i forgot ... i'm not commuting the rest of the week

because I'm off to Austria for some rockclimbing

see you next week.

^ sounds like fun. I've never been rock climbing or to Austria, but if Austria is like southern Germany, it's gorgeous. Gute Reise!

My ride in this morning started out nice and cool, but I was mysteriously covered in sweat by the time I reached work (yay humidity). Good news is I didn't have to get off the bike for the big hill and I even sprinted a bit at the end.

Bad news is I forgot my lock. I'm going to ask security if I can bring it inside for today.

Danke!

It's only about 15C/59F here, but I'm having a heck of a time cooling off. Maybe it's the tie I'm wearing today.

Commute was nice. When I set out this morning at 6:48, the sun was just rising, and in the haze was a big, dim, orange disc just hanging there. It was hard not to stare at it. Got a compliment on my 30-year-old Bianchi frame from another steel road bike rider. Made good time.

After I got to work, I stepped out to buy a cup of coffee. Paid with a twenty, got $17.75 in change, went to throw a quarter into the tip jar, and threw in my toonie ($2 coin) instead. Rats. Didn't want to make a scene by fishing it out. Oh well, I guess that makes up for all the times I didn't tip. I'm now enjoying my $4.25 coffee.

Congrats!

Was too lazy to replace my front tube last night so I'll see how low it gets by end of work. Otherwise another nice late summer ride in this morning. Beat the rain.

Wow, congrats! -- I've got 870... miles so far. In total. Hence the 22 posts, I guess...

This might be a good time delurk and say hi. I'm on day two of bike commuting, pretty light by the standards of this forum, 2.6 miles each way in Manhattan. I've never really biked in the city before, so it's mostly a game of learning to negotiate traffic, zombie pedestrians, delivery guys going the wrong way, etc. I'm looking forward to cooler weather. It's not as hot as it's been, but I still arrive a sweaty mess. I'll have to bike home in the dark tonight; I really need to get lights. So far so good, and I hope to keep it up!

I did it -- I did not chicken out in the sight of rain, so went to work in pouring rain. Unfortunately my waterproof windbreaker made me steam, so in the end I got wet anyway... Pretty nice otherwise. Makes me wonder how much wear I'm putting on my bike, but I'm probably overthinking it.

Nice, man. Watch out for the cabbies while you're at it. Used to live in NY and I was always admiring people using bikes there. Good for you

After a nice week off, I'm back at it this week.... Full force, too. First calluses of the semester are today, so it's full time at the 9-5 (now 700-330) and then grad school in the evening.

Rides have been good. Despite some walking and a good hike at Muir Woods last week the cycling form is a little off, but it's coming back.

Successful experiment with mounting my bell now that I've gone to drop bars. I plan on making this a thread with pics. Basically, I took a plastic end cap from Planet Bike bar tape, drilled a hole through it and ran a zip tie through the hole so that the cap sick out to the side from the sources out steerer tube below the stem. It's a good diameter for the clamp from my old bell, which I screwed down onto the cap. I was pretty pleased with myself for that little brainstorm. It works great and doesn't look too Fred.

My (much) better half drove me to work with my bike and I rode home. We have a restricted access route that employees are allowed to ride on that leads to a rural dead-end road (no cars for 99% of the ride). But today I decided to try and ride home on the XC ski trail instead of the road. Well, now I can say I did it, but I won't do it again any time soon. There is a reason it is a ski trail and not a bike trail, which is true for many ski trails I have tried riding on. I was able to ride ~95% of the 7 km trail, but it was extremely exhausting - there were only a few spots where I was able to roll at more than a couple km/h. Swampy parts, large irregularly shaped rocks, corduroy road sections, which are all common on ski trails around here, made it the most demanding commute home in a while.

Todays commute was nice and sunny.

A cool ride on the down hills, and very nice for riding. The temps are still wonderful 65f (18c). I am still adjusting to the increased morning and afternoon traffic since all the schools went back. Of course it happens every year, and the next break will be the winter holiday.

The temp was a cool 56f when I went through town. It is not as light when I leave. I need to get a front light that does not fall off when going over bumps. I went without a light again this am. I can see fine enough but I am hoping it will help others see me also. It was a very nice ride in to work and going home promises to be just as nice or better if I increase my distance home.

Best commute yet [this summer], cool temps, no wind, clear skies.

Delightful. 50F/10C (short sleeves), no wind, and sunny. Saw a bicyclist ahead of me but I got hung up at all three (red) lights on my route (again) so I didn't catch him until I got to work and he was locking his bike. A fellow employee. I didn't know it was him.

First day of classes for grad program last night meant I got in a few extra miles for the day, which was welcome. I'm excited for this semester's courses.

Absolutely beautiful commute this morning. Temp under 70, relatively dry, and I didn't mind the slight headwind since it was out of the north and keeping things cool.

One annoying thing... I put some moisturizer on my hands this morning, which apparently left a bit of a greasy, slippery residue. I've been riding sans gloves for the most part lately, so once I started sweating a little, my hands were slipping all over the place, no matter where I positioned them (hoods, ramps, etc.) I did get some relief in the drops, but I didn't want to ride all the way to work tucked down , so I had to just deal with it. I'll have to remember not to do that again.

What school/program? Sounds pretty familiar to my work hours/grad school schedule.

No bike this morning. It's the first day of school so I had to take the kids with all their stuff.

Holy Crap. Traffic was horrendous.

School started on Monday, but I was working evenings on Mon & Tues, so I missed the schoolhouse rush.

My commute takes me past five schools.

This morning was sick. Every SUV-driving mother was careening down the road with her cell phone held to her ear by a freshly-manicured hand, heedless of traffic around them and having just dropped their precious little urchin off at the local schoolhouse (because the kid is just too precious to have to ride a bus, you know).

Frankly, what NayNay had to say on the Disgustingly Materialistic Dimwitted Wives of Whatever City is of no relevance whatsoever when measured against my right to travel down the road w/out having to dodge five thousand pound urban assault vehicles piloted by people who absolutely do not care about the damage they may cause due to the distraction.

HANG UP YOUR PHONE AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE ROAD.



Aside from that, the commute was fine. The temps were nice, the humidity not too high. I had a tailwind for a good distance.

Sorry 'bout the rant.

54F and gray. (channeling our out-of-commission comrade HardyWeinberg)

Pretty horrific cyclist fatality in my city a couple days ago. Very sad. https://www.edmontonjournal.com/sport...225/story.html

A little humid, otherwise pleasantly uneventful.

Best commute yet this week because I managed to get to work without my rear tire going flat. Not sure if yesterday's flat was some sort of weird failure (like maybe I forgot to screw the valve closed or something?) but the tire has held air just fine for almost 36 hours, which is a new record for this week!

Had a strange moment when this cute woman seemed to wave me down on the MTB (Metropolitan Branch Trail... Who knew?) At first I thought she might need some assistance, but as I got closer I saw her little folding table which contained donuts and coffee, and her T-shirt which said Bicycle Ambassador. I decided to partake only of her dazzling smile and skip the donuts.

Day 3 of bike commuting, and Google Maps led me to a new route today: up Ave. C., under the FDR Drive and onto the East River Bikeway to 34th St., and then crosstown to work. It's scenic, and avoids most of the meshugas of the streets. The weather was lovely, and the humidity was down, so I arrive much less of a mess than I have so far. I arrived more winded though; I felt like I was working much harder. I don't know if it was the (very light) headwind, or just general fatigue.

legs still tired. panniers still so heavy.


but my avg moving speed is picking up so I'm doing something right. I wonder how fast I would be on a lighter non-commuter bike.