Commuted 3 days in a row to end out the week. I have 12 miles each way. A little humid in the morning but decent temperatures. Evenings are anot her story. I've been able to manage 21 mph on the way in but only about 19.5 coming home due to the heat and elevation difference but admittedly that's pushing it about as hard as I can go.

44 degrees, brr. Still shorts weather, but no sandals and I wore a long-sleeved merino blend shirt. It was dark the whole way to town but the moon was still up and pretty bright, as was (I presume) Venus. 2 cars passed me in 9 miles. I saw a very large white dog curled up by the side of my gravel section, looking at me. Like a Great Pyrenees or something. I wonder what his story was. He didn't seem hurt and he didn't bother me.

The radar shows some heavy rain between my home and the place I get off the bus to start riding. I'm working on getting over my rain phobia (stop laughing, fellow NW dwellers!) but today I wore my glasses, not contacts, and still have my fenders off the bike for the summer. I think I'll just be a blind mess. Still, it's much better than what I have planned for the weekend.

Great work side commute, 22 miles which included campion trail in Irving. Traffic was a little more hairy than I'd like for the first and last 2 miles of the commute, but drivers were curtious for the most part. Tired legs from pushing hard a couple times this week, and today's lunch of some delicious spicy Korean beef stew had me still full and a bit dozy, but I made good time. I'll have to ride this route a couple more times and maybe tweak a couple segments. All in, a great start to a long weekend!

first post. it was great! i'm new to cycling. bought a 2015 kona dew about 6 months ago but never put it to much good use. i was lucky enough to land a new job 1.5 miles away (a grueling 10 minute, +200 feet commute </sarcasm>), so i decided bike commuting was the only way. started the job this week and commuted 3 out of 5 days. only took day 1 off so that i could get my car registered, and day 3 off to drive work clothes to the office :)

anyways after work today i decided to check out a nice looking trail that i'd never tried. it snakes along the edge of the cumberland river on the north side of nashville. ended up riding 11.3 miles after work. the longest i'd ever rode my bike before that was 3.4 miles! feeling quite accomplished! and i'm pretty determined to take this same (gorgeous) trail 2 or 3 times a week now.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=475355

Welcome!

Back in the office and in the last few weeks of my four-mile commute before we move about 8-9 miles from DC center. Still haver yet to scipe out the route from our new townhouse.

I had been having trouble with the rear dreailer slipping gears but found a great tutorial on Youtube...two quick aturns of the tension adjuster and violla...no more slippage. (And to think I was going to take it in to the bike shop.)

Just coming back from a four day weekend. I did not bike over the break, but did plenty of running and some swimming.

Good ride this morning. About 67F. A little over 13 miles. I've been riding slower lately though, closer to 15mph where I think I was closer to 16.5 / 17 back in the spring.

Warm and extremely humid this morning, with heavy fog in spots. I had to swap bikes right before I left because the forecast changed from a 10% chance of rain to 40% chance since I checked the weather last night. The bike I was going to ride doesn't have fenders and is spanking clean, so I didn't want to get caught riding it in the rain if possible. Rode my trusty Bob Jackson touring bike instead, and its dynamo lights worked well in the fog with the shaped light beam. The weather forecast is calling for good chances of afternoon thunderstorms every day this week, my least favorite kind of weather.

Today was my 94th consecutive work day commute, which breaks my previous record of 93 days.

Last year I was shooting to hit 100 consecutive days when we had a blizzard on day 94. I still attempted to ride, but the snow was so deep (not yet plowed) that it took me nearly an hour to go 2.5 miles. I had left the house early that morning anticipating the weather, but it slowed me down more than I expected. I could have slogged on the remaining 6.5 miles, but I realized at my current pace it would have been 10 AM before I made it to work. I didn't feel like trying to explain to my boss why I showed up at a client's office 2 hours late, so with my tail between my legs I rode back home and drove my truck. I wasn't happy to get that close to my goal and get thwarted.

This year I started my commute streak a couple months earlier. I'm not expecting a blizzard in early September, so barring something unusual I should be able to easily hit 100+ consecutive days. :)

I'll add my welcome and good for you! Great bike too

I had to leave a little early today so first chance to use headlight this season.

5C/41F. Brr. Every year I need to re-learn how to dress as the weather gets colder. I was fine in shorts and a long-sleeved shirt, but my uncovered ears got a bit cold as did the tips of my fingers, even though I was wearing light gloves. Nice commute, though. Sunny and calm.

running late today so just the pretty much straightest route to work. Sigh. Hopefully detour on the way home, weather permitting. Tomorrow school starts and my schedule gets bound in the morning, I need to stay late enough to make sure the kids get out of the house.

Morning:
Finally raised my saddle height after my coworker noticed it was getting low. I thought it was just the heat and humidity that was draining my pedaling power away - nope, it was the saddle height. I'd never adjusted it on my own before because I hadn't figured out how to support the bike while determining if my leg was too straight or if it had too much knee bend. My solution was to put one foot on a small step ladder.

The restored pedaling power helped compensate for the morning humidity. A cyclist ahead of me and I encountered 3 pedestrians walking northward on the MVT (Mt Vernon Trail). The cyclist ahead of me called his pass, but one of the ladies wandered right in front of him instead, causing a near collision at the intersection of the MVT and the access road to Indigo Landing Restaurant. They were very nice, though, and a bit embarrassed when I greeted them.

Followed a government SUV on First St. that absolutely would not turn right onto Louisiana on a red light, even thought it was clear. I wasn't in enough of a rush to take a risk slicing between the SUV and the curb to make the right turn, and it would have been a tight fit anyway for this bike.

Evening:
Cyclemeter GPS said I burned 577 calories on the evening ride, less than the 619 I burned this morning, yet I felt more exhausted in the evening. The heat (and probably the humidity/dew point too!) makes a difference! 72-73 F this morning vs. 90 F from the start of the ride up to around mid-ride when it "mercifully" dropped to 88F.

Traffic was backed up again going down Raoul Wallenberger. Maybe when I get a road bike with narrower handlebar I'll filter between the cars and the curb in the right lane, but I was content to wait my turn in the lane. I later passed most of the filtering cyclists because they ended up on the sidewalk while I leisurely pedaled past them on the road. Half of them passed me later on the bridge.

After crossing the bridge, one cyclist double-passed me and the cyclist in front of me - almost into a group ride going the other way. It was a line of about 8-10 cyclists. The offending cyclist got this in response from the group:

"Call your pass!"

"Not very smart!"

Is it roller skating season? I didn't see any skaters most of this summer, then the past couple of weeks, I've seen 4. I passed one this morning, and passed another this evening.

Today, I commuted from my campsite to the bathhouse. Today I rode around the campsite with my son. My son who is really still learning how to ride. He hit a speed bump at speed and almost pulled it out but ended up going down. We both have "boo-boos" on our knees pretty sure his will heal faster than mine. 😆 s'mores made him forget about the wreck. Overall a great day of riding.

RidingMattew, that is my kind of commute! And any ride that can include one's child makes the ride even better!

My commute this morning was uneventful but very nice. It is my first day back to riding after a long weekend and other obligations. Though there are two good things that had nothing to do with the riding itself but made my ride better. First one is my work put in a new shower head and it works great. Second is I noticed they are repaving one of the roads I usually ride. The road before yesterday was just all patch work, this morning I noticed it was down to being milled. So in a few days that road should be nice and smooth. I am a very happy person this morning!!!

Rode the fixed gear yesterday, with the plan to meet my wife for the ride home. So, naturally...

...I hit a smallish pothole while just leaving for the day. Pshhhh....pshhh...pshhh... Okay. I remove the rear and pop out the punctured tube. But my spare won't hold air. What the? It has a hole. Okaaay.

My patch kit! I'll just patch the spare. Wait, the glue is starting to dry out. It's the consistency of a gummy bear. Uh oh. And my wife isn't riding with her cell phone, I'm sure.

Anyway, after a few moments of consternation, I flagged down a terrific guy in a pickup who drove me homeward until we saw my wife riding on the side of the road. She had been crying, scared that something had happened to me. She decided to ride home and the fellow drove me the rest of the way.

Lessons? How about checking that the spare tube is good? And having workable glue? And my wife carrying her cell phone? Yeah, there are lessons here.

Nice ride this morning, though, sweaty. PG

@Tundra_Man: Congrats. Heckuva streak.

@3crD8IiGEm9z: Welcome

Very nice. I'm jealous.

I rolled my left ankle running this morning. It hurt, but I was able to make it back home. Biking was fine, but I knew I shouldn't try to unclip my left foot as that twisting motion would be bad. I made it to work by only pulling my right foot out. When I got to work, I took my foot out of the shoe and twisted the shoe off with my hands. Hopefully a little rest will help it out.

Light, steady rain - better than predicted thunderstorms. We need the rain and my bike needs the wash. A fellow commuter pulled up next to me at an intersection. He had a very nice, hi-tech bike and was all kitted out. I turned and said "good morning," he didn't look at me then grunted and rode off in a huff. A few miles later I saw him under an awning fixing a flat - karma's a *****

Our forecasters are going berserk here lately. When I checked the forecast this morning, they were calling for a 20% chance of spotty rain, so I rode today with no qualms. Now they have changed to forecast to 50% chance of thunderstorms. Oh well, thunderstorms can crop up just about any time, any day around here when it's hot and humid like this.

Alarm clock was supposed to go off at 5:15am. Not sure what happened, but I finally woke up around 6:15am. Argh!!!

Ok, so I'm going to be late to work, but decided to go ahead and ride anyway. As it turns out... it was a nice ride. Still a bit humid, but very nice temperatures. Cold front comes through tomorrow which should put our high temps in the low to mid 70's for a few days! Looking forward to it!

Last week was blahhh. Only got in one commute on Tuesday, then felt crappy the rest of the week. Unfortunately I once again ended a month with fewer miles than the same month last year (August).

Saturday I was supposed to lead a group ride but had no takers, so did the ride solo mio on my newly-completed Marin bike, and it worked out great. I may ride it to work one of these days. Later that day I also ran an errand to the hardware store with it.

Monday was the local club's Labor Day ride, visiting a bunch of historic music locations in Memphis like Sun Studio and Stax Records. I rode from my house to the ride start (18 miles), did the ride, then headed back before the ride end, for a total of 61 miles. Could have made it a metric century if I had rode around the block or something, but I couldn't turn the pedal another revolution by the time I got home. Had some nasty Charlie Horse leg cramps, too, despite me eating and drinking quite a bit along the way.

So Tuesday I did not commute since I was still recovering from Monday. Today I rode in, with fenders and everything. Chance of rain this afternoon, hopefully it won't be too heavy or lightning or anything.

Was on vacation most of last week so yesterday was my first ride in a week. Went smoothly. Today again riding in the dark but wore a light reflective safety jacket since it was 48*. Got trained on the truck route into town. The road is narrow with no shoulder so I waited 11 minutes for this slow train and then let the line up of cars go by before heading back out. Made it to a choke point where two gravel driveways meet the road and has pushed gravel piles a couple feet into the road. Other lane is still backed with cars and as I was moving over to avoid the gravel and take the lane a pick up truck squeezed in between me and the other lane. He was so close I reached out and smacked his truck. Not sure how his mirror missed me. Caught him at the next light just when it turned green. He was rolling down his window to say something. I rode by and called him an unfriendly name and continued on through the light and he turned left. No idea what he said or wanted to say to me for hitting his truck. He's a vendor we do a little business with so I'll be talking to our maintenance guys about not using his service in the future.

Made my goal of 1,000 miles by Aug 31st. I got a late start this summer. Next goal is 500 more by the end of October.

1st day of school. Did not accompany the older on his ride to 1st day of high school. Main concern there is how many teenagers are driving to school for the 1st time and don't have a grasp on staying in their lane. Went w/ the younger on the 1st day of her last yr of grade school. Same old same old there, lots of parents hand-delivering precious cargo w/o regard to other people's kids.

Finally, massive gridlock at a middle school near my office, just great to ride around.

Oh yes, back on CF road bike after 2 wks of rain. Flew! 2mph faster than steel roadie (w/ handlebar bag, fenders, 10 extra pounds of bike)

cool, damp, and foggy. Ran lights for the first time since early spring due to the fog, but when I got to the office, I discovered my tail light wasn't working anymore.

Muggy morning: 72F w/ 70 dew point and 94% humidity.

I actually spoke to other cyclists on my ride in today. I rarely see other cyclists, and they are usually recreational and going the other direction. But today a couple (male & female) passed me on one downhill stretch. I caught them on the the next uphill and they asked if I was headed to work, what my route and mileage was, etc. Then they were stopping for a minute and I continued on. It was nice to chat with someone for a little bit there.

Light sprinkles this morning. Cool!