Fully loaded panniers this morning..bread, muffins, and other treats for my team at work. A very pleasant ride in. (Not riding related but during my early morning run I went by a construction site with the absolute loudest machine going...what a wake up at 05:30!)

Nice ride this morning, a little cooler than than it has been lately but still very humid. I can't wait for the days when I can ride to work in the morning without getting drenched in sweat, which should be about another month. The mugginess is what bothers me the most about summers in the Southeast. I did some simple work on my bike yesterday afternoon in the garage -- installing fenders and a pump mount -- and I was totally drenched by the time I finished. It's that way around here now if you exert any energy outdoors.

Very nice morning ride, didn't felt like working at all. I would've keep rolling if I didn't have all those bills to pay!!!

Weather was good, and I decided to take it easy this morning (12.5 MPH overall average, instead of my usual 13.5 or better). Very relaxing ride. However, I saw more bike on bike 'near misses' this morning than I have for a morning commute. First, a guy with a kid in a rear carrier seat entered the main trail (W&OD for locals) without even glancing to see if there was traffic, as far as I could tell. Worse, he entered, and veered all the way left, then when he finally noticed a nearing rider (me) he corrected back to the right very quickly, again without actually looking. No real harm, but definitely disconcerting, and had I been moving 2-4 MPH faster (my more usual speed), who knows? Next was a rider moving quickly through a relatively blind corner, and another rider turning on to the trail (custis, now) on the wrong side, such that they both had to brake hard and swerve... not comforting. Last was a guy on a motorized bike riding up the national mall (Jefferson St?) and not yielding to the pedestrians in the crosswalks. Not so close as to be a real sphincter tightening moment for me, as an observer, but probably not pleasant for the person walking to work.

I chased a "rabbit" this morning, a good pace even though I had planned a slow ride getting used to a new saddle position. But he passed going fast and then ... well you know how it is.

Nicest morning commute in a very long time made so because this was the first day my wife has been able to ride to work in 6 weeks... I rode in with her today under overcast Portland skies and the sun came out for a bit as we enjoyed our morning coffee downtown.

Then it was a nice ride back home... has been nice to have my favourite folder with me here in PDX.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/famil...stcommute1.JPG

Commute was good this morning, real good. Cloudy, about 85, real humid too. However, the fun was last night. I went to dinner with my sisters, nephews and neices, they happened to pick a place that was on my commute route. Great, I grabbed my BEATER bike and off to dinner. I never locked up any of my bikes unless I am a few feet away from it, as in a cafe or bar. However, the beater is for hazardous duty, an old rust bucket 86 Raleigh Gran Prix.. Got a sweet ride, but rusty and ugly.. Nobody would want to steal it. Nevertheless, I locked it up in front of the cafe, and off to dinner.. Sweet. I am eating the leftovers from the dinner for lunch too.. All in all, a great dinner ride last night, great first leg of the commute this morning..

Tell me life isn't sweet! ;)

After a rest week, I thought my legs would be fresh. Instead, they felt like logs. Got better as I got closer to work, looking forward to a long, hot ride home.

1st day with el-cheapo ebay 'aerobars' on my bike (now called FrankenCommuter). Nice to have more hand options, although it's comfortable enough to ride the aeros the whole way (10 miles each way) except to shift or climb big hills.

my ride in had a 8km/h headwind and my time - without pushing - was more like when I have a 20 km/h tail wind. very happy!

Oh - and I broke 1000km so far on my new bike! woot! :)

Pics?

Broke 600 km on my one-month commuting anniversary. Got some new ergo grips today, man they're great. Also picked up my studded winter tires. Some woman walking down the road yelled, "Are you undercover!?!" :lol: Yelled back, "HAHA! Uh, nooooo? ;)"

I don't know if she saw me doing some bylaw-related stuff further up the road or if I've just got "that look."

I didn't get hit by a cager today, unlike Friday! So it was a great commute!

A very nice mornng at 72f (22c). These are the nice summer days.

First commute in 8 days due to injury. Man I missed it, great ride in 78F and humid. Course about half way home I will miss the AC, suppose to be mid to high 90's, which dont sound that hot anymore.

It was a nice quiet commute in this morning. The weather was a cool 58 degrees under partly sunny skies. If only everday was like this.

The thunderstorms finally got the best of me. We've been having regular violent thunderstorms all summer, but I have managed to avoid them for the most part. Last week, I just missed a big storm in the afternoon and it chased me all the way home. However, a huge storm developed yesterday right before I normally leave work. I considered leaving early and making a run for it, but fortunately decided to grab a ride home with a coworker after consulting the radar. It was raining so hard we could hardly see and the roads were flooded in several places. The storms were "training," so I would have had to stay at work a long time to wait out the storm.

The worst part is that I was forced to drive today since my bike was stuck at work. That might not be so bad if we get more storms this afternoon, but will make it a challenge to load my bike in my truck so I can get it back home.

Great weather this morning. Took the road instead of the trail to shave off time but ultimately it was about the same. Had some shifting issues in the rear. Can't wait to go single speed.

Another mellow ride in...I flew down Capitol Hill and all green lights down Constitution Avenue in downtown DC ...I love when that happens.

Very easy commute this morning, with a big tail wind I did my 27.1 kms in 53 min. I almost picked up a hitchhiker to increase the effort level but we were not going the same way :rolleyes:

Nice ride this morning, cool and comfortable.

5.5 miles, mostly off-street paths.

OK, it was nice until I got run off the road by a cellphone using driver. Got tagged in the arm by the mirror and almost ate a bus shelter but otherwise OK. Got a heck of a bruise going.

Cool, sunny, slight tailwind. Maybe overdid it a bit on a hill.

My butt was dragging this morning, and I wanted to sleep in, but I made myself get up and ride in. Like usual it was nice once I got going. Only 1 car passed me in 9 miles. It's pretty dark now when I leave in the morning. When I topped the ridge I could see the Cascades skyline, with fog in the valley between me and them. The sunrise was thinking about happening behind the mountains. I pedaled really slowly through that section.

I stopped commuting in mid-March for personal reasons, but plan on starting Thursday (8/2/12). (I've still been riding a lot, just not to work . . .) It will feel pretty good to use the bike again for the commute. Nothing replaces the feeling you have when you arrive and you're all revved up and ready to work. Also, darting through the quiet streets pre-sunrise is an amazing feeling.

It was chillier than expected this morning, probably should have worn the long sleeve....

But now the sun is out, temps about 73F. I'm taking the long way home!

Some odd sites on the commute home: A guy riding a motorized scooter on the MUP, a guy in full cycling gear (helmet, spandex, jersey) on roller blades, and a guy on a unicycle texting.