Cycle Ti Thunder

I am so happy that my Zombie Raccoon cycling cap came in the mail today.   +Kent Fackenthall  did a great job on designing this cap.  Now All I need are some Zombie Raccoon slacks to round out my outfit.

On my bike commute home on Friday I rode really fast. I was trying to make it home on my 25 mile ride in under 90 minutes. I made it. I was feeling depressed at the slow commutes this month. It has been a cold stretch of weather, but I wanted to see if I could still ride fast like I do in the summer.

Tonight I was taking my short route home because my wife had some friends call and they wanted to go to dinner with us.  I was riding along listening to random songs from my offline playlist from Spotify and a selection from Handel's Messiah came on.  I played it twice as I rode home. I am the son of a African Methodist minister and a music teacher.  I was raised to revere theological thought and music.  I can remember learning to sing Handel's Messiah for a Billy Graham Crusade in Los Angeles as a young child.  On Sundays as a child I would listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on the radio and I loved to hear them sing.  I know this may surprise some of you who may be reading this that know me but I have a deep appreciation for classical music. So today when I was riding home and For Unto Us A Child Is Born came on my blue tooth speaker I was so happy.  I was spinning along and treated the song just like any other song to set my pace and pedal s...

Tonight I took my zigzag route home.  I had to stop by a local business to pick up a check for payment on a freelance project.  I wanted to still ride for at least 20 miles before going home so I did a zigzag through Albany.  I rode really fast on the leg from the office to my house.  I was inspired because I was listening to Taj Mahal's "YOU AINT NO STREET WALKER MAMA HONEY BUT I DO LOVE THE WAY YOU STRUT YOUR STUFF" on m y Spotify "let's Boogie" playlist.  I really felt like riding as fast as I could from the office to my house. My playlist. I hated spin classes on a stationary bike in a gym, but my outdoor spin class is a blast.

My commute home last night on February 15, 2016 was really windy.  A storm front was moving in from the south which means that it was time to do some training.  The wind gusts were so strong at times that my bike almost came to a stop as I pedaled forward.  Did I really want to ride 25 miles in this wind, or should I take the short route home? 2/15/2016 Wind Wind Speed 12   mph  (SE) Max Wind Speed 25   mph Max Gust Speed 33   mph Visibility 8   miles Events Rain Since my commute goes in all directions at some point in the route I can enjoy the benefits and the penalties of strong wind no matter which direction it is blowing.  My ideal day is for the wind to blow from the north west in the morning and from the south east in the evening.  Usually it is just the opposite as a weat...

Yesterday morning it was 22 degrees and I rode to work really slow. Today during my morning it was 52 degrees and I rode a tad faster. The biggest problem I have had this winter is the drastic changes in the temperature. I do not have a rack on my bike so I have to carry my extra clothes stuffed in my pockets in the afternoon when it is 30 degrees warmer than when I ride in the morning.  today I will not have to pack the extra gear as I rode in with just my arm and leg warmers on.  It was really humid as a warm front is pushing in from the Gulf.

Today as I rode another morning bike commute in the cold dark of winter I noticed that the grass on the side of the roads was finally dying out. Usually the weather does not get cold enough on consecutive days down here to kill off grass and weeds.  After several days with the temperatures dropping well below freezing the grass is finally turning brown. Today at my house the outside temperature at 4:30 AM was 29 degrees.  I decided to suite up with an extra layer of leggings to keep my thighs from turning red after the 25 mile commute.  I also added an extra layer by wearing my Cabal sweater under my long sleeve PCP jacket.  I topped this off with my favorite winter jacket, the Shower Pass Elite. The lowest temperature recorded on my Garmin was 22.7 degrees.  It always gets the coldest right before the sun comes up.  I am usually towards the end of my commute when the temperature drops to the lowest of the ride.  I stopped to take a photo of my Gar...

I got a little crazy with the warm weather on my evening ride home.  For some reason my legs felt like sprinting for some short distances.  One of the things that is hard for me to deal with with southern winters is the fact that thee is no consistency in the weather.  Sometimes I wish it would stay cold for a few days and not jump around.  Today it was 45 degrees on the morning commute and 70 degrees on the evening commute. This is the first full day of commuting with my Note 5.  My Note 5 is about 1/8 inches narrower than the state owned phone that I turned last week.  The Note 5 fits perfectly in my top tube bag.  I can get the Note 5 in the front flap without pressing the power button. One my way home I took a picture of a typical sunset on Leary Road. Sunset on Leary Road at the halfway point of my 25 mile commute.