Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Off to a good start this week

This week's off to a much better start than last week. The weather today was great and the ride in felt good. My legs felt a bit heavy after yesterday's ride, but that's the way it goes sometimes. The ride home was uneventful, but after lifting batteries all day long at work, my legs were a bit on the heavy side. The forecast for the rest of the week looks good for commuting, Thursday looks to be a bit on the cool side, but that's ok. I'll ride as long as it's not raining or foggy. Last week I was able to commute at least one way each day of the week, so I felt good about that. I didn't realize that I had put that many miles on the bike just by riding to & from work. I guess it does all add up in the end.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Better day today.

Today was a much better commute. I had no problems whatsoever. I took a hillier route to work today to make up for not getting to ride much yesterday. My legs felt ok going up the climbs. The weather was a bit on the cool side, had to break out the arm & knee warmers. It felt good riding in the cool weather. The commute home was even better. My legs felt great on the way home & I had a bit of a tailwind most of the way home. I kept up a good cadence and had a good comfortable ride home. Everything on the bike worked great. As I was putting my ride info into my computer, I noticed that I have commuted almost 1,500 miles this year. The commute to work will put me over that mark. I didn't realize I was even close to that number of commuting miles. It feels good not having to fill the tank up so much. Stay tuned for more commuting adventures......

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

What a lousy start to the week!!!!!!

I got up this morning feeling a bit stiff & sore from mountain biking yesterday, but still determined to commute into work today. I thought that if I rode in, my legs and back might not feel as sore as they did when I woke up. I dressed, ate breakfast, let the dogs out, & fed them before finally heading to work. The weather was great, about 60 degrees when I left, so I had to break out the arm & knee warmers. I had a comfortable pace going, wasn't planning on pushing it very hard. I passed under an overpass near Robins, AFB, when I noticed that the rear wheel felt a bit on the mushy side. Oh no I thought, not another flat. Sure enough, my rear wheel was flat. I took off the rear wheel and proceeded to remove the tire & tube. I found out that I had ran over some type of staple & that was the cause of my flat rear. I pulled out the new tube, only to find out it was the wrong size. I had to call a friend to pick me up & take me back home. I called in work to tell them what happened & that I would be late. I showered, dressed, & headed to work. I was about half way, when I realized that I had forgotten my work badge, so I had to turn around & head back home to get it. I got to work about 30 minutes late. I stayed an extra 30 minutes to make up the time. I headed to The Bike Store to get 2 new, correct size tubes. I installed one & now the bike is ready for tomorrow's commute. I hope I have better luck tomorrow. Stay tuned to find out.....

Friday, September 19, 2008

Good week for commuting

This past week was a good week for commuting. I was able to commute 3 out of the 4 days of my work week. The light system I've been borrowing has been fantastic. It puts out great light and lasts the entire commute without dimming much at all. The weather this week has been great. We finally have some cooler weather and it's nice not to have my jersey soaked by the time I get to work. I love riding in cooler weather. The bike has been pretty much bullet proof since getting that last flat. That's about all I have for this week, stay tuned for more commuting adventures......

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Back into the swing of things

Today I put the lighting system Charles loaned me to good use. It's from Sigma Sport and has a 5 watt and a 10 watt lamp. The battery for this system is much smaller and lighter than the one I had before. I mainly just used the 5 watt lamp and it gave off great light. I did use the 10 watt lamp when I was passing through some very dark sections and never had a problem seeing where I was going. My legs felt great both on the way to work and on the way home afterwards. I'm hoping to ride the rest of this week & it seems that the weather is going to co-operate and get cooler all week. I'm looking forward to the cooler temps and lower humidity on the rides into work. Just doing my best to save some gas.........

Monday, September 15, 2008

Still around

I know it's been way too long since my last post, just got my computer back & am looking foward to doing some more updates. The Ergon grips are working great. I added a trunk rack for the bike & that has really helped. I was riding to work one day a few weeks ago & ran over something and blew the rear tube. I caught a ride to work with a friend and during my work break found out that not only did I blow the tube, I ran over a good sized piece of metal that put a hole in the sidewall of the tire. I replaced both tire and tube and rode as much as I could when the weather permitted. Last week I found out that I have to purchase a new battery for my lighting system. I've had the system for quite a few years, so this wasn't a total surprise for me. Until I get the new batter, Charles is letting me borrow his Sigma Sport lighting system. I'm hoping the weather co-operates Tuesday morning to give it a shot. If I like this system, I just might purchase a new system instead of just a new batter. Thanks to everyone who reads this.