I can't wait for Friday!

I rode in today and it was great. I plan to get some pics up of my route soon. I really like the desert area I ride through. I think I saw a horny toad today. It looked like one anyway. It was sunning itself on a rock and didn't even flinch when I rode by.
I've been having so much fun commuting to work that tommorrow I'm going to the store on Lucy. It will be my first real shopping done by bike and I can't wait! Then on Friday I get to get a new headlight so I can feel more comfortable riding after dark.
Right now I have a set of Blackburn Fleas. They work great, I just want more light to see by. Not sure what I'll get, but it will be bright.

A great ride!

It was a great ride in today! My nethers still Hirt but just being on Lucy was worth it.
Two lizards sped across in front of me and I stopped to let a quail family cross. Did you know quail babies have red feet? I saw the cutesy old couple on their bikes. They wore matching glow yellow shirts and the guy was trying to drop the lady. She kept up though.
The park path was packed with walkers and I used my bell liberally. It took me a bit longer than planned to make it but wasso worth it for the smell of grass.
The ride in was just what I needed to start my day off right! I feel so good when I ride, the day is just full of possibility.

I drove today.

I drove to work today. I was all ready to ride but when I got on the seat my nethers said not today. It actually made me a little sad to not ride. Tommorrow I will definately be on the bike.
I can't believe how much I'm enjoying riding my bike to work. Even the day I was freezing wet and blind was more fun than driving in. I think I've gone a little bit crazy.

Yesterday's ride to work.

I tried out a new route yesterday, I really need to print out the directions when I do that. I ended up getting a little lost but still made it to work on time. It was a great route on a lot of little streets that I didn't even know were there. The only downside was my seat was tilted to far up and it hurt to stop, little side streets have lots of stop signs. I'm going to ride the route again this morning, this time I know the way. At least I hope I do, and my seat is tilted properly.
   I must have looked funny launching of my seat at every stop yesterday, one time I racked my knee and almost fell over. That earned me a look from a passing car. Even in pain I was having more fun than they were. All in all it was a good ride.
     It never fails to amaze me how much I have to learn about riding my bike. This should be a simple thing, but it's not simple at all. So many things to learn, I hope there's not a test.

Here's some pics of Lucy.

This is Lucy before her face lift. She's a Specialized Hardrock from 1993. She looks great for her age, but we decided to jazz her up!

This is her after her face lift. We kept to a similar color scheme, but I had a lot of fun hand painting on the details.

A slightly different view.

This is a closeup of her. I love the flowers! It's too bad the rainbow sparkle doesn't show up well in pictures. She really shines in the sunlight. The letters on top are KBO. It stands for "Keep Buggering On!"

 

 

Here's some Pictures!!!

Rain is interesting

The ride in to work today was great, there was a light sprinkle and even though it was a bit cool I didn't need a jacket. I rode along enjoying the drops and feeling a bit sorry for all the people who were missing out on the smells and the feeling of the drops. It doesn't rain that often here. It was a really good ride and I even saw a rainbow. I was sad when I got to work because I had been having fun splashing about in the few little puddles I found.
     Through out the day the temperature dropped and the rain started coming down even harder. It was a rough ride home. Right now the temp is 45.Man did I wish I had my jacket with me for the ride home. I was so cold I could see my breath and my glasses kept fogging up so I couldn't see where I was going. Not a good way to ride so I decided to take side streets as much as I could to avoid traffic.
     I got lost because I missed a street when I didn't see the sign and ended up going 2 miles out of my way on a long swoopy street.   Finally I stopped for a minute to wipe off my glasses and figure out where I was. Then I laughed at myself because I had been going the wrong direction and hadn't even realized it. I saw some really nice houses before the world went foggy again and I was back on track.
    Fenders would  have been great, the little puddles I played in on the way to work had become giant lakes for the trip home. I must say that the spray Lucy can kick up is quite impressive though. It matched the cars almost in height if not in width.
     I arrived home frozen, blind and dripping, but there was a sense of accomplishment. I did it all by myself and I didn't give up. I just kept blundering on until I made it home. Then I hosed off Lucy and brought her inside, I'll oil her up when she stops dripping. I feel really good about my ride, now it's time for cocoa.
   Life is an adventure, at least there's cocoa.
    

I love tailwinds!

I had a great ride in to work today! There was a tail wind that pushed me up to 22.5 mph. It felt like I was flying! I had to keep reminding myself to relax as I coasted along because I noticed Lucy would sway when I tensed up. I have never gone that fast under my own power, I even passed a car. I can't wait to be able to go that fast without a tailwind.
     I've got to get new brakes on Lucy though, one of my pads is cracked and made a growling noise when I slowed down for a light. They should be easy to change out though. I'm really loving working on her, it's a lot more fun than working on my car. I don't even mind getting greasy.
      Tomorrow they are calling for rain, I doubt it will come but I wish I had fenders. That's next on my list after brake pads. I want big silver ones. If it does rain it will be fun, we don't get a lot here so I'm definitely going out in it. It's going to be a great experience.
     Off to have a new adventure!

It was easier than I thought...

It turned out that changing the cables was easier than I thought it would be and now I have my handlebars set a bit higher. I hope that helps with the numb hands I've been having and I can't wait to try it out on the way to work tomorrow.
   I also ended up painting flowers all over my bike to make her look even better and will try to post some photos soon.
     It's going to be a great ride tomorrow!!!!

Yesterday's Ride

I rode in to work yesterday and it was great. I had my fastest time since I started riding: 0.45.40. That's only 40 seconds slower than my goal speed. My goal is to make it to work in under 45 min by the end of this month. So far I'm on the right track.
     It was a bit warm, and you could smell the dry dust in the air. It's like a faint tickle at the back of your sinuses that makes you think you are going to sneeze but you never do. The sky was this ice blue that just said dry so I kept drinking my water and I must have drank to much because I went through 32 oz on the way in. I only had to stop once though to catch my breath. A nice man in a big truck pulled over to see if I needed help, I thanked him but turned it down then looked in my mirror. I didn't look that bad so why was he worried?
       I need to find a new route though, this is the same route I took in the car and I want to see new things on this grand adventure.
     I'm off work tomorrow so I'm going to change out the cables on Lucy ( that's my bike). I want to try to raise the handlebars a few inches. My hands were going numb on the way to work and as a hairstylist I need to feel them to work.
    My boss is the best and she's letting me park in the back room, how many bosses would do that? Not many! She may think I'm nuts, but she's still supportive of me.
    Off we go!

A little about me

I've decided to bike commute to work because my evil car is having trouble and needs a new battery. Now yes I could just get a new battery, but less than two months ago the darn thing had trouble and cost me around $800 to fix that problem and I'm not going to pour any more money into it right now. My solution is to take a bike that I've had for a while and commute on her as often as I can. It's going to be an Adventure!
     My goal is to make it to work, which is 6.5 miles from my house, in only 45 minutes by the end of the month. The first time I rode it took me over 70 minutes to get there, yes I'm a bit out of shape and I hadn't ridden in a looooong time. But hey, I made it and nobody but my butt got hurt.
     I live in southern Arizona so the summer is going to get hot, but I'm going to go as long as I can before I buy that stupid car a battery. I even have a plan to beat the heat. When it starts to get to hot I'm going to soak my clothes in the shower before I leave for work. It will be like a I'm wrapped in a big swamp cooler, this should be fun. I'll let you know how it works out, hopefully I won't slip off my seat or something.
     Now it's off on my new adventure!!!

Yesterday Was Great!!!

I rode in to work yesterday and it was great. I had my fastest time since I started riding 2 weeks ago: 0.45.40. That's only 40 seconds slower than my goal speed. My dream is to make it to work in under 45 min by the end of this month. So far I'm on the right track.
 I saw two ground squirrels and a hawk on the way, I really love the freedom my bike is giving me. The heat might become a problem later on, but I have a plan. I figure if I soak my clothes before I leave then I will stay cool for the ride and arrive dry and happy.

The beginning

This is my log of my adventures in bicycle commuting. This is going to be great! I've never had a blog before so be patient with me please.