Smack! New helmet time

I was actually looking forward to my first rain commute of the season. Despite dire warnings from the fear-mongering weather folks I started out with a wet but delightful tail wind, and was feeling pretty good in my rain clothes.

Then, riding through an area I ride every day, I caught my front wheel on a cement lip running parallel to my path. I'm guessing that because it was so wet, and it was the first rain of the season, the road was extra slippery. I didn't do a slow fall like in the movies, I just went boom. i smacked right into the pavement and whipped my head onto the ground.

As crashes go, it wasn't that bad. I got a bloody elbow, a big headache, and I'm sure I'll have impressive bruises. But nothing on the bike broke.

When I got to work I ordered a new helmet. I'm upgrading my Bell Sweep to a Bell Volt. The Sweep isn't cracked or anything, but I'm being a proper cyclist and replacing it anyway.

UPDATE: The Volt is here, and I like it even more than the Sweep! It has a nice adjustment for the back that let's me dial in the fit better than any helmet I've ever had.

I'm so tired of fog

I am I am I am I am so freakin' tired of tule fog. Today it was much lighter, and I could actually see across the street, but all too often it's been at maximum density.

Here in Antioch, the Bay Area, but really on the delta near the edge of the valley, the fog won't stop. I'm not a huge fan of sub-40 riding, but I can do it. Toss in wet yucky fog and all the fun is gone.

Sea fog can be nice, it has texture. It comes and goes. It's sometimes playful.
The fog here is Stephen King style, dark and relentless, with no redeeming values.

Just to taunt us, it hangs in the low areas where we live, but leaves the peaks clear, just so we know what we're missing. Even a drive over Kirker Pass can reveal a sunny crisp sunglasses day before you descend back into the muck.

The dampness seeps into your clothes even more than rain. It collects on your glasses. It drips off your helmet. It makes you, even if you have a geek-style blinky light, invisible to the cars that seem to speed down the road beyond all reason.

In the "light" of the day, and I use the word light to mean "not pitch black" it's still a depressing gray of evil that looks like smoke, but without any warmth. In the dark it makes a hole in your heart.

Bring me rain. Or bring me sun. Bring me fluffy clouds. This has got to stop.

Seasons change

Even though the time changed and it's lighter in the morning, the days are getting shorter and colder. The fog that sits on the canal during my morning commute has reappeared, but the bugs seem to be gone for now.

Curtis the commuter

I arrive at Los Medanos College long before the students and sometime before the sun is up. My commute is only 8 miles, but I wear my full-tilt road kit just becaue it's comfortable. This semester I'm added the baskets, which allow me to carry lots and lots of junk. In this photo I'm hauling a large photo in the tube, a heavy camera bag, my laptop, clothes and lunch.

Commuting - back to school

Los Medanos College has started the Fall semester, and I've once again started my daily commute. I've added a few new elements.

• Sandals: I bought a pair of Nashbar sandals that have SPD cleats. It felt a bit odd at first, but the mornings are warm and the evenings are downright hot. It feels good to have the wind blowing through my toes. It'll be interesting to see how long it is before it's too cold to enjoy wearing them.
• Rack and baskets: I got a rack and a pair of shopping baskets big enough to carry all my clothes and food. No more driving in on Sundays with a weeks worth of stuff! They do feel like I'm dragging a parachute behind me, especially on windy days, but I think it's worth it. I still carry the laptop in my backpack. I'm not brave enough to hang it off the bike -- yet.

New commute record

This isn't a big deal, except for me.
I started commuting in September. It took 50 minutes to do my 8.19 miles. I've gotten faster and faster. I don't always hammer the ride, sometimes I just take it easy, so this isn't a daily test.

First ride: 50:00
Last PR: 34:50
New record: 29:35

Five minutes faster than my last PR and pushing twice as fast as my first day!

I also rode my new bike today. Usually I take my skinny tire commuter bike with light, but I'm leaving work before dark today so I took the road bike. Lack of wind helped too.
Still, it's a PR and I'm really stoked!

My Google Maps

I just found the new My Maps at Google. I made a map of my commute. It seems pretty neat. Here's hoping other cyclists make maps of cool routes and make them public. If you do, let me know!

Faster than...

Holy smokes, Batman. I'm so pumped up over ordering a bike that I set personal best on my commute. The first ever commute took 50 minutes. I've got it down to a hair under 40. Today: 34:50.
These are ride times, based on a bike computer that doesn't register when I stop. Still stops and restarts to add time. I hit most of the traffic well today and didn't have to stop and that helped lower my time, but still, a new record is born.
UPDATE: Bikesdirect.com emailed saying I can expect it on Monday
Days since bike order: still just 2

The commute

The weather has gone from cold to 80 in the afternoon. The sun is out, the shy is bright. The commute is a delight, thanks for asking. It must be time to remove the mudflap.

Dear Road Bike

Dear Road Bike,
You know I love you. I've loved you since the day I first saw you in 1987. Your Cannondale Black Lightning body, your matching parts, your golden highlights set my heart afire as they always have. Didn't I ride you 100K this weekend? Don't I buy you new tires at the slightest hint?
But I know you are wondering where I am during the week.
I confess.
That Red Cannondale F500 mountain bike you room with? Lost a lotta weight recently, no? The light wheels, the 1" Tom Slicks, the new 12-23 cluster.
I'm sure you noticed the new chain too.
Well, I guess you know who bought the chain. I guess you know who I've been riding to work every day.
It's not that things between us have changed, it's just that I've gotten older. I like -- maybe need -- a little suspension in the morning, in a way I didn't twenty years ago.
So, yes damn it, I'm riding to work every day, from now on, with Red. A cushy, quick, practical ride with a back pack.
But we'll still have the weekends, won't we? It's just that I have so many miles to give.
I knew you'd understand.
Yours forever,
Curtis