Ha! I was right- thought it was the Giro but the gruppo looked wrong. I had a blue Bottechia Pro that I raced with for years back in the 70's. The Columbus tubing was a nice feel in the large frame size. For good classic British frames I also had an RJW Reynolds. Very nice bike.

Your Mercian is in great shape- what a cherry of a bike that is.

~58*F (14*C). When I woke up and took the dog out it was raining, but I was glad that it stopped by the time I was ready to commute (I'm new to commuting and the rain gear I recently ordered hasn't come in the mail yet, so I have to drive on rainy days). Very nice ride, but I wish it were longer (I only live ~1 mile from work). Made up for it by getting a few more miles in during my lunch break. Can't wait until this weekend to really break in the new bike.

Lovely Jackson Tarwheel! Looks like it's well spec'd for commuting.

There's an early 70s Bottecchia catelog somewhere online that shows the Pro as blue and the Giro white---so I suspect it was a Giro. It's a very sweet riding bike--I think the old Italian geometry is awesome. It has a lower BB than my Merc even with 27 x 1 1/4--so with tubies it would have been about 10" BB height when new.

The Mercian is a keeper--many years of fond memories associated with it.

Today was brutal. -10C (14F) in the morning with a 40kmph (25mph) headwind. The afternoon ride was -8C (18F), and the wind gusts had picked up to 70kmph (44mph). Snow drifts were everywhere, making the "clear" roads unrideable in places. I ended up doing 69km (43 miles) in this today, mainly just to see if I could. Now that I've done it, I don't think I want to do it again. ;)

Wonderful rides today, both to work and home! 40 degrees this morning, 55 this afternoon. No wind in the morning, brisk tail wind going home! I was singing and dancing on the bike and stress free, laughing at all the serious faces in the cars. Yeah, crazy old man I am but I'm living in style!

Pretty. -12ºC, windchill -18, a glittering layer of frost all over the path. My headlight reflected off what looked like millions of diamonds, scattered in front of me.
Coming home, the snowy parts were soft and a bit hard to manage. The low sunlight washed the landscape with golden light. Very mellow and relaxing.

I rode to work all five days this week. I ended up with 542 miles in January, not a bad winter month total for me. This morning, I rode to work in shorts, a bit hard to believe for a February morning ride before daylight. I ran into a bit of drizzle for a short stretch of that ride in, but stayed dry on the ride home, glad to have gotten home before the storms.

2012 days ridden to work: 18
2012 commuting mileage: 446.3

Had to work on Saturday for a few hours. Had a great ride in along the river. I can't recall a February when I've so many days in a row when I didn't need to pull the ice bike out. I don't know. I'm guessing I'll end up paying for all this nice weather at some point with a good winer storm but in the meantime, I'll take it.

Last week the weather was great for commuting every day. Then this weekend the weather fell apart with lower temps and high winds. The forecast for tomorrow, Monday, is great! I love this city - it reserves the poor weather for days I'm not bicycling to work! :lol::lol::lol:

A bit rainy, a little bit chilly and quite windy. But still a nice morning and evening for a ride.

I also had a small laugh; in the morning I was out with a couple of co-workers standing next to my bike. (They recognize it and know exactly who it belongs to) Making small talk I mentioned that I had not driven my car for one week. I was kinda proud of that, since the weather had not been perfect at all. Looking over my shoulder , I asked out loud, "Is that my car parked over there?" I was actually surprised. I hadn't expected this. Walked a bit closer for a better look and came back saying, "It sure is."

I already knew the explanation, but I carried on for the sake of having fun with my friends, "I swear I can't get away from that thing! It even follows me to work!!"

They looked at me like I had come from Mars.

I let them in on the explanation, which I'd already figured out. It was my wife. She works at the same place, but a different building and starts two hours later than I. She'd parked it there thinking that I'd want to drive home. She should know me better than that after all this time.

So I also had the pleasure of calling her up and saying, "Thanks, but no thanks. You'll find it right where you left it when you get off".

Just under freezing today, no wind but definitely cooler than the past week or so.

My attempt to fix my squeaky front brakes is classified under Fail. They're louder than before. I've been to the shop, moved 'em all around. I give up for now.

Ouch, recovery from Superbowl Sunday is officially underway. No riding today. Do you all have to type so loud? Please.

Colder than expected (23F) when I left the house late this morning. Light traffic on the trail and I need more sleep.

First ride in a couple of weeks. I've been walking to work a lot more. Better exercise as it's only 1.8 miles one-way, and I don't have to worry about bicycle cleaning or ratbike maintenance with salt and winter road goop.

Anyway: 30F with a light tailwind. Had to avoid a couple of small ice patches (riding the Soho, not studded) but otherwise things were dry.

20 deg f and frosty. No fog for the first time in about a week. The shoulders are finally clear enought to ride the road bike with slicks, makes for a much faster commute (than the studded mt. bike).

Chilly commute this morning for this winter, but that isn't saying much. Temps were in the low 30s with heavy frost on lawns and car windows. Rode at an easy pace after eating and drinking too much on Sunday, ostensibly because of the Super Bowl, but I only watched the game for few minutes. Hard for me to get excited about a game between NY and New England. My regular commuter Salsa Casseroll is at the shop getting new wheels and a shallow drop handlebar, so I'm riding the Waterford this week, which is sweet.

I'm collecting parts to rebuild my Bob Jackson World Tour as a full-on touring bike with fatter tires, triple crank and a rear rack. I swapped all of the parts from it last summer to build up the Waterford, with the initial intention of selling the frame and fork, but couldn't make myself part with it. I still have a dream of riding across the USA one day, and the Jackson would be perfect for that.

That approach helps me to maintain my sanity and calm more than venting. I sometimes even thank the drivers - as in "Thank you Mr. swerver - you take that important cell phone call". It isn't like I am encouraging them, they can't hear that any more than if I was cussing out a long string of invective.

The quirky nature of the situation makes me smile and relax. I call it channelling my inner Ned Flanders. My inner Moe Szyslak would just get me killed.

27 F (-3 C), clear, dry, and calm -- perfect winter commuting weather.

Was that yesterday? LOL

Went for a hike instead. When I came back all I saw were talking heads.

31F, sunny, generally awesome

Little bit of a late start this morning, and this was the first 'cold' (low 30s, F) day in quite some time, so I was wearing another layer and my beanie. Definitely not a fast ride, but I covered the distance in the time I usually allot for the ride. Which meant I was 10 minutes later for work than I like (but still 'on time').

Should be warmer for the ride home.

4.5*C, ~40*F ... Chilly at first, but was getting warmed up just about the time I reached work. Overcast and very little traffic. The birds were quiet this morning :(.

The brooks flyer has been off of the commuter and on the long range bike for several months, never could get a good fit on the long range bike. So last Friday the brooks went back on the graduate. I didn't get it in the same position it was months ago when I took it off, stupid of me not to take some measurements. So I have been carrying the tool with me and making slight adjustments. At lunch today I made another adjustment, got on the bike in the parking lot, and Ahhhhhhh, daddy's home.

If only I can get the new Terry saddle to feel this good on the touring bike.

First commute of the year for me. 40*-ish and overall a beautiful morning. Looking forward to tomorrow morning!

Nice ride home, upper 40s I'd say.

I stayed at work to try yet another brake squeak fix: reversing the direction of the pads. Seems to be working except the random squeak just comes outta nowhere.

Gorgeous spring day today!- oops, it's still February. Terrific ride in and out.

Started the ride in at 1:00 p.m., nd it was just shy of 45f--sunny and beautiful. Same on the way home. With the sun setting later, I now arrive home before it's completely dark.

Today and Friday (02-03) have been the first days long enough for me to ride both ways.

Last night, the NY Giants won the Superbowl. The decorations near 177th and Fort Washington Avenue in Harlem made me laugh.


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Great commutes. The weather has been nice recently but I swear I have a headwind over 10mph on the way to school every single day. Luckly my homemade velo helps out there. I still have some tweaking that I'll do tomorrow to hopefully gain a little more speed from it.

52F and sunny with mainly headwinds from the WSW @ 14-17mph on the commute in this afternoon. Left late and was almost afraid that I wasn't going to make it on time. I did make it on time, but bearly. Had a screw that I forgot to install on the pvc piping frame for the top of the fairing. It kept coming apart on the ride, which was pretty annoying.

41F and dark with winds from the S @ 5-9mph on the commute home this evening. Before I left campus, I found a screw that I was able to use for the pvc. I had no issues at all on that ride.

Whoa! You got my attention with that post! Here's to existential commuting! :thumb: