Yes, I rode to work today.

Back to work for one day and then the weekend. Not a bad deal. The weather is great.

The oil in the Symba has been changed. Used to have to adjust the chain at each oil change or before.  No more. The chain hasn't needed any adjustment since it was changed. I'm very pleased about that.

• 54F/12C and a few clouds for the ride into work. The sun is right on the horizon right now. Blinding.
• 72F/22C and clear for the ride home. Pretty windy with gusts up to 25mph.

Yes, I rode to work today.

It was a short day because of the Jewish New Year. I left work at 3pm today. I will be at Services tonight and tomorrow morning. Later Billie will get a New Year's present. She will get her oil changed.

The day began with breakfast with my daughter. She was in for a visit from Virginia. It was a short visit, but sweet.

The ride home found the Pack-Jacket stowed away. The Tourmaster mesh jacket was just right for the ride home. Great day to ride.

• 60F/16C and mostly cloudy for the ride into work.
• 75F/24C and mostly cloudy for the ride home.

Yes, I rode to work today.

The sunrise was gorgeous but didn't want to sit still for my camera.

I got this shot while waiting behind a school bus.

By the time I took this one the show was pretty much over.

During my afternoon break I sat and watched the clouds out the window. The clouds were heavy much like in the above picture. But, in ten minutes they were almost gone. It was much like watching the sun set. It seems to hang in the sky and then suddenly it is gone. It was like that with the clouds today. I guess I witnessed the transition from mostly cloudy to partly cloudy.

• 59F/ and mostly cloudy for the ride into work.
• 70F/ and partly cloudy for the ride home.

Yes, I rode to work today.

It is Monday and although the National Weather Service said it was partly cloudy there was plenty of sunshine for the ride into work. On the ride home? That was another story.  It was plenty cloudy by anyone's definition. Even though it was in the 70'sF for the ride home there was a chill in the air. Traffic was light on the way in, but on the way home it seemed heavier than usual.

Today while riding I was working on complete stops and putting my foot down. In this land of the rolling stop, I've gotten sloppy. The most surprising thing about the practice today was the number of folks at four-way stops that waved me through. Admittedly, it was my right of way in each case, but it was nice to know they really saw me.

• 49F/9C and partly cloudy for the ride to work.
• 72F/22C and mostly cloudy for the ride home.

Yes, I rode to work today.

It was clear on the ride into the City, but the fog was very intense over the Mississippi. I could see it hanging there like a big curtain. The old no longer in use car deck of the MacArthur Bridge disappeared into the fog. I was short on time and the light was wrong, but it would have made a great photo. It definitely was one that got away.

This was the first morning I wished I had my breath guard back in my GMAX helmet. I fogged up a little. I should have worn the THH motoX helmet with the Fog Evader. Oh well.

It is a big weekend Downtown. The Cubs are in town and it is Taste of St. Louis.

They have streets around the Soldier Memorial blocked off and lined with booths.

A co-worker said they were going to raffle off a Cadillac each day during the Taste of St. Louis.

Perhaps because I was bummed at not getting the picture earlier I decided to try and get a picture I'd been looking at for most of the summer.

If you click to make the picture bigger and look at the balconies you will see gardens. I love this. 

It's Friday. Have a great weekend and be safe.

Yes, I rode to work today.

And, I was surprised by the weather. I really wasn't expecting it to rain. Fortunately, it didn't rain during my ride times, but if it had, I had my rain gear with me. I also expected it to warm up a bit more. Still, no problem as I had to dress for the AM ride anyway. Between the National Weather Service and the Weather Channel I'm not surprised very often. I do stay away from the local TV channel's weather. There seems to be too much drama involved in their forecasts. I have a co-worker who seems to believe it is going to rain nearly everyday and says she hears it on the news. I don't think the local forecasters are off the mark that much, but I've come to take their predictions with a good dose of skepticism.

There just seemed something very right about this scene.

• 56F/13C and partly cloudy for the ride to work.
• 60F/16C and clearing for the ride home.

Yes, I rode today.

It was a long day. I had class after work. I am tired.

At Class my friend, the teacher, was commenting on a new song he's learned for the High Holidays. I'm looking forward to learning it from him. It sounds really wonderful.

Grabbed me some Jimmy John's on the way to class. Gobbled it down and watched the show.

And, now bed is sounding like a very good option.

• 61F/16C and partly cloudy for the ride to work.
• 77F/25C and partly cloudy but lots of sun for the ride to class.
• 68F/20C and dark for the ride home.

Yes, I rode today.

And yes, I rode to work with the sun in my eyes. Today I was very glad to be wearing the smoke goggles.

I encountered patches of fog along the way in, but visibility was fine. The closer I got to the River the fog intensified.

By midday the fog was long gone.

Saw this scoot as I walked to lunch.  49cc scoots can park anywhere they want.

And, by time to go home the weather was glorious.

• 55F/13C with patches of fog for the ride to work.
• 75F/24C and beautiful for the ride home.

Yes, I rode today.

It was almost too dark this morning for the smoke goggles. It was overcast, but looks like tomorrow I'll be riding into the rising sun once again and will glad to have them.

• 66F/19C and overcast with mist for the ride to work.
• 69F/21C and mostly cloudy for the ride home.

 

Yes, I rode today.

Weather wise, today was much like yesterday, but a few degrees warmer. It did throw me a curve and shed a few sprinkles.

When I went out at lunchtime I saw this street lined on both sides with food trucks and vendors. Don't know what was going on, but I thought it was rather nice.

There seemed to be quite a few people checking things out.

I'm working on a special project in the Civil Courthouse but all my stuff is in the Criminal Courthouse. So, everyday around a quarter of five I make my way over to sign out and gear up. On my way I saw one of the horse drawn carriages. Every time I see them I smile.

Riding home I passed the old State Hospital. I love the sky this time of year.

Have a wonderful weekend.

• 54F/12C & overcast for the ride to work.
• 66F/19C & mostly cloudy for the ride home.

Yes, I rode today.

Garbage truck. This morning I found myself behind a garbage truck. I was about four cars behind the truck and there were cars behind me. The truck wasn't making stops to pick up refuse. It was just moving very slowly. Where did this truck come from? Two years I've been traveling this route and never before has there been a garbage truck. I guess I was just lucky today. If so, I hope I'm not so lucky again.

As I left the Courthouse this evening I noticed my Symba key wasn't on my key ring. I suspected I knew where it was and I was right. When I got to the Symba there it was proudly sticking in the ignition. Oh well, first time I've done that in quite awhile.

• 46F (8C) & mostly cloudy* for the ride into work
• 62F(17C) & mostly cloudy* for the ride home

*But, it was a rather sunny mostly cloudy.

Yes, I rode today.

It rained. But, my gear kept me dry.

I wasn't the only one riding, but there weren't many out.


After work I had a class and rode nearly all the way in the rain .

 But the ride home was under the moon.

• 64F with light rain for the ride to work.
• 55F with rain for the ride to class
• 57F & mostly cloudy for the ride home

Yes, I rode today.

I didn't even need the  Thor Pack Jacket over my mesh jacket this morning. It was in the 70F's when I left the condo.

I think in the Autumn and in the Spring I am even more aware of how my commute changes character every day. I am not completely sure why this is, but I am certain a large part of this has to do with the light. It is now almost still night when I leave the Condo. It seems just last week the morning was still bright.

The shortening days are also making an impact on my after work activity. Tonight when I went inline skating I was only able to get about forty minutes in before the trail closed. Soon the time will change from Daylight Savings time back to Standard time and skating will be a weekend only activity. Every year I have a plan to keep my activity level up during the winter months . . . and most years I have not been as successful as I would like. Time will tell what this winter will bring.

But, it isn't winter yet. I still have some week night skates. And, it will be a while before I'm riding to and from work in darkness.

Took this just as I ended my skate tonight, but before moonrise.

• 71F(22C) & mostly cloudy for the ride to work.
• 91F(33C) & the National Weather Service says it was still mostly cloudy for the ride home, but I sure saw a lot of sunshine.

Yes, I rode today.

Happy Monday.

New battery and no more kick-starts, yay!

On my route to work there are a number of four-way and three-way stops. I admit I arranged this is on purpose. The stops seem to slow traffic down, plus those drivers in a hurry tend to find other routes. And, besides these intersections can be rather entertaining. This morning at a four-way stop where I seldom see another car or bike, we had a full house: two cars, and SUV and me. I think all of us who were paying attention were in shock. And, then Ms Texter met Ms Over-polite. It went something like this.

Ms Over-polite having the right of way began to enter the intersection, but Ms Texter wasn't paying attention and did a rolling stop. I could almost hear Ms Over-polite saying, "Oh, it's not your turn, but that's okay, you can go anyway."

Ah, but now Ms Texter suddenly notices she is driving and stops. I could almost hear her saying, "I'm paying attention now and I see it is your turn. You go."

But, of course, Ms Over-polite doesn't go but waves for Ms Texter to go. Does she go? No. She waves Ms Over-polite to go. Then both of them just sit there.

And, what did I do? Sometimes it is just best to wait and watch the drama.

• 65F(18.3C) & a few clouds for the ride to work
• 90F(32.2C) & even fewer clouds for the ride home

The fourth floor of one of the buildings I work in.

 

Friday

Yes, I rode today.

And yes, it rained today.

Billie, my Symba, spent more time in the rain than I did.  When I came out from work it was misting, but the seat was very wet.

I rode in some rain on both the ride to work and the ride home, but not much. On the ride home it rained enough that I was glad for the rain gear.

Note the ever stylish Aerostich orange gloves.

Again, today the Symba wouldn't start with the electric starter. I had to kick start it. I keep saying I want my next ride to be fuel injected, but if the Symba had been, I'd been stuck. Instead, one pump on the kickstarter and she started right up. I've been having some intermittent trouble with the starting, but the battery has checked out. Of course, it starts fine when I get it into the shop. I think the problem has moved from intermittent to broke. Hopefully tomorrow we'll get it figured out.

It is Friday which means attending Neve Shalom. On Sunday mornings I work. On Fridays at Neve the week settles out. I let go of the week's foolishness, but keep the rest and simply open to Life.

Dear reader, I hope you have a great weekend.

• 64F(17.7C) & mist for the ride to work

• 64F(17.7C) & mist for the ride home.

Yes, I rode today..

Another beautiful day in the Lou. It was in the low 50'sF for the morning into work. And, it was 80F for the ride home. Nice.

Went inline skating after I got home and saw the most beautiful sunset. I'm getting so I carry my little camera with me almost constantly. The one exception is when I'm skating. Oh well, the pictures would probably have been disappointing.

Today's weather story:
52F(11.1C) & partly cloudy when I left the condo to ride to work.
80F(26.6C), mostly cloudy, & and windy when I left work to ride home.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Yes, I did ride today.

It was another marvelous weather day --cool in the morning and almost perfect for a ride after work.

I thought a class I wanted to take started tonight. I decided I would just go to the class directly from work rather than even trying to go home. The plan work beautifully. Even with grabbing some Jimmy John's, I still made it to Neve Shalom at 1900 which was the time I thought the class was to begin. No one was there, but as start times for these classes are often rather relaxed, I didn't think too much about it. But when it got to be 1910 and still no one else had showed up I began to wonder if I had mixed things up.

I had the teacher's phone number and gave him a call. My call took him by surprise. He had thought of beginning the class tonight but had changed his mind. My call did jog his memory and he recalled mentioning the class beginning tonight in only one place, a place he truthfully thought no one read. I will admit I'd wondered why I hadn't seen the class mentioned anywhere else, but obviously I didn't give it enough thought. Anyway, I told him I'd hang around for a while just in case anyone else did happen by. No one did. Oh well, better a week early than a week late.

Besides it was a gorgeous evening. It was sweet to have the opportunity to just sit and watch the light change and the moon come into its own. I, also, noticed for that the leaves are beginning to show the first signs of changing. Autumn is definitely beginning to knock on the door.

About 1930 I called Heather to let her know I'd be finding my way home earlier than I expected. There was no class, but it was a great night for watching and riding.

The almanac:
52F(11.1C)with a few clouds when I left the condo this morning.
78F(25.5C) with the same few clouds when I left work.
And, it was still in the 70'sF when I got home.

5 September 2011

Yes, I rode.

Yesterday as Heather and I were driving on I-44 I watched a rider on a sportbike weave in and out of traffic. I thought his following distances were too tight. Also, the rider didn't seem to be mindful of the drivers' blind spots. I agree we have to ride as if we are invisible, but I feel we must work at putting ourselves in position to be seen. With this in mind, I particularly worked at my positioning in relation to other drivers on my commute today.

It was almost chilly on the ride in. This is quite a change from the last few days. The weather looks good for the rest of the week.

I noticed this woman as I was walking to the bike parking area. I asked her if I could take a picture of her "wheels".  It seems she has a neck condition that will not allow her to use crutches, so she gets this cool little contraption instead. Looks like more fun than crutches, but not having a need for either sounds the most fun.

The almanac:
53F (11.6C) and Clear for the ride in.
74F (23.3C) with a few clouds for the ride home.