caloso

No commute today -- wife's early meeting meant I had to take the kids to kinder and there's no good way to get them there on bike. But the race bike is in the back of the van for the Tuesday night hammerfest.

z3px

Rode home this evening, perfect. Weather has been perfect in upstate SC lately.

bugly64

I was dropped by a roadie on the way home today. Problem was he didn't even say anything when he passed me and it scared the fool out of me. I thought the silent Prius of death got me.

buzzman

Used my Dahon Helios (folder) today for the first time in almost a year! I had rented a car for a trip on Sunday and didn't get back til this morning and had to drop the rental off and head right to work- so I threw the folder in the trunk. I had barely enough time to make it to work on my speedy road bike, never mind my usual commuter and even called in to say I'd probably be late- but I'd underestimated the power of the folding bike and got there right on time!

fletchh

It was a warm ride in at 5 C ( 42 F). I had to stop along the way to take off my outer layer, as I dressed for yesterday mornings temps at 0 C. There is still some stormy stuff going on, but I have managed to avoid a good soaking.

fletchh

tarwheel 

The temperatures have been about 10 degrees warmer each morning this week -- 45 on Monday, 55 yesterday and 65 today. At that rate, it will be 75 on Thursday morning and 85 on Friday. The humidity has also gone up each day, and today was very muggy. There is a fair chance of rain, but it looks like it will be light sprinkles at most.

I was really tempted to sleep in and drive this morning because I went kayaking for 2 hours last night after riding home from work. It was really fun, but tired me out. I kept looking for excuses to drive, but couldn't find any so I rode after all. As usual, I was glad that I rode after a few minutes on the bike.

vtjim

One of those great mornings. Crisp, dry air in the upper 40sF. Sunny. A light tailwind. The MUP was almost empty. I had energy and the ride was quick.

I saw one rider on the road, being a bit of an arse. Car stopped at stop sign. This guy was coming up behind the car and didn't even bother to slow down. The car starts to go. Meanwhile the cyclist is in mid-pass of the car, blowing the stop sign, and riding alongside the car in the oncoming lane. I didn't see how it all ended.

And OH NO! My bike is here in my office. I was looking at it just now. Back tire looked "thin." I squeezed it. It's going flat. Well, I need a new chain and ring anyway. Time for a walk to the LBS when it opens. (One block away.)

Jim from Boston

Rain had been predicted for today as of a few days ago. At about 5:00 AM the streets were still dry, but heavy green was on the Doppler radar about 15 miles away when I checked at 5:30 AM. By 6:10 as I was leaving, my entire route was covered by green on the Doppler yet the streets were still dry. I didn’t put on my rainwear, but carried it with me on my 19 mile route. At about 6:40 I felt the first drops, but nothing significant happened until about 7:15 when there were a few sprinkles. At about 7:30 AM for my last half mile I had enough precipitation to call it rain. I really didn’t get any more wet than I was already from sweat, and I didn’t feel the need to wipe down my chain when I arrived.

At around 7:00 AM while en route I came upon an acquaintance walking her dog. Our chat time was probably equivalent to the amount of time I spent riding in my last half mile in the rain, and so I might have arrived virtually untouched after riding almost 90 minutes under the threat of heavy Doppler green. So my point is, and I do have one, the Doppler may not always be predictive, but I wouldn’t ignore it. Had I checked it at 5:00 AM, I might have headed out earlier rather than dawdle on Bike Forums.

EKW in DC

No, I've been pedicabbing in Alexandria w/ ViaVelo. We serve the Old Town and Del Ray neighborhoods.

z3px

Great ride this morning albeit a little slower due to woofing down whole wheat pancakes right before i left. Yummy but riding on a really full stomach kind of makes you feel like a slug.

HardyWeinberg

50F, sunny. No trailer = extra 3-5 mph on the speedo on the gradual uphill that is the 1st half of my route. Extra speed plus no pre-schooler dropoff = in the office 20 min earlier.

Cougar sighting on route, but not by me. Seems less dangerous than the demonstrated biting of the pitbulls the other day.

sseaman

it was warm around 70 with a tough headwind, so I took it easy. Our greenways are a mess from flooding, so it took a little more effort than usual. I also tried loading my backpack on the rack but wow it throughs off your balance.

EKW in DC

Had a nice envigorating ride home last night after a couple happy hour drinks w/ friends.

A fellow commuter reported a cougar sighting to me this morning, too. Said some 40-year-old hottie on a had hit on him.

Seriously, though, not as cool and crisp this AM as it has been lately. Totally didn't need the long sleeves. Apart from that it was a nice ride in w/ a slight tailwing, temp in the low 60s. A little too warm for me for a morning commute, but I know in two months I'd give anything for a 60 degree morning, so I shan't complain.

cougar1..JPG

groovestew

Had an interesting encounter in a traffic circle on the way home yesterday. No collision, not even what I would consider a close call, but remarkable nonetheless. A driver either didn't see me, or didn't expect me to be going so fast as she barreled into the roundabout without slowing down. I saw what was going on and was ready to take evasive action, when she suddenly noticed where I was and got a really surprised look on her face when she realized that I had the right-of-way, and she was heading straight for me. She jammed on the brakes, got behind me, and I went on my merry way.

This morning's commute was very nice, just warm enough to wear shorts and ditch the windbreaker (4C). Still saw a lot of other cyclists wearing long pants and jackets, but they were just tootling along, not tearing up the asphalt like me .

JeremyZ

The commute in was great. After only one day off due to heavy AM rain, I was really antsy to get back on the bike. My muscles started to burn, but it felt great. It was upper 40s and I decided to try an experiment. What is the better jacket, fleece, which breathes easily but also doesn't block wind or rain, or GoreTex, which doesn't breathe as easily, has no insulation, but is waterproof? I think GoreTex wins in temperatures below about 55°F. Looks like rain today, so I'm glad it came out this way.

A short bus honked as it passed me this morning. I had a good laugh to myself as I reminded myself that he IS the short bus driver, after all. As a reward for his hurry & rudeness, he got to that red light 15 seconds before me, and was leaving it right as I rolled up behind him.

The computer systems at work are not working well at all. There's been an hourglass on my other screen for about 10 minutes now. It isn't responding to Ctrl + Break either. I'm going to have to shut down stupid Lotus Notes. Oddly, the internet works fine, so I'm not too frustrated, hehehe.

The day keeps getting better. I ordered my first Brooks saddle, a Flyer, Monday afternoon from Amazon. Got it just now. (standard shipping: $7, not Super Saver) I don't know how they do it, but it is great. Can't wait to get home and get it on the TriCross.

groovestew: Interesting encounter indeed. I hope you gave her the stink-eye. Glad you were alert. The world needs more Lerts.

EKW: That is what I first thought when I read 'cougar' too.

sseaman: What's a greenway?

Hardy: Why do you normally pull a trailer? To tote kids around, or luggage?

Jim: Good lesson about checking the radar. I have a much simpler system, but it is only reliable on short commutes: If it is raining when I'm ready to leave, I take the car. If not, I take the bike. I don't care if I get wet on the way home.

Others: One guy keeps posting about his 'MUP' or something. What is a MUP? (I may have mixed up the letters, I can't find the post at the moment)

groovestew

Jeremy: MUP = Multi-Use Path. In Edmonton, we use MUT (Multi-Use Trail).

ZmanKC

Ride in this morning was fine if a bit cool and windy. The ride home could be interesting. The forecast is possible severe thunderstorms, hail, and tornados.

I almost wussed out and took the car but I'm hoping to get lucky.

sseaman

a dedicated walking/biking path through parts of the city

caloso

Tempted the weather gods by taking my fenders off the fixed gear this morning. Ride in was mellow. I tried to occupy my mind by counting all the traffic violations (rolling stops, cellphone and texting, failure to signal) by the motored commuters on my route. After 12 or so in 3 miles, I lost track.

dansenior

commute was as always a bit of a mixed bag, good times away from car drivers, and bad times getting stressed stuck in traffic, feeling like i want to ride like a cycle courier without care, and then thinking no i darent just in case run into

I always seem to get a bit stressed from the way some but not all car drivers seem to ignore the cyclist, mind with that said, i think pedestrians sometimes ignore cycles as well, especially through city areas, frequently get people walking in front of me, without looking my way.

Good parts of the commute include times when riding on minor roads away from rush hour traffic, then i start enjoying the ride more, and realise how fun it is, although part of me actually gets a buzz from getting stressed out in traffic!!!!.

Started getting more confidence on the bike since ive been commuting for 4 weeks now, but very different to leisure riding, been tired from work and then cycling, when i first started commuting my observation was far lower, now im more perceptive of what may happen, and can start positioning the bike better.

Aeneas

It was a misty/ rainy, cool (45° F) morning on Long Island. Normally, I would have driven, but I felt a bit playful this AM, so I donned my rain gear, put the lights on blink and rode. Passed another bike commuter (day laborer type on big box type BSO.) Of course I hit every traffic light and got to enjoy the misty rain. My "rain pants" (cheapo nylon wind pants were pretty well soaked but my upper body stayed dry (thank you J&G Cyclewear). Legs got kinda chilly from the wetness, but for the short ride, it was tolerable.
The ride home should be drier, but not necessarily warmer.

paul2432

A (somewhat) unusual May snow storm last night. Ride wasn't bad, but I did need to wear my rain gear. The photo was taken from my office.

Paul

IMG_2038..jpg

Blues Frog

How was it today? Wet! 50 in the AM and 60 tonight. Tomorrow is an overtime day. Leave around 5: am and home about 4PM +. Maybe 6:30 PM? Ride carefully. Wing Nut

bugly64

I dropped of the family's Suburban this morning at the Chevy dealer and they were kind of enough to drop me off at home. Then, I rocked to work on the big Dummy without a winter coat. I grabbed a bunch of groceries and got home in time to put on my SPD shoes and sped to the dealer's on the lightning fast Cross Check to pay a small fortune to have my upper manifold gaskets replaced. I couldn't put my Dummy in the back of the Suburban easily as the Cross Check.