Best week for commuting in a while and managed to ride 4 days. Could have made it 5 but I had to take my bikes to shop yesterday for big switcheroo -- moving parts onto my new Soma Saga touring frame from my Bob Jackson, and from my Gunnar Crosshairs to the BJ. So, I'll end up with a new touring bike and main commuter.

This is not controversial. I am searching for a way to blame either you or the other commuter and failing. Please give me something better so that I may find one of you at fault for something. Thank you.

You could just pretend you're old and grumpy and call him a rude name for no reason at all. That works for me.

:lol:

35F this morning, and I made a BAD call on my socks/shoes this morning. Went with my normal wicking socks, neoprene socks over that, my SPD shoes, and toe covers. Toes felt a little snug inside, still got cold, still got numb, and the ends of my big toes were WHITE when I got to work! That's mild superficial frostbite according to internet sources! :eek:

I gotta figure something out, I can't keep letting my toes freeze like this.

That may be it, too tight cutting circulation off. Whatever it is, that situation sounds dire and needs an urgent fix.

What % of times that I have chosen the bike have I regretted that decision?
What % of times that I have chosen the car have I regretted that decision?

Nice ride this AM. First ride without my thumb spica splint. I have a piece of pipe insulation on the bar for padding. Still no grip strength and no MTB'ing.

Overdressed this morning. Showed up at work a bit sweaty.

^ if your toes were white, they were probably squeezed too much. I find my toes are good in regular old cotton socks and sneakers down to about 35F (for my 30 minute ride).

How about it! I'm glad I adjusted my lights again after taking them off for a long ride a couple weeks ago, they work better now.

I left home thinking I should have worn wool socks instead of cotton, and remembered I was going to wear long johns when it got this cold again. Yet by the time I got to the office I'd stopped to take off the balaclava and unzip my coat, and I think the people that saw me taking off my coat and outer baselayer must have wondered about me standing outside when the temperatures were in the 30's.

Today was a perfect commute. 42F, foggy, an inch of soaked leaves and fir needles from 3-4" of rain the last 2 days, And I was just happy 'cause I had fenders, fat tires (700x35), and the exact right clothes (shorts t-shirt rainjacket). The only fault in the whole thing was the greater fog on my glasses than in the air. And oh yes I did not get hit by a car.

The moon was very bright and full this morning. As full as full can be....but an online check reveals it was 99% waning !!
It was cold but nice!

I had a nice ride Wednesday morning to drop off the boy and then to work. There is nothing memorable. I did keep seeing the same car as it tried to bypass traffic by side streets. It would turn on one and I would filter the traffic route to meet it at another junction. This happened a few times until he eventually passed me on the bridge. It was a recognizable car: blacked out and lowered Toyota Corolla wagon.

I then found out I needed to get my wife out in our old neighborhood. So I booted it home thirty minutes early to get the car, then the boy, then the wife. Traffic was/is awful and I am glad I do not have to commute with the car. I made it to the daycare 10 minutes before they close and then it was pretty quick on the highway since we are carpool lane worthy. I was exhausted and frustrated and wanted to get home. On the bike home from work I had a person try to left hook me and a pedestrian crossing the street the driver was turning onto. I am in all neon with a bright front light and a flashy with reflective tape riding full VC mode. They did stop but still unaware.

Thursday was raining hard when I left and I got a block away and went home. I had forgotten my safety glasses. Then back out. Five minutes later there was a bright flash of light, I thought maybe the street light I passed flashed off. Ten seconds later huge boom of thunder, this is very unusual in Vancouver. One a single flash and crack and a downpour. By the time I get to work it stopped and it was sunny.

Last night was my first normal commute home in the dark. There was a light rain and heavy wind that [MENTION=284658]Mr H[/MENTION]airy legs alluded to. There were a few westerly gusts that made me feel like I was being stopped. But they never got as bad as the reports claimed they would. It felt nice with it kind of on my back quarter on the uphill. I got home and rushed out to meet the family for dinner out, my poor wife was stuck in traffic after being kind and chauffeuring from the airport to the ferry. I ordered for us and they got there just as the food got to the table.

With my two rear solid lights and one blinky last night every driver gave me a very wide berth, it was remarkable and I was astounded at their courtesy.

This morning’s ride was slow. I imbibed a little too much last night, it is those hipster 24 ox jars they serve them in that got me. I think the last time I went out for a beer was June so it was nice to catch up some friends. I dropped the boy at daycare and meandered to work. It was so nice out this morning also.

I find that my highly reflective, hi viz jacket, that I've been wearing for the past couple of months, seems to have the same effect.

I also wear a high vis reflective vest and full neon shirt and tights. With several other reflective bits.

Commuting in New Orleans, old bike, old guy..
 

Beautiful fall weather here in New Orleans. I commute a couple of times a week from "uptown", about 2.5 miles to downtown and a free bike rack in a nice parking garage next to my office bldg which is near the Dome, at Loyola and Poydras Sts.

This is a flat town with streets ranging from God-awful been patched up for years now, to pretty nice, recently paved. Lots of traffic on the main scenic uptown drag, St Charles Ave, which is my main route. So it's a good place for an "English 3-speed".

My bike is a '62 Phillips, believe it or not I'm the original owner, got it new from Dad at age 13 (Dad had broken the frame on my old "middleweight" Columbia in a crash which has an interesting story I'll refrain from telling for now and fortunately left him uninjured) and nobody ever stole it (knock wood) so I have cleaned it up a little, some new bearings, and it's now "vintage", how 'bout that? Anyway, it's a good commuter and brings back good memories when I ride it once more.

We are getting lots of new "paintbrush" bike lanes here, not always without an argument as you'll see here:
Baronne Street bike lane cleared to move forward; judge rules against businesses | NOLA.com
Baronne is one of my possible routes home, as it the expressway crossing/bridge I pass under. I thought the good judge was going to cave to the complaining businesses, but not so, she denied a permanent injunction.

Downtown and uptown have a LOT of new construction and massive drainage repairs that strangle some of the major streets and will for at least another 3-4 years. In a car it's a pain. In a bike it's sometimes dicey getting around all that stuff, but makes bike commuting make much more sense than it might with "perfect" and unobstructed streets.

Anyway, best to all you commuters. I'm heading home now on this faithful old bike, it's really dark but I got a new LED headlight, one of the few "modern" things on it. The old DynoHub still works, but like any generator, is dim when you go slow.

It was a crisp morning in Houston today - low 50s with a breeze. But sunny. My Novara Headwind jacket arrived just in time (yesterday) and I wore it today and it was lovely. Same for the Headwind pants - first time using them too.

Felt nice to ride without being chilly.

Yeah! That was more like it... off work early, and a great ride home with the setting sun behind me. Got into a three-way commuter race which made me push myself a little more than I would have otherwise.

Hoping the rain stays away a little longer... the last few weeks have been ark-worthy.

It was so nice out when I left at 5. I had a nice ride no racing though, few cyclists my way which was unusual.

You ark worthy rain comment is funny since I think other than two days the rain has not been that bad this season.

Warmer than recent days, very enjoyable. Traffic seemed noticeably light.

4:30 AM, quiet, windless, riding through a park. Look over at the swings and one is swaying like someone just got off of it. Saw nobody nor anything that may have been on it. Maybe an errant owl? Kept my mind occupied the rest of the way in...

Rain. Lots of it.

perfect weather this morning, and it was the first time I've ever watched the sunrise when it was at my back. I've never used a mirror before until today; holy $hit it was nice!
http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/...psrfqucmoy.jpg

Time of year to stop commuting on the ARBT, maybe. Salmon fishermen walking four abreast uphill to the top of the Hazel bridge right where I enter the MUP downhill, in the dark. But the alternative route lies on Hazel, a major artery.

The full moon has been nice, though. Once I get to the deserted fire road I can turn the headlight off and sneak up on the wildlife. I saw something that might have been a fox but was probably a cat; not sure. It bounded away. Lots of deer already, too.

Starting a new job on Monday so I took a test ride of a possible new commute. It's 45 miles one way, but there's a park & ride / MUP trail-head about half way that I was thinking of driving to then hopping on the bike path the rest of the way. It was a nice ride, a couple bumpy sections where the path is randomly torn up but nothing that delayed me too much. The last 5miles however is on a main road, traffic on a Saturday was crazy I'd hate to see how it is on the weekdays. Stopped at a red light when some homeless person walked up with a sob story of how him, his wife and his puppy have been sleeping in his car and they just ran out of gas. When I said I didn't have any cash, he said "That's a nice bike, surely you can help me out." I said again that I didn't have any money as I stood there waiting to see if the situation was going to escalate any further but fortunately it didn't. I now understand WHY many cyclists run red lights.

I won't let that one uncomfortable situation stop me from commuting at least until the snow falls. Since the path won't be plowed and the one road that runs parallel is prohibited to bikes/pedestrians, I'd have no choice but to drive OR buy a winter bike with wide studded tires. There's a couple alternative streets I could take but that would add another 10 miles to the already 25mi commute.

Commute this morning was a bit chilly but nice, no wind, no rain and riding in the fall is beautifull. To bad the city i work has decided to break up a cycle path again. Nearly every cycle path there is now 'under construction' Same story every year. My company is moving next year and i hope its moving to another city because im sick and tired of having to deal with all the roadworks . ,muddy roads and endless detours.
But overall: nice commute this morning nonetheless ;)

Cold but not severe, -9C/16F. There was some wet snow and rain yesterday but not a lot, nevertheless, there was a sheen of iciness on the roads so I decided to take my 29er and a shorter, more residential route including bike paths and I was fine. I was dressed fine but my fingertips and thumbs got very cold and then started to warm up as I was arriving. I'm going to be passing by a Bass Pro Shops store early December and will check to see if they have any ATV bar mitts in stock: they appear to be essentially the same design as those made specifically for straight bar bikes but often 1/2 the price. I'll check with co-workers also on good places to buy ATV accessories (I don't have one so I don't know which stores are best).

Forecast for tomorrow is milder but freezing rain. Fortunately for me, I work for the gov't and get Remembrance Day (Memorial Day) off so I won't need to fight with ice on the bike paths.