My first commute today, I should be doing it more, as it is only about 6 miles round trip. The only problem is that I use my car a lot for my job, so I can't do it every day...

Ug, i felt sick this morning and limped it into work.

Excellent!
Today was my first commute to my summer classes/job. 9.88 miles in 47 minutes. All I have to say is that I'm going to lose weight this summer.

Because I didn't pack my panniers last night, I left behind my belt, a towel, and, most importantly, my deoderant:cry: good thing I take showers at night.

I'm looking at about 20 miles per day, with the potential of doing this 5 times a week :D

flyingcadet

My first commute today. 14 mile round trip. I left extra early for work this morning so I would have all the time I would need, and I got to work in less than 30 minutes! I was an hour early for work. It was in the mid 60s with no wind when I left my house at 3am. Crickets were chirping and the valley was relatively quiet. Coming home took a little longer. 82 degrees. The home route has a couple more uphill sections, and I also had some headwinds (max 14mph, SE) for the last 3 miles. There were a couple of times when I thought about driving the car to work tomorrow. Now I look at tomorrows forecast and they're calling for a high of 87 and S winds 10-20 mph with gusts of 30mph. Damn. Oh well, I will be riding. Some days will be easier than others.

Tired when I got home, but by no means did I bonk out. I was a little worried with my blood sugar, but I did fine. In fact, I did awesome today. Full of energy all day! It was the wind that was killing me!

Eating much better now. I am roughly following a meal outline from last months Bicycling magazine. Working good so far.

I averaged 13 MPH, with a max speed of 18.8

Nice sunny ride in after lunch. Another 90 min, then out to pick up the 3 yr old in her trailer and then to 6 yr old's school.

I used my granny gear for the first time ever.. Down to the second lowest gear on my bike. Brutal, brutal north wind. 25 mph , but its always worse on the Lakefront trail because of the exposed geography. But, I made it home without pushing my bike.

I feel good. Boreas, you are defeated!

p.s. anyone who says you don't need gears in Chicago, I didn't see you out on the trail today. :)

Was WET this morning. The sun came out around noon. Now... Looks like it will be WET again for the ride home. Glad I put fenders on the single speed commuter this weekend. :)

Congrats :thumb: See how easy it is?

You're not ever going to bonk in 7 miles unless you've been starving yourself (or have some kind of disorder). If you want to know what a bonk is, skip breakfast and ride for 50 miles.

Just do what I did and assume the most aero position on your bike possible, kill your ego, and drop to the low gears (if you have them). Better to be in shape for the next day's commute than to tear yourself up.

I think the way home was even faster, even uphill. I think the 95+ degrees had something to do with that...

Maybe the storms that blew through here are headed your way...I left work a 1/2 hour early and it was 68º and very, very windy...had probably a 30mph steady headwind for the first three miles. Barely missed a torrential downpour. Flash floods are scary.

But, I did risk the rain to pick my MTB up from the LBS...couldn't bear to let it sit there when it didn't have to! :)

My wife just dropped off her bike and trailer and switched it out for the car with the kid seats... b/c yeah, it's blowing pretty hard and getting dark. I was hoping for a little rain on the way home, but this time of year in Texas we rarely get A LITTLE rain. :eek:

I had a great commute! Not too eventful in the morning, but after work I decided to take an extra long way home that involved a huge hill. So I by the time I got home, I was in pain, and it was great!

Loved it!

Ugh, no commute today. A friends tragedy ended with me driving over 10 hours yesterday to pay my last respects. I'll hop back in the saddle tomorrow.

Really nice ride in today on my steel SS. 7.8 miles, Warm and sunny, just enough sun and milage to sweat just a touch. Ride home should be just as nice, but uphill.

It was raining when I left this morning, but stopped within the first mile. Took off the rain jacket and it was smooth sailing all the way in. I didn't see any other bikes today. It's supposed to rain later ... bring it! :)

:D I never knew was bonking was until I rode my age (41) last year without eating any food. :eek: Very unpleasant. Not to be repeated. Food=fuel=good!

Anyway, nice commute for me this morning. Low 40Fs with a tailwind. I had no energy, so I was thankful for the wind at my back. Sunny, too. I stopped to pet a cat that I see on the MUP every once in a while. She has no tail, and she's very friendly.

My first commute since crashing last week. Told myself to go slow and casual, ended up being one of my fastest rides in. Go, Bridgestone! :)

Weather doesn't hurt. It's cool in the 40s, but bright sun. The air is so crisp. My favorite time of year. Will be mid-60s for the ride home. Can't wait.

Passed many other cyclists, far more than usual. A mix of commuters and early riders. $4 gas and brilliant weather brings them out.

Good ride in, saw a couple other commuters. It was a bit cooler than yesterday and breezy but the sun was shining. My legs are feeling a little tired from all the miles over the weekend but I think in a day or so they will be fresh again.
Took a couple of joy laps around the parking lot before heading inside, I just have to milk it in the morning especially if the sun is bright.
:thumb:

I hated to do it, but I drove today. My legs were really tired yesterday after riding a bunch of miles in the past week, and I decided I needed a day off. The forecasters were calling for rain, so it seemed like a good day to drive, but it looks like I would have dodged the showers if I rode. However, sometimes you gotta just listen to your body, and my body was telling me to take a rest day.

What a nice day. I was a little late, so I missed all the traffic. I was passed by an 18 wheeler, and a piece of sheet metal about 8" by 2ft either fell off the truck or was picked up by its tires. It wizzed passed a few feet away. Blast of adrenalin.

Dropped again by the red specialized. Fastest part of the commute, I was going about 19 and he zipped past like I was standing still.

No commutes yesterday or today. Drove in yesterday with the bike in the pickup, planning to ride home last night and back in this morning. Had all the necessary stuff to avoid carrying the bag for two days (clothes, extra food, etc.) - but forgot to pack the stuff necessary to ride the bike! Left my shorts, shirt, shoes at home, 15 miles away. Didn't make sense to ask my wife to drive 30 miles (after loading up the offspring) to bring me stuff so I could avoid driving 30 miles, so I suffered a drive home in beautiful, post-storm sunshine and 70*f yesterday evening. Weather this morning was doggone perfect for a ride, but with an early softball game tonight I need to be able to drive home. Sux...

Cold for late May in Central IL with a horrendous head-wind for the trip in. I am def tired of wearing long sleeves (even a jacket this morning) and gloves. I figure that the the 30 MPH gusts were karma for the over-eating during the long holiday weekend!

Here's to the hope that the winds don't change direction for the ride home ...

I had a Jebus Beard Gord sighting this morning! JBG is a long-distance commuter who I ride with once in a blue moon. He's really fast - I think the beard is there to provide aerodynamic resistance and keep his speed from exceeding 88mph when he dials it up to 1.21 GW.

Good ride despite the headwind.

Pig Chaser - the wind has been pretty intense of late hasn't it ?

It's been enough to force me into using a geared bike... :D

This would be my ride of the week... she just got some folding baskets to make her a little more utilitarian and the gearing and tyres make short work of those nasty headwinds despite the fact there are only 8 of them.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/edithride2.jpg