Bike Commute - 9 through 12

Only two riding days last week with the holiday at the beginning of the week and a class field trip with Trevor at the end of the week (and sailing on Thursday). This week should bring the possibility of four days on the bike. It was even more humid this morning than last Wednesday (83% vs. 72%) but a few degrees cooler (60F vs. 63F). Even though it looks to be partly cloudy all week, I'm still shopping for fenders. I was close to buying the clip-on kind but read they are only slightly better than no fenders at all. My friend Tim confirmed this and so I'm planning to get full fenders with stays and mud flaps. Should keep me and bike clean and dry (at least from the water coming off the tires).
Speaking of Tim... During our bike commuting conversation, he hands me a pair of exam gloves (he's a PT at the U of O). His philosophy is that the more you ride the less gear you find that you need. It's similar to the approach I've been taking in that I'm waiting to put some mileage under my bike shorts (no belt) before deciding that I absolutely neeeed something. However, I did buy a pump and now carry a couple tire levers and a patch kit but no spare tube. I told Tim that I consider these essentials even though I haven't had any tire problems and hope I don't have to use this stuff. At this point, he handed me the pair of gloves as his contribution to my bike commuting...
Now, fast forward about 12 hours and I'm just over a mile into the ride this morning (6/5) and... What? Oh, rats... a flat tire. What timing! I get to use the gloves Tim just gave me, my tire levers, patch kit and pump... Yippie! Fortunately, I quickly found a piece of glass in the tire. I don't even remember seeing any glass in the road. I repaired the hole in the tube, inflated the tire and was on my way. The pit stop added an extra 15 minutes to my commute which seems like a lot considering I didn't remove the (front) wheel and only partially freed one tire bead from the rim. I'm not too concerned about the time and really hope I don't get good at fixing flats.
There was one bonus for the morning, however. As I rode up river along the north bank of the Willamette, I first heard and then saw a ring necked pheasant in the field along the trail. I'm grateful for the brief opportunity to see a beautiful creature.



DAYDateTimeDistanceCumulative DistanceSavingsTotal SavingsWeather
95.26.20060:447.96mi134.88mi$2.31$21.04EUG
7.96mi142.84mi
10
5.30.20060:367.96mi150.80mi$2.31$23.34EUG
7.96mi158.75mi
11
5.31.20060:347.96mi166.71mi$2.31$25.65EUG
7.96mi174.67mi
12
6.5.20060:557.96mi182.63mi$2.31$27.96EUG
7.96mi190.85mi

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