Very nice morning for a ride. Added a light jacket to the shorts and t-shirt and was a bit sweaty when I got here.

Very pleasant trip in until the last stop light. It's the only major intersection I have to cross but there's a light so it's usually not too bad. I always roll up in the right of two thru lanes which is also the right turn lane. I move to the front and left of that lane so cars can turn right on red. There's usually one or two cars (at most) going straight across like me and they almost always line up in the left lane. This morning a woman in a BMW station wagon pulls up behind me at the light to go straight. When I see she is not turning I inch a bit to the right to let her know I'm going straight in that lane. Of course when the light turns green and I start out - moving further right into the center of the lane, she flies by me on the right about a foot away. She got a loud "what are you *expletive* thinking?* as she passed. She just threw up her hands.

I can see that maybe she thought I was in the left lane when she pulled up, but I made it obvious I planned on using the right to cross. At that point I would think that she would wait for the ONE other car in the left lane to clear me and pull around to the left. I know I should know better.

/rant

I overslept, it was raining and a bit chilly but when I got up I thought "I don't want to drive in this mess" so I rode in anyway. I was about five minutes late after my shower, for the first time since I started bike commuting as far as I can recall.

Woke up a bit sore, but got on the bike anyway. The reason for the soreness? I was starting up at a redlight and my chain came off both front and rear. Down I went. Got a nasty scrape on my elbow and bent a component on my front brake (the piece that holds the noodle). Got home with blood dripping down my arm. Woke up with a sore hip this morning. Getting old stinks!

Ride in this morning was fine. It still doesn't feel like Fall: mid 60s and humid. Hopefully temps stay down after the cold front comes through this evening.

[MENTION=36735]MikeM21[/MENTION] - can't trust BMW drivers.

There is no official hand signal for going straight but what I do is, with my left hand and first 2 fingers, I make a clear gesture of tapping the left-front of my chest twice and then, like "shooting a gun", I "shoot" twice in the direction I'm going, ie straight. I'm assuming that the people I'm gesturing for understand because there hasn't been any incidents.

You might want to fully take the lane, just like a car that is going through would do so, that might help.

[QUOTE=jrickards;16168330]There is no official hand signal for going straight but what I do is, with my left hand and first 2 fingers, I make a clear gesture of tapping the left-front of my chest twice and then, like "shooting a gun", I "shoot" twice in the direction I'm going, ie straight. I'm assuming that the people I'm gesturing for understand because there hasn't been any incidents.

You might want to fully take the lane, just like a car that is going through would do so, that might help.[/QUOTE]

Normally I would take the lane, but at this stop that would block cars turning right on red which is what the majority do at this intersection. That would make ME feel like a jerk and I'm sure the sentiment would be shared. I'm pretty sure she knew where I was headed and didn't want to wait the 3-5 seconds it would have taken to pass safely. She certainly didn't mind blocking up the right turn only lane. EDIT: I should say "blocking people from turning right on red". The lane is straight/right turn.

I've been wondering what the best practice would be when you're at the light in the right-turn lane. I typically stop on the left edge of the lane so as not to block vehicles turning right on red, if the right-turn lane is wide enough. I usually don't stay on the right edge because there's usually no lane ahead of the right-turn lane. If I did, I would have to merge over to the left right after I crossed the intersection. That could be painful. Are there potentially better ways?

[MENTION=36735]MikeM21[/MENTION] - wait, it's a right-turn only lane? Then why are you in it when going straight? I'd position myself in the center of the righthand-most straight lane and then move right after passing through the intersection. That way you don't hold up right turners, and no "straighters" try to pass you in the intersection.

No, it's straight AND right. Probably shouldn't be as far more cars turn right than go straight. I concur with your method at right turn only lanes. I've got no problem moving far right while the cars go through and moving back into the lane after they pass.

We're having insanely glorious weather here lately. I feel like I don't deserve it. I've been spending extra time on the bike. It's one of the side benefits of being unemployed.

That's the problem with being polite and staying on the left side of the right/thru lane, which is what I usually do to. Sometimes a car wants your spot. You could pull even further ahead if there's room since they don't usually pull out that far when going straight. You'd at least be in front instead of beside them.

Beautiful morning moon in the West. A bit cooler than yesterday, 56F/13C. Best part was my Plan B route is now including a newly paved stretch of city street that had been pothole-ridden and generally a mess. Smooth sailing down that street.

Looks like we're finally gonna have some sunshine after 10 days of cloudiness, rain and gloom. Rode my cross bike with no fenders due to the nice forecast. My sport touring bike with fenders has been getting a lot of mileage lately due to the rain and I'm tired of riding it. It is also filthy, and I need to have a bike-washing session this weekend.

I'm making some changes in my commuting stable. Bought another cross bike frameset (Gunnar Crosshairs) on fleaBay yesterday, and I'm gonna have it built up with parts from my Gunnar Sport, which has been my primary commuter. I am just not satisfied with the mid-reach caliper brakes on the Sport, and it was also one size larger than I prefer, so the Crosshairs will become my new go-to commuter. I also will probably reinstall fenders on my Waterford, which I've been running fenderless all summer long, so I can start using it again for commuting. I picked the wrong time to do that because we had the rainiest summer in recent history. The Waterford is my fastest bike and I miss having it on days when I feel like riding faster. I also will be putting fenders back on my touring bike, so that will give me another option in wet weather.

Another comfortably cool morning of 6C (43F) but with the wind chill (and there certainly was wind this morning), it was apparently 3C (37F).

Missed the rain yesterday afternoon so it was a dry ride home. We're getting a fair bit of rain these days but it has all been in the evening and at night. I can imagine that I've jinxed it now.

Nice cool morning. Beautiful sunrise. Stopped by the LBS for a cup of coffee and a muffin with some other commuters. No incidents today!

I saw the moon also just south of Memphis!

Woke up this morning to 46°F outside. I actually went with 3 shirt layers - long-sleeve tech, long-sleeve cotton T, and then high-vis jersey. I tried just the tech shirt and jersey before and it lets too much wind through. I don't have a high-vis jacket or vest yet so I wanted the high-vis jersey on the outside.

Bike shorts with lined tights over, plus wool socks and bike shoes. Fingerless bike gloves with regular leather gloves over that. Lined ear-warmer head band with helmet on top, and clear safety glasses to keep the wind out of my eyes.

All in all I thought I might end up TOO warm, but it actually worked out pretty well. A little sweat on the arms but not too bad. Toes still ended up like ice blocks after 15+ miles.

Yesterday's commute home just KILLED me! It was in the upper 50's or around 60 and I only had bike shorts and short-sleeve jersey, so I was a little chilled the whole way home. I started getting a cough and wheezing before I got home, so that was annoying. Crashed in bed at 9:15 last night. Luckily this morning the wheezing had gone away.

Coolest day so far this season, 41F and a little headwind. About 10 minutes from home my light died (funny how when you start using them they need recharging!). Then less than a mile from work got a rear puncture. I decided it would be easier to change in my office so walked the rest of the way - still a great morning!

What a beautiful morning. Also, very light traffic, both on the bike trail and the roads. Well it is that time of year when you have to look out for deer -- I saw 2 this morning along the trail but fortunately they were not running. In fact, by the time I got to the point where they crossed the trail, I could no longer even see them.

45F but felt chillier. I was a bit underdressed until the sun came out. Probably warmer gloves would have made the difference. Otherwise very pleasant. I was able to get in a 20mile detour into the country. Best part was the whum-whum-whum of a blue heron taking off from an irrigation culvert.

Going to post this here and not start some uber redundant thread in Commuting or Advocacy and Safety.
First commute in the 30's. Little under armor and rain gear I was comfy cozy. Thick socks helped. Really enjoying myself and THEN:
Chased by a large german shepherd. Scared me half to death. I'm pretty sure I yelled "****!"
Guys I'm just riding my bike to work. Not taking medical supplies to a village known to be home to terrorists. I don't WANT to carry "protection" of any kind.
What a dissapointing pain in the ass.
I hope it was an isolated incident.

The temp was a cool 32 f degrees under clear starry skies this morning when I left the house. It was a very nice uneventful ride in. I have not been able to ride to work for a week due to circumstances. I was very happy to be out on my bike this am.

Definitely the chilliest ride of the fall for me at 51F/11C. Darkness all around. I believe the temps will continue to drop in the DC area for the next week or so.

Fully loaded commute this morning on my touring bike. We are having a potluck chili lunch at work today as a fund-raiser. I wanted to do my part but didn't want to miss riding on such a beautiful sunny day after two weeks of gloomy, drizzly weather. So I put the panniers on my touring bike and loaded it up with extra clothes, snacks, cornbread, chili and a container to put it in. I didn't want to spill chili inside my panniers, so double-bagged it in large ziplock bags, and that worked fine. The extra load along with the coldest temperatures since last spring made for a slow commute, but it only added about 5 minutes to my usual time.

Drove in today since my bike is in the shop. Had to scrape frost off the windshield. I guess it's time to harvest what's left of my vegetable garden.

45F with a good headwind. If today's wind is like yesterday's I'll be able to ride home without pedaling! Forecasting snow for Wednesday

Highs in the upper 50's to mid 60's this week, morning lows in the 40's to even 39 on Thursday morning in the Memphis area. Gotta bundle up for the early morning rides!

The trick is going to be what to wear in the late afternoon at 5 PM with setting sun, after it's been warmer during the day. Not sure if just a jersey and bike shorts will be enough.