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 :D ).

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!
:rolleyes::D

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.

First ride w/ the DIY pannier and as predicted, my back was less sweaty. Some extra understeer due to the added weight, but otherwise a fine ride. Skipping takes a bit more effort, but that's to be expected. Saw a bunch of commuters on E61st that probably got off the Q'boro bridge at the same time this morning and cut through traffic w/ two kids on bmx' and another commuter on a mtb.

2nd post accident commute. The weather forecast said light rain. Wrong! Freaking drenched when I hit Denver. At least it was in the 50s.
My MTB is making it difficult to wait for my new frame to be built up. This weekend I head out to find a headset for the salsa frame. Still deciding if I want a LBS to install it or if I will do it myself.

A great day -- 60F and sunny. However I was very cold for most of my ride because it is almost all in the shade. Fortunately I warm up about 3 miles into it. Pollen not a big problem today (unlike yesterday) -- can't explain why the difference in just 1 day. I saw a lot of other commuters out today - most of them passed me, which meant I was going slower than usual. Turns out I was only 2 minutes off my usual pace -- not a big deal. Apparently there is a hawk's nest near the MUP; I passed 2 other commuters checking it out. I'll try to find it on the way home.

Today was my first time commuting by bike, and it was great. I live about 22 miles from work, so I am starting out by driving half way parking at a grocery store and riding my bike the rest of the way. My route is a little hilly, but once I get into better shape it will be an easy ride.

I am riding my 2002 Jamis Quest with a rack and waterproof panniers.

I saw at least a dozen other riders on my way to work. And a Moots!!!

When I got to work, my new ride (Giant Bowery) got scorned by a guy in the building. He said "oooh a racing bike". Huh?? Then I got, "well, it's a single speed, it isn't like you live in London or something". Not sure why it bothered me so much, just kinda seemed like reverse snobbery, you know? I figure the more riders the better - no matter what kind of bike you're on.

I guess it wasn't just me having pollen issues yesterday. On the ride home in the afternoon my mouth was dry as a bone, eyes all kinds of itchy, etc. Today (at least on the morning commute), no problems at all.

Commute: the weather here continues to be near-perfect. 50s in the morning with a high around 85 in the afternoon and almost no wind.

No commute for me tomorrow. I just scheduled an endoscopy for 11:30 am. I'm bumming--the office where they're doing it is only 3.5 miles from my house, an area I bike to all the time. But of course with the endo recovery I can't ride to or from. :(

Booooo! 0C when I left the house. The mittens were back on...

fisher04, Welcome to the Happy Healthy Commuting Mother F*ckers (HHCMF) cult...er, club! Have some Kool-Aid. ;) You'll be happy to know that HHCMF members are 10x happier and 5x more likely to retire earlier using all the money we've saved by not buying gas and instead investing in a balanced portfolio that allows us to live longer, giving us more time to ride our bikes!

Well I got the opportunity to test how water repellent my gear was today. The good news is between the internal geared hub and fenders the bike worked flawlessly. But my pannier is not completely water proof, nor is my bright reflective jacket. So I got pretty wet, and my work pants got a small wet spot but no biggie, luckily my computer is in another bag and stayed dry. Typical Colorado weather, dry and clearing, thought I was good, and 5 miles later its a down pour with lightening in the distance. My Brooks saddle is getting soaked too, by the time I got to work there was no point in putting a bag over it. Hope it clears by afternoon.

Oh man what a morning.

Today I was turning onto the on-ramp onto the Brooklyn Bridge (heading into Manhattan) - if anyone knows this spot you know that the curb is perpendicular to the path, so you have to do a 90 degree turn there... as I was turning on another cyclist was coming right towards me. There is just enough space if you are passing side by side but that turn makes it tricky - he was in the center of the bike lane which is about where I had come on... I swerved to the right to avoid him, he managed to avoid falling but I was clipped in - I tipped over to the right, CRASH, and the worst part was my body has too much momentum so I kept tumbling and the back of my head smashed against the concrete barrier. I'm fine though - THANK GOD I wear a helmet everyday! The impact really could have caused some damage otherwise. I am so so so thankful about the helmet you have no idea. I was totally shaken up but all I have right now is a few scrapes and bruises.

Whew. I've had a few other falls but none of them involved another cyclist. I'm glad nothing happened to him or anyone else.

Cristina - glad you're ok! Just reminder here as I'm sure you know - replace that helmet.

Used to spend about a quarter mile there, but have a new route that takes me a different direction. Work with a guy who occasionally commutes, and when he rides he's on Davis from Precinct Line to 1709... Where's your ride take you?

speedy - my wife biked the 6 yr old to his school this am (at sidwalk speed), and I had the 3 yr old in the trailer to her daycare. 2 more miles than if I just took 6 yr old, but same gross time. Nice cool morning, not notably wet out.

Arrived at the bike cage this morning to find a moped in my spot. (I realize I don't have any real claim to that spot, other than that's where I usually lock up). I'm not sure how I feel about mopeds. There seem to be a lot more of them on the street lately, and they stink. Literally. A week or two ago I was riding home and came upon a whole group of moped riders going my way. I thought I'd hop on and get a motorpace--the speed was just fine but I lasted about 30 seconds before I started choking on the fumes. I think those things run on chainsaw engines.

Anyway, the ride itself was just fine. I got a new seatpost and stopped a few times to fine tune the saddle height.