I took off from home on the Corsa around 6:20 this morning and rode 93.4 miles. A good bit of that was my Crowley Cricket Crunch permanent route. One thing I wanted to do was check CR 405 to see if Johnson County had finally paved it again. It had been gravel for long enough that I had finally re-routed Crowley Cricket Crunch around it. But, it’s paved now, so I can change it back.

There were a few showers around, but I never got rained on. I did see a nice rainbow just south of Burleson. The clouds lasted until 11:00 am, and it was getting pretty hot by the time I got home just before 1:00 pm. Winds stayed light for the entire ride.

Today’s route.

I didn’t ride to work Monday and I’m taking a day of vacation tomorrow, so I only rode to work 3 days this week. On the way home Tuesday, I rode a couple of miles off my usual route to stop by Performance Bike to pick up an order, and ended up with 29.6 miles.

I thought today was just going to be another standard 105 degree ride home, but I was mistaken. When I went to leave work, I noticed my front tire was low. I pumped it up and headed for home. As soon as I walked out of the shop, I noticed the dark clouds in the north. I didn’t think too much about it. Most of our storms come from the west, so I figured this would stay north of me.

Just over halfway home, I could tell that front tire was getting low again, so I stopped to pump it up. It was obvious by then that this storm wasn’t moving east, it was coming south and gaining on me. I hadn’t quite finished pumping the tire up when the 50 mph north wind and dust storm hit.

The south ride down Crowley Road was nice. I would have averaged over 30 mph if I hadn’t hit every traffic light red. But when I turned west on FM 1187, I was dealing with a 50 mph crosswind, not that much fun on a faired bike. The storm faded before it reached me and all we got at home was wind and dust. It looks like the cooler air reached DFW Airport early enough to end our streak of 100+ degree days at 40, two short of the record.

2011 days ridden to work: 135
2011 commuting mileage: 3295.8

Tuesday commute with side trip to Performance Bike

I rode to work all 5 days this week. It was 105 to 109 degrees for the afternoon rides home, pretty toasty to say the least.

Starting Monday, I won’t be getting up at my usual 3:55 am. I’ll be getting up at 2:55 am. With the record electricity usage around here, the power company is threatening industrial users with rolling blackouts, so my employer is starting the day shift an hour earlier, starting the 2nd shift 4 hours later, and shutting down during the hottest part of the afternoon. They’re letting me off at 2:00 pm. It should be much cooler for the ride home at 2:00 pm, probably only a couple of degrees over 100. It has now been 100+ degrees 34 days in a row here.

2011 days ridden to work: 132
2011 commuting mileage: 3217.2

Work commute route.

It reached 100 degrees here before 11:00 am yesterday. It stayed over 100 degrees until after 8:00pm. In the middle of my ride home at 4:00 pm, it was 109 degrees (officially at NOAA; my bike computer was reading 118). My sandals got so hot they were burning my toes. Whenever I grabbed the bike’s brake levers, they burned my fingers. I can’t say that it was as much fun as my ride home usually is. So did I ride to work today? Of course. This afternoon’s forecast? 110 degrees. I can hardly wait.

They’d have to switch to a recumbent pedicab first, though. From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

FORT WORTH — Last year, Robin Glaysher found herself laid off from her job in corporate marketing, unsure of her next step.

“I started thinking about things that I actually love to do,” Glaysher said. “I love cycling … I love my neighborhood.”

That reassessment led Glaysher to months of research and planning, culminating this week in the launch of a business already drawing interest around Fort Worth’s rapidly revitalizing near south side.

After working through regulatory hurdles and zoning issues at City Hall, Glaysher says she’s ready to kick-start Fairmount Bike Taxi, a pedicab service focusing on serving downtown and south-side neighborhoods including Fairmount and Ryan Place.

Pedicabs — three-wheeled, human-powered vehicles — have been operating in Fort Worth since at least 2005, mostly around downtown.

The growth of businesses in the near south side, most notably along Magnolia Avenue, gave Glaysher the sense that pedicabs could work in a larger portion of the city.

When Glaysher first began planning her business, she learned that only downtown and the Stockyards were zoned for nonmotorized vehicles. In May, city officials agreed to allow the pedicabs on the south side, according to Gerald Taylor with the Ground Transportation Office.

The pedicabs will have to avoid major streets like Rosedale and Eighth avenues, Taylor said.

Glaysher plans to be her business’s first pedicab driver, along with another cyclist. She’s heard from others interested in joining her enterprise.

Drivers will operate as independent contractors while renting their pedicab from Glaysher’s company, she said. She also plans to sell space on the pedicabs to local advertisers.

Fairmount Bike Taxi will officially debut Friday at First Friday on the Green, a monthly concert series at Magnolia Green Park.

Glaysher said she plans to have her pedicab drivers work for tips during special events and when operating downtown. Otherwise, she expects passengers will be charged flat fees such as $5 for one person to be transported down Magnolia Avenue.

She hopes the business will eventually gain popularity among out-of-towners staying downtown while attending events at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

“We’ll be able to tell them about places they normally wouldn’t know beyond Sundance Square,” Glaysher said.

I did the 69 mile route at Goatneck this morning. Paul came down and spent last night at my place, and got up and followed me to Goatneck this morning. It was great seeing you, Paul!

I was a lot slower than last year at Goatneck, and pretty wiped out at the finish. After never having to use the granny chain ring on this ride last year, I needed it on both County Line Hill and Goatneck Hill this year. I don’t know if riding to work all 5 days this week had me on tired legs, forgetting my carb drink mix slowed me down, or if I’m just getting feeble in my old age.

Goatneck 70 mile route.

Here’s a video of the ride from Mark Leuck.

I rode to work all 5 days this week. It was just a tad warm riding home in the afternoons. I rode to work 19 days in July. It looks like I’ll end up with 840 miles for the month, not a bad total I’m thinking, considering it was 100+ degrees every day of the month but one.

2011 days ridden to work: 127
2011 commuting mileage: 3094.7

Commute route

I rode over to Pecan Valley Park at Benbrook this morning, then joined Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and 20 or so others on a 20 mile ride around Benbrook Lake, then rode home for 52 miles overall.

I took a day of vacation on Tuesday, so only rode to work 4 days this week. It was 100 degrees as I rode home yesterday afternoon, our 21st straight afternoon of 100 or higher temperatures.

I seem to have finally reached my target weight this week. I would have suffered less on my early summer rides if I’d reached this weight in May like I did last year, but I guess better late than never.

2011 days ridden to work: 122
2011 commuting mileage: 2972.2

I joined a couple of tandems and rode my Crowley Cricket Crunch permanent this morning. I rode to the start and rode home afterward, ending up with 102.7 miles.

Crowley Cricket Crunch route