^ If the mayor made the calls it would have an impact. :)

I was tired on my short uphill this morning. Followed by my third best time on the downhill and finished off by a leisurely pedal into a light headwind.

Traffic was a bit heavier and I caught a few lights I normally don't so I averaged 50 km/h for the downhill. One car tried to merge into me but I expect it at that place and just went around. But it was the tandem dump truck who I thought would turn right and didn't so I proceeded in the bike lane. It was in the last fifteen feet of the dashed line when he cut right then signaled then saw me and swung back left. Not to close but a bit worrisome and reassuring my high vis set up and bright lights work.

interesting moments on the bike these days
 

wow much different temps on this side of the state. 38 today same as yesterday morning (I thought it was going to be colder) Glasses did not fog up today YAY I must be figuring out how to vent better with the new jacket or it is less humid. It was windy though and I appreciated the Night vision jacket because it sure does cut down on the wind. It was cold without it in the wind before I left. It was windy in some sections i had to gear down to fight the wind. I was told by some guy walking down the street that I am supposed to be in the bike lane.

I do not understand why people fuss at me at this section of my ride the most. I move over to almost the double yellow line because I am going to straight at the light. (this google picture is pre bike lane) There is plenty of room for cars to turn right. 90% of the cars on this road turn right here anyway. Yesterday morning I had a guy put down his window and ask me where I was going? I said downtown and he said nice! He also said I like your rig. I said thanks. So one positive comment and one goof.

We had a feast yesterday and there was a lot leftovers so I boxed up some for lunch today. Ham, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, rolls and pumpkin pie. :) I ate apple cobbler during my break for my Second breakfast :)

tonight I have felix navidad party with some friends and might eat a lot then too. :eek:

I misread the line above and thought you were having a party with friends at which you might eat some of them (friends) too.

Your feast sounds delicious. I didn't bring my second breakfast today and this makes it worse.

We've had so much food at work today that I might take the LONG way home. I can extend my afternoon commute from about 16 to 30+ miles by riding on some newly finished greenways. If I ride an extra hour, I might make up for all of the food I ate, but I doubt it.

This time of the year I have no anticipation of riding anywhere near my consumption amounts.

My company had a huge traditional Chinese feast at a seafood place. I usually gorge and leave feeling like a lead balloon. It is right next to the sky train so I will likely not bike home also it ends at nine at night.

But what gets me is the drinking with the in-laws. My predilection for good beer and wine and scotch is my diet undoing

did i write it wrong of was it just read wrong? sorry to rub in my feast.

Just read it wrong. I went out and treated myself to a delicious mushroom mozzarella burger at a local lunch joint

A little colder this morning at 34F. My toes got a bit cold. My Christmas list includes toe covers for the shoes and some better socks. Looking forward to that.

The railroad crossing is back to normal now (actually in much better condition that it used to be), save for some leftover gravel patches.

How was my 2014 cyclocommute?
 

A good year. I stayed healthy, and I reached my primary goal of 8,000 miles dedicated cyclocommuting, plus my second goal of exceeding the number of days cyclocommuting in 2013 (196) by one (197).

I had one mechanical, a flat tire (but with the Marathon Plus, I just kept riding).

I had two falls, both of my own making (inattention) but also due to snow (fresh snow over pine needles and even studs slip) and big pine cone that I hit square on while futzing around with my bell.

My goal for 2015: 200 days.

Now, I am looking forward to the end-of-year break and recharging (and also to rebuilding my work-horse ride . . ).

All the best for the season, y’all.

that sounds like a good burger. I am always a fan of good burgers. Apparently my feasting has caught up with me. After my Feliz Navidad Party I am up quite a bit. Time to cut back on the candy, sweets, and general pigging out. I am not riding enough or consistently so I can not eat like I did during the summer when I was down around 177lbs.


last night on the way home a truck was pulling a trailer and we were about to go through the round about he cut someone in the roundabout off and straightened so that I had to jump closer to the curb to keep the trailer for clipping me. I was mad at the ignorance :notamused:

i bought some planetx overshoes 3mm neoprene and they have really made riding much more comfortable for my toes. I highly recommend. search for a coupon I did and saved 20% off entire order.

I almost got nailed by a couple of deer last night, dashing across my headlight beam with no warning. Fortunately I was only going about 16 or 17 mph and grabbed some brakes with about six feet to spare.

It's always the second one that you've got to watch out for.

It was cold this morning, even though the temperature was no different from yesterday or the day before. I realized that it was because I was deliberately slacking, riding in my casual work clothes and trying to stay fresh. It's amazing how much difference a small change in effort makes.

Hah, just yesterday a commuting friend sent me this with the tagline, how was YOUR commute today

20F today, but it's better than the 20 degree temps back in October and November... yeah, doesn't make sense to me either

This will be the shortest commuting day of the year for me, daylightwise, since I'll be off work next week when the winter solstice occurs. However, I left a little later than usual so it didn't seem any darker. I have been noticing the dark more so lately in my afternoon commutes anyway -- so much that I've been recharging my lights twice a day, at home and in the office, just to make sure they don't lose their charge.

Yeah I treat myself to something maybe once a month from that place but their burgers are good. One time do good I called back and told them that it was amazing. They also make a delicious chorizo hash brown egg breakfast wrap.

The commute last night was good. I saw a lot of other cyclists which is unusual based on the recent days.

There were three of us heading up the hill together at close to the same pace. This was highly unusual but nice. We were not to close and fairly staggered giving a nice big appearance. But someone still pulled out in front of all three of us, not that dangerous just adick move. Guy one knocked the SUV mirror. Guy didn't seem to notice. Nice ride otherwise.

I was about fifteen minutes late this morning and there was about a dozen people out and traffic was heavier. I chatted with a fellow for a bit but he went one way I went another and we caught at a junction a few blocks away. He said where he was going and then I was confused when he was still behind me. But as it turned out it was another fellow in a yellow jacket and similarly colored helmet who I see every few weeks. So we had a nice chat about Christmas plans. Usually the route we talk along is not to busy and we can ride side by side but traffic heavy and we just kept leapfrogging each other.

I truly hate driving to and through mid-town Manhattan. Most of the times I need to go there I just leave my bike parked and I just take the subway, but today I felt a bit more adventurous.... did I say I hate driving in mid-town Manhattan?

So I'm going back home for a few weeks. So I decided to have one last large bicycle blow up and go almost everywhere in Manhattan by bicycle. I met a friend for coffee by Grand Central then I went down to the financial district for a school event. After that was over I went up to SoHo for some last minute christmas shopping and finally up to Times Square to buy a couple gifts. I can say with alot of certainty that the M&M store in Time Square is the worst place on Earth. Then I made my way back home to Brooklyn. I really wish my phones GPS was working but I estimate I did about 30 miles.

Overall it was a pretty pleasant ride. I had some trouble in Midtown a large group of pedestrians decided to walk against the light. When I screamed at them heads up some lady yelled "What are you doing on my streets?!" to which I replied "These aren't your streets." I've deiced that painting the bicycle lanes green seems to encourage pedestrians to walk in them. I got stuck at the intersection of Vesey and Church and three people walked into my bike. I'd like to point out I was behind the stop line with both my front light and tail light blinking. Also a few tourists literally climbed over my bike when I locked it up in Times Square. I mean they literally chose to climb over it rather than go around it and yes I made sure it was clear of the crosswalk.

Sounds like you had a good year. I don't keep stats on my rides but I would guess that my 'commuting miles' are much less than yours (I make up for it with evening recreational rides.) However, aside from taking public transit to work maybe 5-6 times in the year, my bike is what I use to get to the office. Some time taken out for vacations or telecommuting days would probably put me in the same ballpark as you, at around 200 commuting days, or just over. This was the first year that I decided to not get a monthly transit pass each month, which helped cement the bike as the mode of choice. I've saved ~$1200 this year from that decision alone!

My commute to work took about 30 minutes, and my ride back took about 43. Those big hills sure give me a workout. They are actually the parts I look forward to the most. The first is really steep. The second one has some steep sections but is just super long. When I first started commuting I sometimes had to stop and walk up hills and I hated them. Now my legs are stronger and I know how to use gears properly lol. So I never stop!. I love climbing hills now. My friend who I've gone on bike rides with was telling me how she tried to go up a huge hill but couldn't make it. She owns a mountain bike(made for climbing) and never shifts. So I was like "Did you try downshifting?". She was like "Why would I make it easier when I'm trying to work out my legs?". I tried to explain relying on high strength to get up big hills was dangerous considering she is quite unathletic and I was worried about her legs since I've injured my right knee like that before. She also has her seat post really low almost bmx style. She is stubborn when I tell her it cases her pedaling to be fore less efficient and also makes her more prone to injury. There is a giant hill I've always wanted to climb near by.... maybe now... I'll give it a try!

Bailed on the ride today. Due to the timing of a Christmas party after work, my wife was already going to have to pick me up at the end of the day. Although it was only a mist and 38F, I let her bring me in too.

The same thing may happen tomorrow. If so, I will already be done for the year since I am off work and out of town next week.

A grey 30F on one of the last commuting days of 2014. I crossed the 4,000 mile commuting mark on this ride which seems anti-climactic (normal yearly mileage) but this year I calculated days ridden and it's 196. That means I only drove about 15 days, just over once a month. That makes me happy!

Coldest morning ride so far this season. 19F when I left. Good ride; I dressed properly so I wasn't too hot or too cold. I noticed my rear tire getting soft about 2 miles from work. Got off and checked it and it was down to 20psi. Pumped it up to 40 just to get the last bit in to work and it was almost flat when I got there. I'm currently trying to find the leak. There were a few bits of glass and gravel stuck in the tire, but none seem to have punctured the tube. I'll have to dip it in a toilet and look for bubbles.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: do NOT buy Gatorskin tires. This makes 4 flat tires in under a year on mostly clean suburban roads.

That was a big mess! 37F and rains/sleet. I took the limestone trail to avoid the 40 mph county road without bike lanes. That limestone was basically spring peanut butter. Guess I'll be doing some bike clean up soon.


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-s...090406_883.jpg

Also, last bike commute of the 2014, I'll be on vacation until 2015. 172 days bike commuting of the 210 days I was in the office, not my best year, but that Polar Vortex in January and February took a lot of days out.