I almost hit a squirrel a couple of weeks ago. It ran out in front of me and we would have collided if I hadn't braked; although I couldn't come to a complete stop, I slowed enough to miss it—by about an inch.

The only thing that would have startled me more would have been if it had been a skunk. Glad you avoided a lasting impression from your encounter.

38 and partly cloudy this morning. I'm mostly warm, except for the feet.

For some reason, 1st Avenue was particularly chaotic with lots of cyclists passing and weaving, pedestrians in the bike lane, cars pulling in close. More than once I purposely stopped at the light to just let the others go by.

Cool morning, just around 40F/5C. Heard a radio report before I left about a "cyclist" being struck in the city...hope the rider is ok.

knee wasn't bothering me on the way home yesterday so i went into today as well. first 4 day commuting week here we go!

Argh, second day in a row driving because of work appointments. I've been able to schedule stuff over the last few months so I could ride at least every other day. I'm surprised how out of sorts it feels not to ride, especially seeing the bike hanging on the wall beckoning me. Also not a help to read this forum on days I don't ride!

17F this morning, clear, light northwesterly headwind. Most of the roads have dried up now. Last night I hit black ice on a bridge at 14mph and sure was glad to have the studs on as I could feel a little shimmy going on. I will remember to slow down from now on and try to keep it at around 10mph to give the studs a chance to stick to the ice surfaces. Darn coyotes were creeping me out again. They seem to be afraid of me though.

This ended my streak at 99 cycling commutes as I overslept and needed to drive in; a shame because it's beautiful weather compared to the freezing drizzle last night. I got ribbed by co-workers at the office entrance for driving on a day like this, "after the kind of weather you ride in".

I drove in this morning, very foggy and the roads are icy. I chickened

WOOHOO! It sprinkled on me on my ride home!

So what if it was 2 min and I was more wet from sweat than the shower. It's not often I see rain.

There was light rain when I left this morning. It was 45F, not too bad. The roads were definitely wet all over. I don't use full fenders, and water was splashing up a bit but not overwhelmingly so. I put my rain gear on and stayed dry. On my way back home, there was a 15mph headwind with 20mph gusts. That along with bonking equaled a real killer! I didn't eat lunch and must have depleted too much glycogen at work. Certainly the slowest commute I ever had. Despite being in a lower gear, my cadence was much slower 80 vs the regular 90-95, and my legs were burning.

NY is high theft area no doubt about it. How did you lock it assuming you did? File a police report. Check craigslist, eBay, pawn shops, and LBSs. Knowing the serial number and having pics probably would help.

My stupid front clip-on fender fell off today just as the rain was starting.

The ride home was probably the wettest so far, but I rode hard and got a better workout than normal.

Tried out my new balaclava today, I like the full head coverage but the wind seems to creep in the sides around my face.

Took my alternate route along the Potomac River, really nice without all the cars around.

Back on the bike today after a couple of days driving. I was bad and bought a new car, so I felt compelled to drive it. It is my first new motorized vehicle in 15 years and first car in more than 20 years. I have been driving small pickup trucks and my bikes of course. Still plan to keep up the bike commuting and just drive on days when the weather is bad.

A balmy 23 here in No. Virginia this morning. My toes were the only thing that got cold on my 9 mile commute.
The VRE 308 northbound engineer overshot the platform at Franconia/Springfield twice this week, putting the front car bicyclists are required to ride, into the ballast. The second time Thursday by over 15 feet. Aaron, the great young conductor got down onto the ballast and told us to hand our bike to him. Oh well, can't get to upset when the engineer hit the mark this morning and then opened his window, apologized and then wish us a Merry Christmas.

Cold down south today. 35F on my doorstep. What a day to start commuting again! Glad I did it. Only 30 minutes, though my fingers were tingling through the gloves I had chosen. Little sweaty up top-- have to remember what I use to wear at what temperature.

31F this morning, no clouds and beautiful sunrise. Supposed to be near 50F this afternoon so planning to take the long way home. My toes hurt by the time I got in so time to take action. I can't decide whether to buy winter cycling boots or Sorels. They're about the same cost (if I get the cycling boots online). Dare I ask for opinions?!

I was blessed with a rare winter treat this morning: calm winds along the lakeshore! large swaths of water near the shore were mirror smooth.

a beautiful sight and a joy to ride past!

21F this morning, clear, calm. Changed out my toe clip pedals for mountain bike platforms. Clips were becoming cumbersome in the dark and in traffic. Much more comfortable now since I switched to hiking boots and merino socks for the winter. Last nights commute was superb, and I remembered to slow down on the bridges to about 8 mph. I glided over the black ice with ease as the studs did their job. I felt just a slight shimmy as the studs started to stick.

45F on the way in, the coldest I have ridden so far. Not comparable to the Minnesotans and the like, but I think I need to buy some gloves. Hands were quite cold.

Just discovered a broken spoke on the rear tire as I was preparing for tomorrow's commute......so we'll see how it goes! Hopefully I can make it to the shop before closing time after work.

Wet and nasty.

Agent, that's some early commuting you do!

Rode in w/out any problems, will try to get my tire trued and back in action today or get the old bike up and running while the daily commuter is in the shop.

40F and foggy. I almost bit the big one crossing an intersection - totally my fault thinking I could ride through without stopping and not seeing traffic coming from the left (I'm blaming the fog). Bottom line, I need to remember that stop means stop for bicycles too. Locking up both brakes at about 14mph gets my heart rate much higher than's necessary

Wow, not many commute reports on the thread today. Pretty run of the mill today, wet, not too cold.

Perfect weather! 38F, overcast, dry pavement, no wind. Man, I would take that every single day if I could.

My right hamstring that had been a little tight is finally pretty much back to normal. I have altered my cool/cold weather clothing approach a little to emphasize keeping my legs warmer (and torso a little cooler), to hopefully avoid tightness issues. Today I wore merino wool leggings under my track pants, while on top I wore just a poly long-sleeve tee under a thin windbreaker. My theory is to keep the legs warmer than the torso to fend off the tightness problem I was having. It seems to be working, or at least not hurting at all.