dygituljunky

Yesterday pleasantly cool with a stop by the LBS to order handlebars that will hopefully not aggravate my wrist injury so I can get back in the saddle full-time. Within 1/2 a mile of each other, I had two people yell at me to get off the road. I think it was a total of three people for the whole trip. I bet I know the traffic law better than they do... :-D

Today the weather is nice while standing still but a little warm while riding. No yellers, no trip to the LBS. My average speed is picking back up but my wrist can't handle much more than 3 miles. I finally start therapy for the wrist later this month.

bugly64

26F this morning and it felt like 1F. I should have wore my long johns. Once again there wasn't any wind, but it only got up to 39F. I hauled 20lbs of cat litter, 2 one gallon milks and other groceries home for the weekend. The Big Dummy handled it like a champ. I still haven't tested the fenders yet.

GriddleCakes

No comparison to what?

Same old slop, all week long, here in Anch. 30*F in the morning, 40*-45* coming home. MUP's too soft to ride, huge puddles and hidden ice ruts underneath them in the streets. It turns out that my Gore-tex winter boots are only snow-proof, not water-proof. So I've been cycling in rubber boots, which have no grip on ice, and carrying a change of shoes in the panniers.

Had the first crash of the year last night, riding into a 2 inch tall ridge of ice with a full load of groceries and one hand off the bars to signal my stop to nobody. I've been trying to signal regardless of whether there's other traffic about, but I really could've used both hands on the bars instead of one on and one signaling to the empty air. Broke a growler full of beer, put a hole in a pannier with the broken glass, and lost a few spuds under suspicious of maybe have glass shards in them.

Spring sucks. Always has, always will.

clg

Day 2 of my return to riding. Last night there was a nip in the air on my way home at 2am. On the way in it was just like yesterday, warm with a light breeze.

nutcase

Dude that sucks. I mean the beer man! Hope your ok ,but the beer, Dang. All because you were being a decent cyclist, when all the friggin cagers are trying to kill you (us), and you practicing hand signals and all. It's sad. Hope you have a better weekend, as for the frosty carbonated adult beverages, I think I will have a few in memory of their fallen breathern. :-)>

Midol_Mohawk

Its funny because on my commute to this job (I have at least two, sometimes more; plus grad school) I never take the same route to work as I do home. Its only a quick shot downtown, so I will cut straight there down this sidestreet that the city is working on* on my way there but on the way home I will take a slightly more roundabout way because riding downtown at 9:30-10pm is SO relaxing!

*That sidestreet that the city is working on is an interesting project. Mainly because it has been 2+ months with no discernible change in the road. There is a 40 foot stretch that there is no pavement, just dirt and rocks. Thats a fun part of the commute...

GriddleCakes

Thanks for the commiseration! It was very sad to have to dump all that beer out of the bottom of the pannier.

I'm back on the fence about signaling when no one's around. I've got a mirror, so I always know if someone's back there and if I need to signal. I thought that signaling every time would help solidify the habit so that I wouldn't need to think about, but I feel kind of foolish when no one's there. Plus, I hate signaling that I'm stopping, 'cause it takes a hand off the front brake while I'm trying to stop. I only started after almost getting rear-ended by a couple of cagers who apparently thought I was just going to run the stop sign.

Oh well, no bodily harm done, no sense of karmic foul. I'm off to replace my growler before the bar closes.

nutcase

Good for you Bro! Signaling can be a tad dangerous using one hand to control a loaded bike or not, and the cagers still think your just a hindrance to them. I'm sick of that attitude as I'm sure must cyclist are. Keep up the being a good biker,and using proper etiquette. Someday it will be normal. When I ride past the gas station lately and a gallon of gas cost $3.25, I just laugh at the fools who are flippen me of and cutting me off. I'm just getting in better shape to kick their ass when the time comes. Not a violent person , but then again I won't back down either. Surrond that Growler with a jacket to protect you in case of another fall. Later :-)>

fletchh

A very nice warm rainy ride in at 10 C ( 50 F). It started off with a drizzle, then got a bit heavier half way into the ride. My legs just love this warm weather, because they work so much better in warm weather. I also like getting back to how ever temporary, to sleeveless too.

vtjim

First day back from vacation in Denver. Nice city. Single speeds and fixies everywhere. We were hanging out at The Great Divide and a bunch of guys showed up on their bikes. I was jealous. For several reasons, my wife and I were taken with the city and are seriously considering a move.

Commute-wise, I think I was acclimatized to the mile high altitude because I had my fastest ride of the year this morning, without wind. It's a little bit foggy and in the low 30sF. I heard geese but they were in the clouds and I couldn't see them. I also saw a loon floating in the lake.

Back to work.

tarwheel 

Warm but wet ride this morning. I had planned to drive because the forecasters were calling for thunderstorms overnight and this morning, but it was dry when I got up. I checked the radar and there were just a few sprinkles around, so I decided to ride after all. However, those few little showers hunted me down on the way to work and I got fairly wet but not soaked. It was worth it to get a ride in, particularly since the weather is supposed to be nice this afternoon.

Chalupa102

Commute was very smooth this morning. 42F with winds from the NNE @ 5mph. I left my house a little later than i was hoping but actually made it here the same time as i do leaving earlier. Normally it takes about 1.5 hrs, but today it only took 1hr and 15min to go 19.1 miles. Most of the stop lights that are usually red were green. It did seem traffic was a lot heavier though. They're expecting rain for the afternoon commute, so we'll see how that goes when i head home in about 6hrs.

ortcutt

Pleasant ride in, although rain's predicted for the trip home. There's been a fair amount of speculation at the C&V forum over what's been driving up prices on ten-speed frames from the seventies and eighties. Well, if scarcity has anything to do with it, then blame BU undergrads. Now that the weather's improving, Comm. Ave has become the scene of a constant parade of Peugeots, Raleighs, Schwinns (no Paramounts, though, as far as I've noticed), Bridgestones, (steel) Treks, Miyatas, Centurions, etc. Tip of the hat to these kids' good taste.

HardyWeinberg

39F, sunny, damp

geared down from 42/17 to 42/18, big improvement on steady churn uphill to the office. Won't get to find out how it is on the screaming descents home until Thursday or Friday though.

no motor?

My second day of commuting this season, and it was warm enough for short sleeves. I even left early today, and got to really stretch my time out. I even saw the old lady being walked by her tiny dog that loves to come toward me on my side of the path, I bet she missed me as much as I've missed her.

EKW in DC

This morning was warm and almost, dare I say, muggy? Temps in the 50s but the humidity was sky high. Didn't get rained on but saw lots of ominous looking dark clouds around, which produced a lunchtime thunderstorm. Hoping for a dry ride home, but if not, that's why I got fenders!

Friday afternoon on the way home got a flat. First one since I got my new MiniMorph over the holidays. Changed out the tube and was riding again in a few minutes. The MimiMorph worked great! Great little pump. Warned a few passing cyclists about the hard-to-see glass that caused it. Hopefully they were able to avoid it. It was the only thing that spoiled an otherwise delightful ride home w/ temps in the 60s and lots of sun. And even at that, the successful real-world trial of my MiniMorph made even the flat seem like not too big a deal.

Surfindixon

Getting light just after 5.30am here which makes the cycle into work all the more enjoyable. It was a cracking morning but my colleague, whom arived about an hour behind me, was blown about and suffered severe rain. Must've caught that 'weather window' .

However on the way back home it was BIIIIIG RAIN!!!!! Can't say it was a problem though

Chalupa102

The afternoon commute heading home was a bit wet, but was expected and wasn't too horrible. 49F with scattered rain showers and winds from the E @ 7mph giving me headwinds. I finally got to see my fenders in action and they worked like they should. I ordered last gear but there was an issue with the shipping so i don't have it yet. I was supposed to have it by last Wednesday. Given the clothes that i wore because i was expecting rain, they held up pretty well keeping me relatively dry for the most part.

mtessmer

Hmmm... a lot of people talking rain. We're enjoying lots of sunshine. Started my commute in the mid 20's F and it topped 50F on the way home. Great bike commute. They have even swept up allot of the sand from the roads from the winter. Our snow is gone which is odd for this time of year.

vrkelley

Still off the bike from recent car/bike accident. Weather is getting nice too!

heywood

Soggy commute in to the city this afternoon for my night shifts. I've got those booties too but they really don't do anything for the rain except soak your shoes, good if it's cool out though, they do keep your feet warm. Temp was 6C at the start of my ride but went down as I approached Toronto, but I brought extra layers and put them on as it got cooler although the rest of my gear was pretty soaked and covered in road grime. Oh well all part of spring I guess. The ride was good but I'm looking forward to drier weather later in the week, don't mind cold on the bike but really could do without the damp.

bugly64

Rain didn't materialize; bummer. It will never rain again because I have full fenders. The wind blew in the opposite direction it normally does today. I enjoyed not eating wind on the way home for a change.

fletchh

A good ride in and the temps are still good at 3 C (38 F). A large police presence this morning around 5;15, and that is unusual. There was a fellow talking to himself in a bus shelter, but that is not unusual. He might have been speaking to me, but I don't hear well with my stretch hood on. When
I retire, I may take up residence in a bus shelter and speak to people as they come in, or to myself when no one is there.

tarwheel 

For the second day in the row, showers moved through our area just as I was getting up and ready for work. Yesterday I rode through the rain, but today decided to drive -- mainly because I had an errand to run. I ordered a new rear wheel for one of my bikes the weekend before last, and when I inspected it after it arrived, it had a substantial dent in the rim. Not good, particularly for a brand new wheel. So I had to forsake riding one day so I can take the wheel by a UPS store to ship back to the bike parts company. I'm kind of ticked because not only am I missing a commute, but it will probably take 1-2 weeks before I get the replacement wheel. I am curious about the company's quality control because the wheel actually had an inspection tag hanging from it, and the dent is very obvious.

vtjim

Soggy! Steady rain all the way in. Everything that shouldn't get wet was in plastic. Mid-30sF. I heard a Red-Winged Blackbird, so it's officially spring.

Riding home yesterday, I heard a metallic "pop" and knew I'd busted a spoke. Yep, rear wheel. Only slightly out of true, so I continued on my way, and of course I rode in this morning. Will go to LBS when it opens. Even MTB wheels can't take my abuse.