Sept. 14th rides

[Tater]

Tailwind coming in made for a rather quick ride in. Too bad I will have to fight that same wind going home.

The first eight miles of my commute are on a road that doesn't have many street lights and can be rather dark when I go in. No biggie, I am pretty well lit. Well, there I am, six-fifteen a.m., hauling bootie down the bike lane when I see another biker heading straight for me! He has no lights, no reflectors and wearing a black jacket. I have four cars on my left, not giving me much wiggle room so I hold my line on the white line and force him to pass between me and the curb. 'Whoa, hey," says he. "Wrong way, duh?" yelled I. Thankflully we passed without incident. Sheesh, that made my little heart go pitter-patter, though.

Yes, Kano, front der. issues have been solved. Will make sure this Saturday when I take her out for a long ride.

[MomOnBike]

Found the perfect route for the commute today. Low traffic, constant uphill (as opposed to hills and valleys) and only one funky intersection. Not bad for the second day commuting.

I took the scenic route home just to get some miles in and to see how well the knee really feels. (Much better, thanks)

I even sort of enjoyed the wind on the way home.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Frustrated, because it's been raining steadily for two days now- no biking! Waaah, waaahh!...and I've got all my new Smartwool goodies to try out!

[Veronica]

I actually kind of enjoy riding in the rain - providing I can get warm after.

V.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Veronica, what do you do about the brakes not working well in the rain? I got really wet the other day riding in the rain and it was really scary when I tried to brake and felt nothing but spongy squishing. We have a lot of hills here, and I would feel very uneasy having half braking power. Some of those hills end at highway intersections too! How do you handle the problem?

[Veronica]

I use Kool stop orange brake pads once the rainy season comes. They seem to brake a little better. I didn't have them while I was in Nova Scotia and it rained so much. I had the regular Kool stops and they seemed to work okay, even with the trailer.

To be honest, I think just getting out and riding carefully and cautiously. I commute rain or shine. The first time I slid across a steel plate that I normally would just ride across in the dry was eye opening. The more you experience, the better a rider you become.

I start braking sooner...I try to not be riding unknown roads. That wasn't option on the tour. I don't know that I cut my speed much. I'm even more aware of cars and visibility.

I'll probably think of more later.

V.

[Sheesh]

Today was the first we've seen of the sun in at least four days. It was a beautiful sight!

The ride to work this morning was fairly uneventful, though somewhat cool. The ride home this afternoon was wonderful! As I rode along the lakeshore, I could see all of the rush hour traffic which was almost at a standstill. When I drive to work, I get stuck in that on the way home. Today, I was smiling as I zoomed past all of the stopped cars.

[emily_in_nc]

It had rained here for two days straight, so no singletrack for my friend and me today (it was closed anyway). So, we rode fireroads and a paved trail, 16.2 miles total, and had such fun. It was cool and not crowded since most people stayed home (it was still overcast though the rain had stopped by late afternoon). We had done this same route back in June and cut nearly 30 minutes off our time tonight! I felt really good, even on the climbs. I think road riding carrying a load back from the markets the past three Saturdays and starting on Advair for my mild asthma are helping. I felt on fire tonight!

Emily

[mtbdarby]

It was gorgeous here today! I took the afternoon off at work and ran errands, walked the dogs then got out the bike. After sitting for a couple of months, there was, ahh, no air in the tires Pulled out trusty said Road Morph pump and had them inflated in no time. Decided to hook up the trailer and pick up the munchkin early from dc and take him on my ride. He was excited to see me, then complained nonstop! All he wanted was to stop for ice cream and I wanted a workout (can't do that eating ice cream!)

Thought I'd compromise and go through the bank drive through (I love seeing their faces when I go through on my bike, lol) and got the kid a sucker. He didn't want the sucker, wanted ice cream. So he got none and off we went.

It was a short 5 mile ride which I didn't enjoy so much with all the whining, but hey, we got out. And I ate the sucker!

[Kano]

Today was the first we've seen of the sun in at least four days. It was a beautiful sight!

The ride to work this morning was fairly uneventful, though somewhat cool. The ride home this afternoon was wonderful! As I rode along the lakeshore, I could see all of the rush hour traffic which was almost at a standstill. When I drive to work, I get stuck in that on the way home. Today, I was smiling as I zoomed past all of the stopped cars.

Sheesh -- first things first: my dog loves those cuz toys too!

We had clouds here in Boise yesterday for the first time in months, I think, and like you say: it was a beautiful sight! Smoke darkened skies are NOT the same as lovely cool air and clear gray skies!

No ride, though.

Karen in Boise