More wet this morning but cooler temps, 72F. My ride goes right by the state fairgrounds and they keep the livestock in a pen that borders the MUP trail. Kind of freaked me out yesterday morning as I rode by in my half-awake stupor when cows started mooing at me

I have NOT been commuting for the last few weeks. The normal 'summer weather pattern' is in full swing here in Okeechobee, FL and that means pouring rain beginning around 4 pm every afternoon. That also means a very wet and unpleasant ride home most days. So, I have been getting up an hour early, and riding a 15.2 mile loop of surface streets and MUP each morning before I go to work. It's usually warm and the sun is just coming up as I get on the highway south of the house. The ride is short, and my time is limited, so I have been really pushing to see how fast I can make that loop. Today was a 18.4 average. Not bad for an old guy on a long wheel base recumbent...

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

I commute everyday, just don't post in this thread everyday as you guys would get bored :) Commute is about 11-12 miles both ways, through a beautiful MUP within a park and about 1 mile along a widened sidewalk to my building.

Today was AWESOME! (literally, no sarcasm here). 70F, raining so hard I couldn't see. Some may view that as bad? Not me.

Rain keeps me cool, no other non-smarties on the MUP, and overall just makes me feel like a real commuter lol. Didn't see many bikes locked up at the rack today.

A new route today, as I'm in training this week. 10.5 miles instead of 6.8, but it felt fine. Roads are much better out in this area; nice and wide with center turn lanes. Weather was great - low 70s with a nice breeze.

Hopefully the forecast storms hold off until I get home tonight.

I had a nice commute this morning. I did the daycare drop and then trucked along. I felt slow and leisurely on the first bit. But I must have hauled after the drop off since it was my fastest commute.

My new high vis green shirt is not great in warmer temperatures though. I think that I will have to switch to my Under Armor heat gear shirt instead, but the green is so bright and makes me so visible people comment on it every few days.

good idea but it is so hard to get on the bike once I get home. time with the kids & wife plus it is still 90º at 7:15pm. and the Mrs would not let me drive home and then go out for a ride. :notamused:

i am just hoping that I don't loose too much fitness and I wondering about going to the gym maybe tomorrow and maybe ride Thursday or Friday. I probably could come back sooner but just don't want to overdo having a stomach bug and being dehydrated at same time. I have been drinking water like crazy so I think I am pretty well hydrated but don't want to risk it.

Big storm rolled through last night leaving lots of debris in the bike lanes.

Awesome. Virtually no wind and around 57F. May have been my fastest commute yet. Today was also the the first time I've encountered another commuter on my route.

Tough commute yesterday and one of my slowest of the year. Battled stiff headwinds all the way to work, and then 98 F temperatures on the way home. Halfway there, I got a flat on my front tire, which may have been the first time I've ever flatted a front tire while riding. I found out real quickly why the conventional wisdom is to put your best tire on the front, as I was making a turn at the time and my bike nearly went over. I was crossing a large street and made it to the other side, pulling up in the shade under a large tree to fix the flat. Got the tube replaced and filled with a CO2 cartridge, but the tube was bad and immediately went flat. Fortunately I had a second spare tube for a very random reason -- I had stuffed it in my seatbag that morning to fill up some space. The second tube held, so I made it home, about 20 minutes slower than usual due to the heat and tire repairs.

That flat convinced me to replace the Rivendell Roughy Tuffys I've had on that bike for a few weeks. I don't like the tires as they are heavy and seem to have a lot of rolling resistance. My average speeds dropped about 1 mph after I installed them, but I had kept them on the bike because I figured, if nothing else, they should be durable and flat resistant. I hate slow, heavy tires.

Yesterday's ride in started with sun and then, it got overcast and just as I was coming up the last road, it started to spit but I made it in dry. Going home was another story: it was pouring rain from the start and then, as I was on the final stretch home, the rain let up and virtually stopped as I pulled into the driveway, wouldn't you know it!!!

Today's ride started cool, 11C/52F but dry and partly sunny. Tomorrow's ride in the morning is forecast to be even cooler: 9C/48F!

Wow, it appears I timed my summer holidays correctly, summer was last week while I was off!!! Woot!! Woot!!

Really nice ... partly sunny, around 60, slight side breeze. I took the roadie today instead of the CX. Nice little change of pace.

Saw some wildlife this morning too. First, along the path, around where I saw the wild turkey a week or so ago, I saw what I thought was a beaver, but now I think maybe it was a groundhog. I almost didn't see him, he wasn't really standing tall.

Then, after I got to work I walked downstairs into the gym and there in the lockerroom was the most exquisite mullet I'd seen in a long time. Long in the back, dark brown almost black, with the start of a pompador in the front. I watched, silently so as not to disturb it, as it was moussed and then combed with its owner's hand. I wanted to grab a picture but I was afraid he'd hear and be startled.

Very windy ride home yesterday made the going slow. I got off the bike and walked 2 or 3 of the hills because of the head wind. Took a short cut along the train tracks. Luckily the farm nearby left the gates open so I was able use gravel road after pushing the bike for a mile. When I'm not in a hurry it feels good to get off and walk the bike for a bit.

And ones that flat. I hated my stock conti contactson my LHT, 5 flats in 500 km (1-2 per week for three weeks on the same route I always used). On went Marathons. I can not recall a puncture on them since then, a sidewall blow out and an over-heat/over-pressure explosion.

And I think it is pretty good time to be only twenty minutes late with two tube replacements.


Today was the first time I drove since sometime in April! Still nearly the same amount of time as biking. Still must contend more directly with more idiots. I prefer biking. Really I should have biked. I do not miss the 5 o'clock 500.

Nice this morning - 62F and dry... yes dry!

I was in Seoul last week on a work-related trip, so cycling was indoors in the hotel gym. Saw lots of locals on bikes though. Back at home now, and it's pretty hot these days (for Edmonton) and I had the warmest morning commute of the year so far at 19C/66F. It's about 27C/80F now, and I'm going to head home early to try to beat the potential severe weather. It's already blowing pretty hard; might be a bit of a tough slog home.

Nice ride in today. A bit of debris on the side of the road from last night's storm. My legs seem to have adapted to the longer commute this week, which is good.

Nice on the way in. Today was my first "full day" commute. I've been riding in on Saturdays when we were working 6 hour shifts. I couldn't believe it, but traffic was actually lighter this afternoon than it is on Saturday. The ride home was nice, if a bit chilly. Absolutely no traffic to deal with at 12:30 AM!

Humidity continues, lots of bikes and runners out this morning.

The commute in this morning was nice especially after having to drive in yesterday. I was not sure how to transport an 18pack to a fellow co-worker so the car seemed like a good choice.

Taking a rest day from cycling after 4 straight days of riding in 90+ heat. The fact that it is supposed to rain torrents today is also a factor. I got lucky yesterday and managed to ride home between rain storms. It rained while I was still at work from about 3-4:30 pm, then I made a break for it and got home just as it was starting to rain again.

On the way home yesterday I kept hearing a squeaking. Adjusting the breaks didn't do anything, so I stopped. I figured out that a couple of spokes were loose and the front wheel was wonky enough so the tire rubbed on the inside of the fork. I didn't have a spoke wrench with me, but taking the wheel off and turning it around made it not rub, even though it was still wonky. Once home I tightened the spokes and got the wheel as true as I can. I also cleaned the bike up a bit, aired up the tires and lubed the chain.

Quiet and smooth ride this morning. I did get caught in some rain on the way home. Worst part was sloshy socks and shoes. A slight sprinkle coming in this morning, just enough to keep me cool. However the road grit always seems to cling to my legs more when road is wet.

Dry and cool again, 62F. I rode fully tour loaded as a test for an upcoming California ride. Reminds me that as slow and clumsy commuting stuff feels, tour riding is like a truck. A smooth and stable truck though!

Only my 4th commute so far but it was nice and cool this morning with no wind. Decided to take a different route and was able to beat my typical train commute by more than 5 minutes. Traffic was a little heavier than I would prefer though...

Lovely this morning. Took the short 11 mile route in. Nailed a PR on an uphill segment that I already held a KOM on (wasn't really going for it, just kinda happened). Stopped to rescue a turtle that was trying to cross a busy road. I'm not entirely certain he felt like I was helping much he did try to grab a bite of my hand when I put him down. Was a mild 70 degrees on the way in at 6:15, but looks like the ride home could be a steamy mess with temps in the mid 90's and 80% humidity :). The 5 mile brick off the bike at the other end has the potential to be a miserable hot sweat mess, that much is certain!

No ride today ... I'm the de facto company photographer and one of our execs needed a new headshot, so I had to lug my camera gear in today. I've also got an errand to run after work.

Weird ... I think the last time I actually drove to work was more than a week ago (July 2 to be exact).

Oh yeah ... one more wildlife sighting last night on the way home ... I believe I saw either a cross dresser or a transvestite walking along the MUP. And I got caught again by the drawbridge downtown. It was funny, I was fourth in a line of cyclists waiting along the right side of the road.