A little cooler this morning upper 50's depending on which bank clock you go by. Supposed to be in the 40's from now on.. not riding tomorrow but Friday morning that might be interesting. First cold ride! Have plenty of gear just a big sissy when it comes to the cold!

I got thoroughly drenched yesterday on the ride home. Fortunately, it was warm. Along with the rain came a cold front so only 56F this morning and windy. The ride in was nice because it was a tailwind - trying not to predict how hard the ride home into the wind will be

Consecutive commute #110 :

Still fighting sickness. Felt like complete trash when I got up today. Sinus pressure so intense that all my teeth hurt. After I got everything ready I sat down in my chair and strongly considered staying home from work. However I really wanted to break 500 miles of riding for September, and was currently sitting at 485. I needed the 16 miles to and from work to put me over this mark. It was motivation enough to get me out of the chair.

Out in the garage I was pumping up my tires and again nearly threw in the towel and went back inside. But my desire to break that 500 mile mark was strong, so I forced myself to load up and head out.

Once riding I didn't push myself hard at all. I actually started to feel a bit better, although that's a relative thing. The teeth stopped throbbing but overall I still felt like death on toast. Temp was about 50 degrees and I had a light tailwind.

Made it to work. Once I ride home today I'll break the 500 mile mark, so at least I've hit my goal. We'll see how long I make it today. After taking some pain killers my head has calmed down a little, but I'm still constantly coughing and have a runny nose. Thankfully with my current work assignment I'm quite sequestered from anyone else in the office so there's little risk of me infecting others.

My wife was chastising me last night. She wanted me to drive to work this morning. My attitude was, "if I'm not well enough to ride my bike to work, I probably shouldn't be going to work at all." Well, I rode but it was a dubious decision.

I saw this comment on the WABA forums:

"A person there referred to the cyclist as a she--there were a bunch of floral print bags next to his/her wrecked bike and when I saw the cyclist, they appeared to have long hair. The cyclist was not in good shape it appeared. Conscious, but not moving. It appears the cyclist was crossing inside the crosswalk, and got hit by a driver turning left. This crosswalk does not always have a walk signal--you have to press the awkwardly located button to get the signal. Even if you have the walk signal, the left turning cars have a green light though. I have had a number of near-misses at this light because drivers aren't looking when they turn left. "

The only thing I don't like about Potomac Ave. Trail is that you have to cross the intersection of Potomac and Glebe to continue riding on the trail. Granted, this is nothing compared to WO&D and its multitude of road crossings, but it's still a trouble spot. I've habitually crossed on the north crosswalk but will start crossing on the south crosswalk to avoid cars turning left from Glebe to Potomac.

Did you know about the pedestrian tunnel under Duke St, near the intersection with Diagonal? I found out about that from the WABA forums. You have to dismount and walk your bike to enter the tunnel, or face the wrath of the security guard, but it's a nice option. Heading southeast on Diagonal, you'll see the tunnel entrance on your right after you pass the access road for the buses.

In the morning I prefer to take Huntington Ave. towards Rt. 1, then use the left turn lane to get on the MUP, then bridge, heading to Washington St. In the evening I prefer the Potomac Ave. Trail, then eventually the Telegraph-Eisenhower overpass to return home.

I have a Cygolite 850 mounted on my helmet for night riding, pointing just in front of my wheel to spot road hazards. The two lowest settings are fine, even on the darkest part of the MVT. It complements the dyno hub lights nicely. I got it for about $80 on Amazon - worth every penny.

Uneventful ride home yesterday, aside from the headwinds. Cold front coming through means north winds which means head winds for commuting home in the afternoon. Just a few sprinkles in one area (while sun was shining), otherwise a mix of sun and clouds, upper 70's. Pretty humid.

Haven't been on a bike at all in a week. I've been working from home, am horribly busy, and the cool mornings are demotivating and I don't feel like voluntarily riding in the mornings. Today, I had to go to the downtown office, so I rode, and I'm glad I did. Was nice to get the blood pumping, though I may have overdid it a bit on the hills because I was a wee bit nauseous when I got to work.

Woohoo I surpassed my September 2014 mileage total by exactly 10 miles, for a total of 423 miles this month. :thumb:

Last day of the National Bike Challenge. I got in 1,689 miles from May-September, with 77% transportation and 23% recreational miles.

Thank you so much for the tips!

57F / 14C light to moderate mist and a cross/headwind. This was a challenge for me, had to take off my glasses because they were a mess. But made it in and feel good. Oh one other thing...numb palms. That's a new one for me.

A cool mist and breezy conditions greeted me this morning. I wore leg warmers and my windbreaker for the first time this year. I was actually toasty, if not a bit overdressed. It was a pleasant, drippy ride, with the sounds of traffic "shooshing" along in the moisture. Felt good to take a warm shower, though. Fall will be a lot like this, but with cooler temps, still. It'll be nice.

No ride this week. I sold my cross check Monday and ordered a LHT the same day. My other bike doesn't have fenders and it's rained all week. Hopefully next week I'll be riding again. October is usually great riding weather. Can't wait.

I barely missed a skunk. Most of him was less than a foot away, and I may have gone over the tip of his tail. Luckily I was moving pretty good and if he retaliated, he missed. Maybe I need a better headlight?

Funny. I bet you gave him a good scare.

After work yesterday I rode to a friend's house to help load up a moving truck. Other helpers were surprised and asked, "You rode your bike here?!" I said, "Yes, didn't everybody?" I had to tell them I bike to work and work was only about 2 miles away.

About 6 degrees cooler today (66F) and lower humidity. We have rain in the forecast, just showers tonight, but possibly a lot starting tomorrow. Hurricane Joaquin (pronounced wa-keen by the weather man) may send some moisture our way - possibly up to 10 or 12 inches of it. Our summer of being 7" below normal rainfall could be redeemed in one weekend!

Little cooler, little faster this morning with a north wind at my back. This afternoon that same north wind will more than double in speed. It's going to suck. :(

Commutes have been amazing lately: cool clear mornings, warm afternoons!
Tuesday I was buying something of craigslist so I deviated from my usual route. I took a more major cross-town street (King Edward). More car traffic but much faster travel! Even with the stop I got home early. I'll still stick to my 'sheltered' route though.

I've been craving a ride the last few mornings also. That king ed route is fast and a nice deviation from the greenway.

I swung by a shop to enquire about the ability to get and the price of a Fairdale Weekender Drop. I'm leaning toward the frame not the full bike since I'm not sure cI an handle the one by sram option.

I'm also hoping to get my LHT tomorrow. I haven't seen it yet since the accident. I'm nervous.

As expected: wow that ride home was super hard. A steady 15-20 mph headwind made it feel like I was sitting still sometimes. Places where I can usually go 17-19 on the flat, I was doing about 12. A little warmer temps next week hopefully will mean some afternoon tail winds out of the south.

On the plus side, I just passed 2,000 commuting miles for the year. :thumb:

55F/13C, rain, headwind...that was a rough one. I plodded along at around 10mph.

That plus I am still totally discombobulated in my new house...bag here, rain gear there, don't know where my gloves are.....

55f/ light headwind. Made for a nice but chilly commute. It's clear I've gotta get some new gear for winter/fall riding - the cutoff gloves aren't going to do it, and I need something to warm up my knees.

If my hands and knees are warm, I'm happy.

Major rain forecast for the east coast. Looks like the D.C. folks are already getting it. It hasn't quite gotten to me in the Charlotte area yet. I rode in under a drizzle and cooler temps: 55F. A bit of a tailwind on a couple of stretches.

I wore a long sleeve shirt and cycling gloves for a little warmth. I don't seem to have that much of a problem staying warm during the ride, but after I get to work I'll get chilled, even after changing to dry work clothes. I'm not a coffee drinker, but I may have to start up the hot chocolate habit again.

Coolest morning we've had in a while. Mid-40's when I left... dropping to lower-40's by the time I arrived at work. Good tailwind though.

This week has been almost a total bust for bike commuting, with only one ride on Monday, due to constant storms and rain. However, I managed to squeeze in a 71-mile recreational ride last Sunday between showers. Hopefully the awful weather we've been having will change soon. We are on track to set a record for the most continuous days of rain here at 12. All bets are off if Hurricane Juaquin changes course and heads our way.

No commute (working from home) but I ran some errands at lunch by bike. It's a beautiful day for riding, and it was tempting to stay out and ride instead of coming back to work. Weekend weather looks really crappy (possibly some snow!)

Back in the saddle after 3 days off for a tech conference. The hard part was the popular cycling route right in front of the hotel, in Delray Beach (near Palm Beach) next to the ocean and watching everyone from cruisers to roadie groups flying by. Next year, if I'm fortunate to attend, I'll either find a place to rent something or bring a folding bike. Or a SS at a nearby Walmart even (wonder if they'd deliver to a hotel?), but it really bites to see that and be stuck there without a bike.

I took the MTB for my first time since my big wreck a couple months ago. The Thursday morning rain wasn't enough to create "hero dirt" but the moon-dust puddles did congeal. I was feeling heart-conditiony and went slow. I think I'll use this bike a lot this month, because I think it's about to become a tug again, and when the days get short enough I'll want to commute on the road bike exclusively.

I left my bike at work last night, and I plan to ride it home tonight. It's cool and drizzly, but I should be OK. I should have a tailwind, too, so that's good. I have some good clothes. Hurricane Joaquin was scaring us, but it looks like it probably won't hit land.

Quite rainy. But I solved the problem with a rain cape, and arrived at home remarkably dry.

Very difficult commute today. Woke up tired and a bit under the weather. Add to that the crappy, cold and windy weather. The ride in was one of the worst.

The ride home was even worse. Headwinds over 25mph. 1hr, 40 minute ride took 2.5 hours....ugh!

On the way home I explored the Nimbus Dam overlook where there's a trail down to lake level. Later in the ride, I came off on a steep section and scraped up my shin on the pedal pins. SPD time, or maybe Ergon.

Today I carried the kid around a lot and irritated my TFL... this is a recurring injury for me and I know now from experience not to go biking on it. So it's driving for me this week :-/

Yuck misting .. that's worse than rain as it wasn't enough to wear a poncho. 48 must the line between wearing the stocking cap and not. Need to find something to just cover the ears. It was a good ride though. Didn't do much this weekend so feel more rested today than I have in months! Crossed the 1400 mile mark today also.