droy45

Foggy and misty this morning after last night thunder shower. Should be a nice ride home tonight. Fell and broke my mirror though. I couldn't unclip fast enough on an emergency stop. Oh well, time for a new one.

PatrickGSR94

A fellow Memphian! I'm in DeSoto County myself but cycle quite often in Memphis. I remember being on some road not too far from Graceland awhile back that had a bike lane, but I can't remember what street it was. I personally find riding on the sidewalk a dangerous proposition, mainly because cars don't look when they pull out, until they get right up to the street. I always ride in the right lane, moving out into the lane when needed. Coupled with BRIGHT flashing lights and high-vis jerseys, I haven't had a problem.

If you're interested in any of the "social" bike groups and rides that happen in the area, let me know.

I only commuted once last week, and probably none this week. My car was out of commission with a blown head gasket for most of the month of July, which made it very difficult to do my usual split-commute, as I was having to bum rides with others. Doing the whole 30-mile round trip in one day is quite difficult for me, logistically.

Now my car is back at 100% pretty much, but my wife and I are about to drive the car 1000+ miles on our beach vacation coming up this Friday, and taking both our bikes, so I'm going to drive it all this week just to further ensure that the car is working normally. Still plan to bring along a couple jugs of coolant and oil and a few tools, just in case. This is on a car with 330,000 miles btw.

Surrealdeal

chilly and a little rainy this morning but no big whup.

On the other hand, my original stock vetta saddle (26 years old and who knows how many miles) finally bit the dust, so I replaced it with a Brooks B17. So unless I wind up falling into the minority of people who do not take to the Brooks experience, today is the first day of the rest of my life!

studiobassd

That sounds cool. I'm in the process of moving to Nashville, but learning of the social groups sounds like good connection. I actually once tripped on a sidewalk in the area with come nice hand injuries -- so much for not using gloves. I normally avoid pedestrians and sidewalks, but drivers have no accountability here. I still remember one unfriendly driver saying "Do you think this is New York??" and lots of unkind honks as signs to avoid the busiest intersections. I hope you have a safe trip!

arsprod 

Really great weather, but I gotta stop trusting weather forecasts more than my own eyes. Forecast said thunderstorms, just looked cloudy to me but just in case I donned my rain jacket... and of course it was bone dry and with 62F temps I was hot. I hate getting sweaty and then taking off a layer and getting cold so I stayed hot. I know, silly, but I'm lazy and hate being cold! Still, a great morning

dramiscram

Great ride again this morning, a little tailwind.
I tried the runkeeper app on my brand new Ipod touch and the thing added 4 kms to my usual distance!!! I checked on the map when I got to work and according to the RunKeeper app I kept on jumping from one side of the Yamaska river to the other all the way to work!!! I'll give it a few other tries just to see but I think I'll keep the cyclocomputer. Not impressed so far.

PatrickGSR94

Come out to Cycle Memphis on Saturday evening August 10th. We meet at the gazebo on the northeast corner of Cooper and Young in Midtown. 12-15 miles, with a destination, and the ride leader hauls a trailer with a big speaker behind his bike so we have music along for the ride. It's a total blast.

jloco

Beautiful weather this morning: no wind, sunny, not a cloud in the sky, 80 degrees.

Left my house and there was an unusually small amount of cars on the road. Trucked up my morning climb with ease, might be a PR. Came to the base gate and it was backed up at least a half mile. I work on a military base and they were doing full ID checks with random inspections. I weaved through the parking lot of cars and as I approached the gate, the female guard looked at me with a beautiful smile. As I approached her, our conversation went like this...

"You are cheating" she said with a smile.
I replied, "One of the perks" and smiled back.
I handed her my ID and while her computer was checking me out, she said "A lot of people are pretty angry this morning, but you are the first smiling face I have seen."
I replied, "Beautiful day, great ride, its hard not to smile."
My ID cleared and she handed back my ID then said, "Have a great day."
I replied, "I will, keep up the good work."

As I left for the building that I worked in, I couldn't help but appreciate how lucky I am to be able to ride to work and that the preparation is worth it. I think that the best advocacy for commuting is just getting out there and enjoy it. People will notice and be curious why we have that smile on our face. Besides, isn't riding to work such a hassle and you surely must be hardcore to want to do that!!!

AusTexMurf

I have ridden quite a few miles in memphis, myself. I think the city and the auto drivers are getting more and more cycle friendly.
I find the White Station area, Walnut Grove, the Green Line, all of midtown, and downtown to be very bikeable.

ThermionicScott 

Fantastic ride in this morning. I had checked to see if I had a spare set of clothes at work (pants, socks, undies, shirt) the previous day, so I rode sans bags of any kind. Just my wallet, cellphone, and badge in jersey pockets, lock looped through the saddle rails. Weather was cool and a little misty.

I enjoyed it so much that I'm thinking of carrying the week's worth of clothes in every Monday and home every Friday on my rack-equipped fixed-gear, so that I can ride this way three days a week.

studiobassd

Alright, I put that on my calendar, Thanks for the note.

no motor?

It's weird, it's been several days in a row with nice temperatures and little if any wind during late July. And now bugs! How long can this last?

PatrickGSR94

Cool, look for me on my black Felt road bike, with red helmet.

dcb23

Mid Summer commutes: mellow, not too hot, getting a bit darker.

essiemyra

I did not commute in this morning because the back wheel needs to be trued, and it seems to be difficult riding the bike. Though I did a ten mile loop before work on my husbands bike and am thinking of using his bike for commuting because you are not sitting up as much as on my bike. Though after a while my wrists hurt some as it puts a more pressure on your hands that way. Anyway, I think the rack will go on his bike tonight so I can ride it to work tomorrow while my bike is being repaired.

Boudicca

This reminds me of one day this week when I went down to the parking garage to get my bike, and the cars were backed up down to I know not what level. There is construction going on in that area, and there was also a protest a few blocks away that had closed streets there. Riding up the (steep) ramp clearly wasn't going to work in those circumstances, so I took the elevator up to ground level and rode home.

Next day a couple of people complained that it took them 30 minutes, just to get out of the parking garage.

jrickards

I've been doing that lately although I still have my 2 rear panniers attached, one has rain gear in it and the other I put my lunch in. I generally ride with a small hydration pack (sans bladder, therefore just a small backpack)—for my cell phone, wallet, 2 sets of keys, eyeglass case, coin for the bus if I need it—but these last few days, I've been putting my "backpack" in the pannier so my back is free of burden, other than the weight of the world I carry on my shoulders!

Wonderful ride in this morning: a nicer 15C (60F) temperature although cloudy. Slight breeze which may have played into an advantage for me because I made it to work in record time, 36:40 for 16.2km (26.5kmh). I also crossed the 508km mark for the month of July which isn't that great because commuting alone should put me at about 700km but it is a darn sight better than June's 254km and I still have this afternoon's ride home to add to the total. I'm taking the first 2 weeks of August as vacation so I should be able to put in some significant kms on fitness rides.

Have a great day people!

wphamilton

A little drizzly to enjoy the greenway (there would be puddles everywhere) so I switched to the hilly high-traffic route. This time I caught every light green, or about to turn green - you gotta love it when that happens.

droy45

55degF, sun just rising, clear skies. It was a perfect commute this morning. My allergies started acting up though with the itchy, watery eyes etc. Must be ragweed season.

scottsmith

Was enjoying riding my old steel-frame Steve Bauer Sirocco again until a dog darted out to chase me & got hit by a passing van who had no time at all to react. I saw her starting to chase & tried to deter her with a growly "Don't do it" which has stopped her before but today it was no good. The van driver knew the family who hadn't realized their dog was near the road.

jrickards

Glad you're ok but pity about the dog, would hate to lose my Sirius that way.

dramiscram

Nice weather again this morning. I had a good tailwind so I got to work early .

BadBurrito

64F and cloudy, no wind, started out with a light jacket, but took it off before I hit the big hill, about 1/2 mile before I get to work. things seemed erreily quiet along the MUP, don't know what is going on, it was nice but noticably odd.

smontanaro 

A bit damp to start today, but otherwise nice, high 60s, the drizzle kept most of the walkers home, so the North Shore Channel Trail was pretty much clear.

scottsmith

Thanks bud! I feel for the dog & family for sure! I was thinking of my dog too! At least it was quick & she didn't seem to suffer. Small consolation but it's something. In my memory it's like it was slow-mo but I couldn't stop it. The van driver was definitely shaken too.