60F, gray, great!

Been quite a while since I've posted here, but I've been riding. Not particularly enjoying the summer heat, but enjoying my commute as always nevertheless. I was away from work and the commute for several weeks in late spring while on paternity leave following the birth of our first kid, a little boy. I didn't miss work, but I did miss my hour plus per weekday in the saddle. Now I'm getting in my commute miles I miss my time at home with my wife and son. The bike commute is probably the only thing that makes my return to work stomachable.

Getting ready to head out for the evening ride home. Summertime can be a PITA with all the idiots who hit the roads and the trails. Plenty of salmon, daredevil time realists, etc, etc. Can't wait for the colder weather and the lighter traffic of fall and winter. The dark evenings will finally allow me to get even more use out of my new dynamo powered lights.

Finally able to ride after donating some blood stem cells for a cancer patient...

Nice ride this morning. A little humid but not too warm (only in high 70s). Nothing remarkable on the way into work.

On the way home I got to see a pretty large herd of deer led by a pretty large and largely-antlered buck. Pretty cool! Also beat a storm home. No rain here yet, but I saw lightning and heard thunder about 5 miles from the house.

Glad to be back on the saddle!

Today was my weirdest ride ever. It was pretty windy so I wasnt exactly flying. Within a mile of my office I had a pick up truck fight me for my lane, he got it but I explained how brilliant he is to him. According to his plates he was from the sticks in southern Indiana so he probably wasnt used to city traffic. I took off and forgot about it. Then less than a mile further on I came up to a parking garage. A car was pulling out, stopped and appeared to be waiting for me to pass. I was watching it and was in my bike lane, but that car looked like it might pull out, just had a feeling. A guy on the side walk walked out in front of her so I relaxed and started pedaling again. She took off, blasted the guy walking, I guess she just did not see him or me. He jumped up on the hood and bounced off, he did not fall down but walked/staggered off. I was right in front of her as he bounced off the hood, if it hadnt been him and I wasnt watching her for sure she would have hit me. Anyway, the guy walked off at least till I could not see him in my rear view anymore. Ok cool, 2 miles and it has already been a mildly eventful ride home. Then on the next corner the light turned red as I pulled up to it, so I stopped. There were two guys and a woman in dress clothes. Very conservative dressed except her skirt was a bit short but she still looked appropriately dressed to be an attorney in one of the offices in the area. Well the walked to the corner and turned to cross the next street, the wind blew, I dont know how to say this exactly, but her skirt could have been a kite. I am not sure if she had anything undre it or not, but it was very pleasant, she didnt even act like she knew she was mooning the world. But it was nice. The light changed and it was ride or get run over. Darn. The rest of the ride there was a lot of motorist on motorist stuff. Our local Johnson's heating and air conditioning guy was riding the bumper of the car in front of him and honking and yelling and stuff at it. Another driver followed someone else into a gas station yelling and stuff too. But the really really weird think was just shy of the half way mark. It is a two lane with wide well marked bike lane. The road has a lot of traffic and but is pretty safe, long and straight. About .5 mile (or so) off I see a bike in my lane headed toward me. It drives me nuts when people do this, the bike lanes even have little arrows telling them which way to go. Anyway I see him quite a ways off, as we got closer I realized it was a very small bike, like a haro bike or something. I thought dang a kid, well at least that is why he is in my lane. As we drew closer it was a very very small bike, like a smaller child. I was thinking damn, that kid is just too little to be on this road and was debating on how to get and keep the kid off the road without scaring him. I did not have to think about it long, a little bit closer I realized the kid was about 40. Probably the littlest adult I have ever seen. But I had to be very close to realize it. Full beard, bad attitude looking face and stuff, but seemed to fit pretty well on a small childs bike. It really was a pretty nice ride, just different.

There should be a compliation of short stories about all our encounters with cars, buses, trucks, and others. It would make great reading. Easy ride in the dark, drizzly, but just a film on everything 73f (23c). Thre were great thunder storms last night and everything cooled off for a short break from the heat.

It was a nice ride with the temp at 61f so it was a little cool. I had a encounter with a pedestrian this am. She was crossing the street and I was aways back so she should have been able to cross with no problems. The other person with her made it across with no problems but she waited to cross and then as I got closer she started so I figured I would just go behind her after she passed but no she stops walking and turns back. It would seem she was clueless that there was a bike coming down the road. I just shouted out at her to watch out. I know I probably should have stopped the bike but seriously she should be able to cross the street without stopping in the middle. Anyway the rest of the ride was uneventful.

I really enjoyed the overcast skies and damp conditions this am...just a bit cooler than what we've had lately.

60F, gray, wet from all-night thunderstorms but no actual precip while I rode.

This morning was pretty nice. If only the rain last night had made for drier air, it would have been better, but I'm not complaining. For July, it was pretty good. I, too, especially appreciated the cloud cover, which was very welcome after weeks of beating down sun.

Hey making, I thought for sure you were going to say a monkey on a bike...

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/a...monkeybike.gif

Well, that would have been weird, but my wife suggested it would have been the absolutly weridst ride home if the little guy had a clown face and nose on. That would have been pretty weird. I think commuting by bike is soo much more than just riding a bicycle to and from work. It's nuts. I said it. I am ok with it.

Saw a clown driving a car yesterday.

Later there were ducklings pressed against the curb with the mother waiting in the grass above. A guy with a frisbee picked them up.

As posted in my thread:
Not good-I crashed. Hit a pothole. Hard.
The quest for a folder bicycle is out of the question.
These roads and sidewalks are really crappy ( I live in east in the city).
I'm all bruised and banged up and annoyed with my lighting system
and having to invest even more money in better lights.

And I can't stop whining about it. :(

In any event, have a great day!

Took a week off to get caught up on stuff around the house/yard/shop and haven't had a chance to ride.
I'm starting to climb the walls and it is so obvious that my wife told me, "geez, why don't you go for a bike ride." :D

A cloudy morning, but no rain and warm at 71f (22c). The cooler temps are welcomed.

Early ride in for me today, love those deserted streets!

73F/23C with a tailwind. Caught another bicyclist. He needs to practice his street skills. Started out on the sidewalk, but eventually got on the road. Ignored two stop signs at intersections full of cars. Went straight from the right-turn-lane's curb. At least he waited for the green light there, but only because there was too much cross traffic to run the red.

Going to be another hot & humid afternoon. Blah.

The legs are a bit stiff this morning after a week off ( I moved) but it was not so bad.

Nice; 55F sunny and breezy as a front blows the humidity away

Not today, but last Friday's ride home: I left the office at 4:45pm and it was 105F and muggy with a southwesterly wind (headwind, all the way home) at 15mph that felt like an industrial hair-dryer.

This is all pretty standard for summer in North Texas, but as I age, it's harder to acclimate. Standing in the sun waiting for my train was nearly intolerable, in itself.

There were distant black clouds to the north, but no predictions of rain for us - besides, summer storms almost always come in from the west around here anyway. A look at the weather app on my phone confirms the ugly will not be relenting.

Boarded my train, and thought about how the lucky sods up north were getting, if not wet, at least some shade and cooler breezes.

As we neared my stop, I was happy to see that some small clouds had offered patchy relief ot the sun and mentioned to other passengers how nice that would be.

Rolling through downtown to the MUP, there was a breeze for a bit, then stillness - but I dared no hope. Then, about 200 yards before my usual turn to the southwest, a gust hit me, not a cool gust, but at least it was from the northeast so again, I was grateful.

I made my turn and the cool hand of a summer storm reached down and gave me an encouraging push between the shoulders. A moment later, I was pedaling on the leading edge of 25mph cool winds, that continued for the next 7 miles.

I nearly eclipsed by best time home and arrived hardly sweating. 10 minutes after i got home, I got to sit under the awning of my veranda and enjoy a delicious malty beverage, watching the rain and lightning come in with an unexpected and delightful soaking.

First ride and commute this morning in the past 10 days due to a vacation trip out West. I actually enjoyed my time away from the bike as we were visiting national parks (Redwood, Crater Lake) and doing a lot of hiking. Temperatures never got hotter than than about 75 F and most days were in the 50s-60s. Re-acclimating to NC heat and humidity is gonna be tough. It was hotter and muggier here at 7 am today than it was during our entire trip out West, but it was nice riding the bike again.

45 degrees. My toes got cold, because I wore my sandles anyway. Supposed to be up near 80 later today. The fog was really pretty nestled into the little dips in the landscape.

Today and humid already this morning, but I felt fresh after a weekend of catching up on sleep a little and trying to relax. Fresh on the bike that is. Hard to get motivated for work this morning and even this afternoon. I've been pretty worthless work-wise. Looking forward to riding home, though... the ride and getting home and seeing the almost three month old son at home are always highlights of my day.

It is humid already, but the ride was very good at 75f (24c). I am back in the dark for all of my ride. A few walkers who started when it was light are now walking in the dark. Hopefully, they continue all year, but maybe pick up some kind of lighting.

The doctor said I cannot ride or anything for 12 days. We will see how long that lasts, driving sucks.

One of those mornings where the runners seem to triple in numbers..all is good.

Oh and I just ran into a new bike commuter (new to me) in the elevator.

70F/21C with a light tailwind. We had a lot of rain dump on us over the last 12 hours but the roads were mostly dry. Passed a stopped commercial truck, and thought I knew the driver. Eyeballed him as I was passing and almost yelled his name, then I realized it wasn't my friend. Hope he didn't think I was glaring at him. :D

Rolled the dice and decided to ride today despite forecasts for possible severe thunderstorms this afternoon. If I didn't ride every time the forecasters called for thunderstorms, I wouldn't ride all summer long around here. Most of the time, the storms hit in other places or pass through quickly and are gone by the time I leave work. Occasionally I have to leave work early, stay late or catch a ride home with a coworker if the storms hit at the wrong time. I definitely try to avoid getting caught in the storms, however, because they have been very severe this year with high winds, hail and torrential rain.

First day cycle commuting to work after two week's vacation. Cool (10C/50F) and breezy, kind of cloudy. Took it easy as I wasn't feeling too energetic. Might get soaked this afternoon.

I think someone from the city must be stalking me on my commute, because they keep adding bike lanes to the streets I ride. Last year they put one in near my house, then over the last couple weeks they extended it quite a ways. This morning, I noticed signs indicating that they intend to add more on another street I ride. Not that I'm complaining.

Rode by a big pancake breakfast on the provincial legislature grounds this morning. Didn't stop. Already ate. Trying to shed the 5 lbs I gained overeating on my vacation.

Well that sucks. Why not (if you don't mind me asking)? Whatever it is, I hope you're back on the bike soon.