New shoes & nice weather for a change

Today I was actually able to commute to & from work. The weather this morning was great, it was about 55 degrees out & I had a tailwind to work. I was finally able to try some new shoes I had gotten with a gift certificate I had won on New Year's Day from The Bike Store. I got a pair of Bontrager Mt. Bike shoes. They look as follows:

I'm still tweaking the cleat position, so it's going to take a few rides to get it right, but they are working great as of now. It's actually nice to be able to walk & not sound like a horse clopping through the stores or the hanger at work when I'm off the bike. The only complaint I have so far about the shoes are the insoles that came with them. They have e-soles inserted inside. The one for my left foot feels fine when I'm walking & cycling, but the one for the right foot only feels fine when I'm walking. When I'm cycling the arch position of the insole seems too far forward. I took it out on the commute home & it seems to feel much better without it. I'll probably get another type of insoles & see how they work with the shoes. Speaking of the commute home, it was a hard one, I had a headwind of about 20 mph the entire ride & my legs just seemed a bit on the heavy side. I'm thinking I didn't have the proper food to eat for the ride home. I took a shorter, but hillier route home. There is one good climb on the route I took today & I was able to get up in only downshifting one time. I can tell that my legs are getting stronger & I'm looking forward to commuting as much as possible this year. I'm going to try to surpass 1800 miles commuting this year.

Lousy weather here the past few weeks

Sorry there hasn't been any posts here lately, but the weather has just been too cold to commute. It's been under freezing here most of the mornings, so the commute just isn't as much fun as when it's above 40 degrees. I'm hoping that the weather will get a bit warmer in the mornings, but it probably won't. I guess I'll have to find some extreme cold weather gear to commute when it's this cold. I'll let anyone know if I get to commute here anytime soon.

The difference between two weeks.

Boy the weather sure can change between weeks. About a week ago, the weather was great for commuting. It was a bit cold on a couple of days, but not that bad. I was able to ride at least 3 days that week. Fast forward to this week. The weather was just above freezing every morning. Riding in weather like that, then having to work all day really isn't my idea of fun. It usually takes me sometime to warm up after getting to work and I usually have a chill most of the day. I didn't commute at all this past week because of the cold weather. I'm hoping that the weather is a bit warmer in the mornings this upcoming week. I guess I really just need to quit wimping out and commute as long as it's not foggy or raining. I've already paid for the bike by the amount of gas I've saved by riding to & from work. It's nice not having to fill the tank up as often too.

Time to catch up with things

I'm sorry I haven't posted on here in a while, but last week was pretty much a wash for commuting to & from work. It rained just about every morning when I got up and I have been having sinus problems, so I just felt that getting out in the rain with how I was feeling probably wasn't a very good idea. I know that may sound like a cop out, but I really do enjoy riding to work. Last week just felt like everything slowed down and the work days seemed to last longer and seemed more stressful than when I get to ride to & from work. This past week was a totally different story. The weather each day was clear, cool, & crisp. It made for some nice riding weather. I was able to commute 3 days this week. The only day that was a problem was on the ride home on Thursday. I had ridden hard with some friends after riding home on Tuesday & I guess I was still feeling it. The ride to work that Thursday morning was good, my legs were a bit stiff the first part of the ride, but felt much better the last part of the ride. On the way home, it just seemed that my legs weren't attached to my body. They just felt very heavy and no matter what gear I was in, it just seemed to be too big of a gear. I haven't felt that tired on a bike for a long time. I was just happy to make it home. I'm looking forward to some longer rides this weekend if the weather co-operates.

Good week for commuting

This week the weather has been fantastic. It was only 47 degrees when I left the house this morning, but it felt fantastic. I love riding in the cooler weather. My legs felt good on the way to work, although it took a bit longer to warm them up in the cool weather. There is just something about riding in cool weather and the dark that makes it feel like an adventure each time I do it. I love the fact that when I leave for work, there really isnt' much traffic at that time. The return trip is a totally different story. I'm just happy that I haven't been knocked over a few times with the way some people drive. I have been able to commute 3 days this week. Tomorrow is my treat to myself. On each payday I drive to work and stop and treat myself to a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee. I really love those things & I'd have one every day if I could afford to. Well the early forecasts look like next week will be another good week for commuting. Stay tuned for more adventures.......

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.

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......