't really expect to. I live and work on the less populated side of town. I think I've only come across two other cyclists (not counting neighborhood kids tooling around) on my rides. But as we get into warmer weather, I'm hoping that number will grow.

Mid 60s this morning on the commute, and windy...the head wind is back. You know the wind is bad when you're struggling not to drop gears on a downhill. Oh well. Hopefully it translates to a tailwind on the ride home.