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.