arsprod 

73F and managed to miss the rain again. The real kicker is the winds have shifted each day so headwinds both ways. I guess that's the trade off for no rain?!

no motor?

1st day commuting again in a while, I'm glad to see the rain gone for the time being.

groovestew

We could certainly use the rain that some of you guys are tiring of around here. That said, this morning's ride was perfect under sunny skies and almost no wind. This is one of those days where I could spend all day riding.

wphamilton

For the first time in I guess years, I got the punish pass intimidation move today. Twice, once this morning from an empty school bus of all things, with absolutely no rationale behind it. Two lanes completely clear, and I'm right of the fog line then this bus buzzes me? Just a passing annoyance really, and I'd completely forgotten about it until this evening.

On my way home on Windward Ave I hear a triple honk, extended. Glancing in my sunglasses mirror I see a black SUV close behind, and crowding the left lane, but at my speed for the moment. You have to hold your line in situations like that. Seconds later with a huge roar he's bulling his way by, with about six inches to spare. I didn't yell, gesticulate, pound on his vehicle or anything like that, or even get particularly mad. But then the thought occurred to me, this guy doesn't have a clue. He really doesn't realize that the only way he could get away from any half-decent cyclist is if the cyclist doesn't go to the trouble of chasing him down.

And I'm truly not fast but even a grey-haired out of shape commuter can give a good accounting for a short stretch. So I caught him pretty quickly, staying 20-30 feet back until he saw me and gave it the gas. I just sped up, still in the fool's draft. I could tell he was looking for a place to run, trying to find a gap in the other lane and looking for turn-offs, but there's nowhere to go on that road. We caught the lights green and I was getting knackered, plus I started to laugh which kind of hurt since I'm still nursing this broken collarbone so I pulled off to do a box-turn left and let him go.

But then a thought struck me, again, as I watched him jerking that Ford around making his escape. Still trying to get over, he's probably wanting to go left at Northpoint. I know a shortcut. I could mess with his tiny mind again. So I cross over down a dead end side road and cut through the AT&T parking lot out onto Northpoint, fortuitously completely clear of traffic. I hammered down Northpoint catching every light green, and sure enough a mile or so later there he is sitting at a stoplight in the left lane. I glided by pretending that my lungs weren't trying to stage a rebellion, taking a good long look at his license plate. I looked up as I rolled by and was rewarded with this priceless dear in the headlights look, which I arrogantly ignored and filtered to the front for a welcome rest. When I finally saw him again about a half mile further, it was with an impressive distance away and with every aspect of careful driving.

baron von trail 

Wet ride this morning; hot and humid ride home this afternoon. Repeat of yesterday.

jgadamski

I've been back on the bike for a 7 mile commute for the past month or so.. 7 miles gets the heart going, but not too much. about 30 minutes of commute time in a relatively safe place..ie neighborhood greenways which are residential streets with preference given to cyclists and peds. One part of my ride leads me over Interstate 5 to see all the cars lined up, inching along to or from their jobs. I won't apologize for the intense smugness I feel.

heysmellthis

Beautiful commute to work and court today 22 miles but my elbow is bothering me I'm new to this only my fifth day

essiemyra

A very nice ride by the flower garden this morning, then off for the remainder of my commute which was uneventful yet pleasant.

dramiscram

Beautiful beautiful morning, bright sun, no Wind, cool temperature, perfect condition. I left home earlier this morning to take a few pics along the Yamaska river. I was a sad thing that I had to stop at the garage to work...

mgw4jc

Hilarious story. I bet he is now having nightmares of cyclists popping up everywhere he goes. Hopefully he now realizes he isn't as anonymous as he thinks he is in his truck.

Warmer this morning at about 76F, but a tad less humid: 69% instead of the normal 90+%. I don't think we hit 100 yesterday afternoon and probably won't today either, but it is hot when I start out after work. Amazingly though I'm not all that sweaty when I get home.

baron von trail 

Heavy rain this AM, more expected throughout the day. No commute today.

tarwheel 

I got scared away from commuting yesterday by the forecasts calling for 102 F temperatures and various health warnings. I probably could have handled the heat just fine because it "only" reached 100 and I rode the previous day when the high hit 99. Regardless, it was a good excuse to drive and stop at the gym on way home to do some weight lifting for upper body strength, something I've been slacking off on lately. I'm back in the saddle today because we are having a cool spell and the high is only supposed to reach 97. The morning ride was very pleasant, as have been all my morning commutes lately, but as usual I arrive at work totally soaked from sweat. Good thing we have showers.

arsprod 

OK, you can have it. Rain, rain, rain, but never fails to that someone asks me the question "what do you do when it rains?" I get to answer "get wet." Snark

noglider 

My bike has sat, without its rear wheel, in my office since Friday evening. Yesterday, I brought my rebuilt rear wheel from home to the office on the subway, intending to ride home yesterday. I lost my nerve because there was a thundershower possibility, and I was running late and needed to make dinner for guests and my wife. Interesting that I still have to gather nerve before embarking on a bike trip between home and work. I intend to ride home today. The weather is gorgeous. We are expecting a high of 78ºF (25ºC), and humidity is low. This has been the coolest June I can remember. Some days, it feels downright cold. But I'm not complaining!

KCBikeCommuter

They are installing a new streetcar line in KC, so the streets around the River Market area have been a mess for months. Again this morning, my normal route had to be altered since they had 3rd street closed. I jumped up on an empty sidewalk for a second to get around a traffic cone and make a turn down another side street. As I came off the curb I heard the sound of my pannier hitting the ground and being drug behind by the strap. Crap! I quickly stopped to assess the damage. Nothing in the spokes... good. Pannier (which was just carrying clothes today) in good shape too... great! Definitely could have been worse.

I guess I need to tighten the strap a bit... and maybe come off the curbs a little easier.

PennyTheDog

OK, come on-- yesterday was the best commute EVER! First, it was perfect weather: 75 with no wind and no clouds. Before I left my neighborhood I saw someone running toward me, and it was 1992 (I think) Olympic marathoner Janice Klecker. Being a former runner and big running fan, I was excited to meet her, and she was the friendliest person. One of her sons is a high school senior having a breakout track season, and is one of the top 3 to 10 prep runners in the country. We chatted about his season, him starting at Colorado in the fall… it was really fun.

Then on the way home, I was taking my usual route, which I’ve probably done 1000 times, and there was a guy standing outside his house after just finishing a run. I did a double take, and it was my office mate and closest confidant from graduate school! We’d lost touch over the years, but it turns out I bike past his house twice a day. He showed me around and we exchanged phone numbers. What a cool day!

groovestew

Cool, with wet streets from an early morning rain, but no active rain during the commute.

I had to alter my route a bit to get around some road closures due to a funeral procession for a police officer killed in the line of duty. Because the main street through downtown was closed, the surrounding roads were packed with cars inching their way into the city core. But nobody was trying to leave downtown, so I was able to safely salmon my way past the worst traffic and didn't lose any time.

essiemyra

The commute in this morning was a nice uneventful ride, with cloudy skies and cooler temp. I rode the 8 mile ride in this am due to being a little tired.

Last evening I decided to extend the ride home to 20 miles. On a stretch of a quiet country road some guy screamed out his car window" do you own the road?" I was riding down the middle of my side. I did not respond. Though after that ride home last night I slept great!

tarwheel 

We had several thunderstorms over night, including one at 5 am, but the sky was clear when I left for work at 6:30. Roads were still wet for a few miles but completely dry most of the way to work. The high is supposed to reach 98-99 F today but I don't believe it. The forecasters have been over-predicting our high temperatures all week by several degrees. Regardless, I'm apparently acclimated to heat now because my commute home yesterday afternoon felt downright balmy at 94 degrees.

mgw4jc

"Yes! Would you like to borrow some of it?"

Hotter and muggier here - more of both today than any other day this year probably. And a forecast high of 100 again, though yesterday it only reached 96. It got hot enough in Charlotte to expand some concrete in one neighborhood.

arsprod 

Great story! Ride home yesterday - wet, ride in this morning - wet, predicted ride home tonight - wet... noticing a trend

Norg

I commuted to work for the very first time today I'm still very new to cycling and bought my first bike just a few weeks ago, but I figured it was time to give it a go.

It took me just over half an hour to make the 6 mile commute. It was pretty hot, around 80 degrees with 60% humidity, so it took me a good 15 minutes to cool off once I arrived at the office. The commute itself was fine - much of it is on fairly busy roads, but it's pretty satisfying to whizz past cars that are stuck in traffic. I'm not entirely sure that I've found the best route possible yet, but I'm sure that will come in time.

timvan_78

great commutes lately: dry, hot, fast. This AM I left the house late and picked up 15 minutes through route selection, hammering, and being lucky with green lights.

It has been so very dry here, that forest fire season is in full swing. There is a fire up in the elaho river valley (1600 acres), near the Elaho Giant--a 1,000 year old Douglas-Fir. I'm glad I took the kids to see it last year.

ChicagoDan

Today's commute was great! I rode the full 35 miles in, and the last few blocks were on the route of the Blackhawks championship parade route. The crowds were in a boisterous mood, and the road was mostly closed to traffic, so whenever someone came by on the street, people were cheering for them. A fellow commuter from my building said he felt like throwing his hands up over his head like he had won the Tour de France!

essiemyra

I understand the joking around of your answer, but when I am out on a lonely country road by myself I try not to antagonize anyone. My safety is top priority to me.