Last vestiges of my cold are on the way out, so I'm feeling better. Nice weather for the ride to class and then home last night after work. And it was yet another beautiful morning this morning. Had a jackhole pass me on the MUP with little disregard for oncoming traffic. He ended up detouring into the grass once he realized the situation he'd gotten himself info. He wasn't really going any faster than me either, do I ended up trailing him for some time and saw him make a few more boneheaded pass attempts, one on the 14th St Bridge, where he had to bind up his brakes to avoid taking it an oncoming cyclist. Each time it wad like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I could tell he wasn't going to make it, yet he pulled out anyway. Eventually passed him back coming off the bridge. Other than that moron and his antics, it was a very nice ride. Love being able to ride and NOT sweat profusely. Such a welcome change.

I prefer it a bit cooler than it's been, especially in the afternoon still, but I'm not gonna complain. It could still be summer heat, and that would just suck royally!

It was almost too cold for shorts this morning. I love not needing to get a shower once I get to work.

Today marks my first four-day commuting week (M-T, Th-F). Hopefully I can do the full five days next week.

Oh, I checked with my car insurance on some things.
#1. If I hit or am hit by a car while on my bike, my car insurance still applies.
#2. If I start riding to work regularly, I can switch to the "Pleasure Rate" and save $5 every six months.

It was cooler this morning, about 10C with a slight breeze. I wore a heavier long-sleeved jersey but it wasn't truly cool enough for that weight as I had to scale back on the effort just so I wouldn't sweat so much, my lighter-weight long-sleeved jersey would have been fine (you know, hind sight, ... ). Didn't get yelled at today by this week's idiot driver to get off the road (btw, we're going in different directions on different sides of the road so I don't know why he has such a problem with me).

95F going home Tues afternoon (1 degree shy of tying the record) and 45F this morning. I have no idea where my lightweight polypro long sleeve T-shirt is. That'll be a weekend project as I'm guessing I'll have to get over my "summer's over" denial.

The sun didn't rise this morning until 12 miles into the commute, and my headlight battery started flashing the red "less than 10% left!" distress signal. I guess I'll have to start charging the poor thing more than once a week. Did I mention I need to get over my "summer's over" denial?

'Twas a good day for fenders!

First cycle-commute in two weeks! The radio said it was 9C, but it was more like 6C/43F at my house when I left. Had to ride straight into the rising sun on a couple of stretches which sucks. Otherwise, it was a pleasant and uneventful ride.

Today is the sort-of first anniversary of when I had a collision with a car and broke my wrist (the actual date is the 16th, so this is the business day anniversary). There's still pain there when I bend my wrist all the way back or forward, and certain kinds of pressure (like doing push-ups) still hurt quite a bit. I didn't realize it would take so long to fully heal.

8C with a little head wind, great weather. Riding though shadows with the sun in my eyes is getting old, bring on the dark! I've got about 700km on my new Brooks B-17 and it is breaking in nicely.

I was very stiff today and the ride was slow. Counting my Sunday ride its been roughly a 350km week, mostly with winds. I think I'm close to 800km for the month already. Tomorrow can be a rest day and I can give my wheels a long overdue truing.

Perfect temperature 68F, overcast and calm, only a few people on the trails and city traffic well behaved. It was a good ride and I'm able to open it up a little for more speed, although I'm still reluctant to get out of the saddle or power uphill.

I noticed that the city has filled in some of the dangerous uneven pavement to the gutter, a couple of days after I reported it. They're probably concerned about their liability, to take action that quickly. Maybe I'll ask them to fill in the rest of it.

I forgot to report the most hilarious bit of NYC driving I've seen yet. A couple of nights ago, on my way home going downtown on an avenue with a separated bike lane, a jeep pulled out of a side street, somehow missed his turn, and got his front end stuck on the curb separating the bike lane from the street. He backed up into the the now pack of bicycles stopped behind him, and then proceeds to turn into the bike lane. He had mere inches of clearance, and part of me dearly wanted him to get thoroughly bunged up so that the police would have to get involved, though that would have put the bike lane out of commission for the duration. All the bikes were forced into traffic on the avenue, and when I looked back, the jeep had gotten through and was trying to extricate itself and get back on the street. Now that I think about it, I should have taken a picture.

Completed my first year of commuting. Started a new job so my commute changes from 22 mile round trip of mostly flat, shouldered ride to 29 mile round trip of hills and heavy traffic. Today was my first commute to the new job. Even though it is only 3.5 miles farther each way, it seems much more treacherous.

Commute in this morning was really nice, aside from all of the drivers that passed me on busy streets in no passing zones (just more than normal).

Getting back home this evening was a different story. I was about to turn and get onto the bridge, and there is this part before the sidewalk starts that is dirt road, then asphalt (that sticks up 1-2" from the dirt), then the sidewalk on the bridge. I hit the asphalt part at just the wrong angle and I almost fell off of my bike, which is a road bike with 700x23c tires (kind of like what happens if you cross the railroad tracks at the wrong angle, where your tire can get caught in the rail, if that makes sense). I stopped myself by getting up next to the guard rail and braking there, but my laptop pannier fell off of the bike...the quick release system on it had popped out of place. I tried to fix it, but the plastic it's made of is very hard (with good reason!), and I have a bad upper back, so I couldn't carry it as a messenger bag home.

So, I had to call my friend to pick me up and drive me home. I hated it so much...the weather was perfect: clear, near sunset, and 75*F with little wind. A lot of people were out on their bikes, and I just wanted to cry! I took a walk when I got home, then came back and was able to fix the quick release on the pannier...it's weaker now than it was before, but I will just have to be careful, I guess. :/

Taking rides home with friends sucks. So much. :/
(Okay, so I'm officially addicted to cycling...I hate it when I have to ride in a car, and all I want to do is ride my bike).

/rant

My commute was awesome today - two little kids (and their mom) pass me in a Prius and I immediately came up to them at a stop light. The kids were super friendly and were chatting with me. They said they were going the Burger King and I told them I would try and keep up. I knew that between here and there the cars don't exceed 30mph, and they were behind a bus, so I was able to with ease while still talking to them. They both waived me off and restored my faith in humanity.

I'm back on my bike after my accident last week (mentioned earlier in this thread). Then new handlebars are a little wider which is nice although the brake levers are aimed slightly differently which is okay. I'm going a bit slower than before in some situations but it feels good to be back in the saddle. The most exciting part of my commute to the current client site is a brisk ride down Wells in the Chicago loop. The right lane of two lanes (one way street with El tracks overhead) is the bike lane but I'm able to go as fast or faster than cars. It definitely keeps the morning ride in interesting...

This happened a couple weeks ago but this thread reminded me of it. A man dressed in 1920s safari garb was biking along and had a zebra hand puppet he used to talk through to everyone he passed. Either he was getting in character for some childrens camp or he was crazy. Based on where I was, I'm going to go with crazy.

I think I may have been a bit dehydrated this morning. After the two bottles of water and bottle of orange juice I had at school, the ride home was a breeze.

I encountered a hazard that forced me to not do an extra 6km stretch. A farmer was spraying something on his field and the crosswind was blowing it directly at me. I figured it was best not to suck that stuff up, so I turned around.

+1

We had an off-site training and team-building day so I was able to get in a few more miles than usual, which was nice. What wasn't nice was flatting on the way there and really having to hustle, turning what I'd planned to be a z1 spin into a time trial for a few miles.

Hot! I worked the late shift today so I was not riding in the cool of the morning and I took the long way there. I went through both my bottles of ice water in 1 hr 15 mins and couldn't get enough fluids for the rest of today. But so worth it.

Man I love it when that happens. *sarcasm* Always seems to happen on the day you didn't really have an extra margin as well.

On my ride home on Thursday I take a MUP that crosses a busy 6 lane road. There's a crosswalk with flashing yellow lights for when pedestrians/cyclists need to cross. Usually I wait until there are no oncoming cars to cross but on Thursday two cars stopped for me. As I started crossing a car in a lane further over almost hit me as they did not see me and I did not see them (Both of our vision was blocked by the cars stopped at the crosswalk). Thankfully they stopped in time and I crossed unharmed. I'm trying to figure out how to be more cautious in that situation next time. Obviously the driver should have been more aware of the stopped cars at the crosswalk.

This is the number one thing I warn new road rider about when I talk to them. I just don't get the thought process of the many drivers that see cars coming to a stop and just barrel past them at full speed anyway. I've seen drivers pull onto a shoulder or parking lane to bypass the stopped cars without even touching the brakes.

So what do you do in that situation?

For general intersections where I have a stop sign, I refuse to go and wave drivers past, only proceeding when it is clear. If don't have a clear view of all traffic coming from both directions, I assume the drivers don't either. Many people I know have had close calls, and a person interviewed for the campus newspaper was hit in a situation like that.

It happened so often at one intersection that I finally gave up and altered my route.

One thing I like to do at certain MUP crossings is hold back and scan for cars in both directions. If I see cars coming I'll stop far enough back I don't draw their attention. When I think I see a clearing I'll coast forward, check again then proceed across.

A nice cool morning at 55f (13c). One deer meandering across the street after raiding a neighborhood. I lost two tamatoes this weekend to the deer, and this time of year is precious when it comes to tomatoes, because it is the last month for them to turn red. Come October anything left will stay green.