Commuting - Extreme commute club: week 6

Sheesh! Sorry everybody. I totally spaced on starting the new thread last night. Why? Because I was busy installing Christmas lights on my bike! It turned out to be a bit of a challenge to put them all over (I have two strings of lights) and keep them out of the chain and spokes. Anyways, I logged on tonight to see how everyone was and then it hit me... :eek:

Well, I hope you are all out there riding the furious roadways on your trusty steeds. Mine was covered with blinking white holiday lights! :D

I was hoping your absence was not due to any roadside accident. I had almost resolved to launch the thread tonight if you hadn't. Glad to see any of us can space out.

Now as a matter of bike culture education for all of us newbies -- when you have your bike all covered in lights do you have to make the front end bounce up and down every time you stop at a light?

I had a great ride home. Not enough snow accumulation to make me regret leaving my Nokians at home. Every branch and bush was covered in a layer of snow and my headlights were reflecting everywhere. I think I saw three other bikers on the trip home, although I saw tracks of a few more. It was nice riding through the dark with the trail all to myself watching the snow fall through the headlights.

I think I'm looking forward to my first ride on studs tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

I'm back from a week in the Western Caribbean. Unfortunately, I came back with "cruise crud" so I won't be riding for a couple of days. And since these are the last two weeks of the fall semester, I won't be commuting again until at least mid-January when the spring semester begins.

However, my son is coming home from Japan for the holidays (he's a Marine stationed in Iwakuni) on December 20 until January 9 and he has expressed an interest in going riding with me. :) That's if I can tear the Saleen steering wheel out of his hands (it was originally his car and he's talking about buying it back when he gets back to the States next August.)

I'll still be checking out this thread and the forums. This spring is when my schedule will allow me to ride both ways to work at least twice a week so I'll be back in the club soon. Take care, y'all! :)

marylandnewbie- You'll love studs! I love them so much that since I've mounted the nokians, I haven't taken them off. They are great tires and really make the bike feel like a tank. I'm not worried about wearing out the studs since they're carbide (same as on cars). They'll probably stay on until April or around here even May, at least until the roads aren't icy in the morning. Probably when everything melts off.

Nothing too extreme here. I bought some real wool socks (83% Merino wool instead of the 6% walmart woolies) and this morning they kept my feet warm down to 19 degrees. Face covering is next though. This morning my face was beet red from the cold, and I really don't want a reapeat of that.

10 dollar balaclava rick ....

rykoala's enthusiasm almost made me want to try out studs for the fun of it. someone going by my cubicle last week overheard me saying 'bear-killer tires' and did the best double-take i've seen in a year. would have been overkill here though.

not that extreme here, compared with what i thought we'd get. some snow on tuesday last week, at or just below freezing all week, and then finally a couple of inches of proper snow yesterday. it was gone by today but i went out yesterday and spent a couple of hours just riding in it. i was really amazed by how easy and sure-footed snow biking is, and still feeling really lucky for this whole progressively-deeper introduction i'm getting so far this winter.

nobody at work even asks if i bike in anymore :( they wasted all their awe and astonishment on the ordinary weather of october and november.

now it's awfully mild, forecasting for temperatures well above freezing during the days all week. it'll go down below at night, so i'm still kind of keeping my mind alert for the chance of ice.

No worries about not starting the new thread this week Mars. At first I thought I must not be seeing it. I contemplated starting it for you but thought I would wait a bit.

For the last few days it has been fairly extreme. Temperatures have been from -29C to -17C. Not too much snow though (just hardpack, icy). I tried using vaseline to keep the skin around my eyes from getting too cold and I have to say it works fairly good. I also found that when my toes get cold (about 1/2 hour in) I walk for under 5 minutes and I am warm and good to go the rest of the way. I sure am happy that I swaped my suspension fork for a rigid fork. The lbs charged me $15 for the fork and changeover.

Have a great one everybody.

10 dollar balaclava rick ....

Actually a $3 balaclava from wal-mart saved my morning this morning. The only trouble is that I looked like a skunk! See, last winter I used this same one, but during the warmer months my wife commandeered it for a project for one of the kids. My daughter had a school play where she had to dress up as a skunk. So my wife sewed a nose and a white strip all across the top and down the back, like a skunk has a white strip on it. I had to get my daughter up early anyway so I asked her to find it for me (buried in the pile of clothes in her room... she's 13) and my wife was asleep, so I couldn't have her take off the nose and what not. So I just wore it as-is, skunk stripe, nose and all.

So, this morning I came to work dressed as "PePe le Pew".

And I needed it too. 18F this morning. BRRrrrr.

This morning (-18 C / -2 F) I wore one of those dust-masks instead of a balaclava. Liked it much better and with goggles, there was very little exposed skin. My commute isn't that long tho - 13 m round trip. Balaclavas kind of make me feel clausterphobic or something, or maybe it's just the tighter, stretchy one I have.

Stayed warm and enjoyed the trip in. Happy commuting.

Rkoala -- I do indeed love the studs. I rode over packed snow, loose snow, ice, mud, running water and bare pavement and never had a moment of instability or concern. I was able to crunch through or over all of it. On bare pavement they sound like a giant bowl of Rice Krispies, but nothing too obnoxious. They are slower than my usual tires, but worth it. I doubt I'll leave them on continuously since we have reasonably long spells of decent weather during the winter.

Another very nice ride this morning with bright sunshine, temps around 30 and little wind. The snowscape was still very much in place. I only saw 3-4 other bikers, but tracks suggesting that at least a dozen had ridden before me. So far I'm loving this winter commuting thing!!

I've noticed that I haven't ridden "for fun" in a long time; ever since the weather has changed. It's all been for commuting. I guess I've never really missed the sun before now.

Actually a $3 balaclava from wal-mart saved my morning this morning. The only trouble is that I looked like a skunk! See, last winter I used this same one, but during the warmer months my wife commandeered it for a project for one of the kids. My daughter had a school play where she had to dress up as a skunk. So my wife sewed a nose and a white strip all across the top and down the back, like a skunk has a white strip on it. I had to get my daughter up early anyway so I asked her to find it for me (buried in the pile of clothes in her room... she's 13) and my wife was asleep, so I couldn't have her take off the nose and what not. So I just wore it as-is, skunk stripe, nose and all.

So, this morning I came to work dressed as "PePe le Pew".

And I needed it too. 18F this morning. BRRrrrr.


Oh man, that sounds AWESOME!!! You CAN'T take off the skunk nose!! First, your sweetie made it for you out of love, and second, that sounds like the best baclava EVER! :)

Actually a $3 balaclava from wal-mart saved my morning this morning. The only trouble is that I looked like a skunk! See, last winter I used this same one, but during the warmer months my wife commandeered it for a project for one of the kids. My daughter had a school play where she had to dress up as a skunk. So my wife sewed a nose and a white strip all across the top and down the back, like a skunk has a white strip on it. I had to get my daughter up early anyway so I asked her to find it for me (buried in the pile of clothes in her room... she's 13) and my wife was asleep, so I couldn't have her take off the nose and what not. So I just wore it as-is, skunk stripe, nose and all.

So, this morning I came to work dressed as "PePe le Pew".

And I needed it too. 18F this morning. BRRrrrr.


If I send you a balaclava, can your wife make me one!!!

Have any of you cold weather people tried a breathing device used by workers in commercial deep freezes? It is a facemask that covers the nose and mouth. instead of dust or chemical filters it has filter elements filled with what looks like coarse copper scouring pads. Breath out and the metal mesh warms and condenses moisture from your breath. Inhale and the cold dry air is warmed and humidified. I got one some 20 years ago in Denver and tried it on a 10 degree F day. Worked fine but the mask was rigid plastic and uncomfortable. Has it gotten better?

Hey guys, good to see you're still commuting! It's become a bit of a frozen tundra up here up right now, but it's getting milder over the next few days. I'm looking forward to getting out on the bike tomorrow. Other than that I'm buying a trainer soon to prep for spring!!! Can't wait to commute ALL next summer. None of this waiting and spending half the summer getting in good enough shape to do the commute.

Miss the biking... but it's good to check in here and see how everyone's doing!

Kept the studs on for a second day. They were really nice the first 4 miles where there was still snowpack, frozen ruts and ice. A small burden the last 8 miles where the trail is paved and largely clear.

Deer can sometimes be spooky. Last night I saw one standing off the edge of the trail on the edge of my headlights and I swear it materialized out of nowhere. One second empty space, the next the deer is standing there looking at me like some sort of intruder.

I kind of like the riding in isolation you get in the winter on the trail. Since the snow flew I haven't seen more than 3-4 bikers on any of my trips. With more snow possible for Friday, I'm leaning toward leaving the studs on through the end of the week. It's probably easier than switching back and forth for one day. I cannot believe how filthy my bike has gotten this week!! I'm going to have to find someway of cleaning it this weekend before all the mud and grit causes real damage.

Kept the studs on for a second day. They were really nice the first 4 miles where there was still snowpack, frozen ruts and ice. A small burden the last 8 miles where the trail is paved and largely clear.

Deer can sometimes be spooky. Last night I saw one standing off the edge of the trail on the edge of my headlights and I swear it materialized out of nowhere. One second empty space, the next the deer is standing there looking at me like some sort of intruder.

I kind of like the riding in isolation you get in the winter on the trail. Since the snow flew I haven't seen more than 3-4 bikers on any of my trips. With more snow possible for Friday, I'm leaning toward leaving the studs on through the end of the week. It's probably easier than switching back and forth for one day. I cannot believe how filthy my bike has gotten this week!! I'm going to have to find someway of cleaning it this weekend before all the mud and grit causes real damage.

I haven't seen any other cyclists in at least a few weeks. A few runners and the odd walker. But nothing beats cycling past a bus stop loaded with people waiting for the next bus all huddled in a shelter. I know what you mean about the deer. I had a similar situation last winter.

Today's extreme factor: Wind. Oh my my. It was a cross wind too, so I was leaning and steering in the opposing direction just to maintan a straight line. What made it better though is that I'm back oh high pressure tires. I just couldn't do it....I couldn't stick with 70psi and 1.5". I felt "alive" again on my 90psi tires.

**edit**
Bummer man...I put new brake pads on my front last night. On the way in this morning, it seemed to start farily early in my ride I, when I would squeeze the front brake I heard this nasty scraping sound. I thought perhaps it was the new pads reactive to the dried road grime already present on my rims. I knew the sound couldn't be good so I took it as easy as I could on my front brake until I could take the time on my lunch hour to check it out. Well, I did....and I found some sort of tiny rock or metal shard, one on each side, had lodged themselves in to the rubber of my pads and was scraping a nice little groove in my my rims! :mad: :mad: :mad:

I guess it's not really THAT bad, but still....argh if it's not one thing it's another. :( I blame all the road construction going on and winter road sanding.

Have any of you cold weather people tried a breathing device used by workers in commercial deep freezes? It is a facemask that covers the nose and mouth. instead of dust or chemical filters it has filter elements filled with what looks like coarse copper scouring pads. Breath out and the metal mesh warms and condenses moisture from your breath. Inhale and the cold dry air is warmed and humidified. I got one some 20 years ago in Denver and tried it on a 10 degree F day. Worked fine but the mask was rigid plastic and uncomfortable. Has it gotten better?

Ihave never tired anything like that, partly because I have never heard of them before. Any idea of where one could get these things and how much they would cost?

Miserable windy and cold day today. Have any of you noticed that some days the wind feels "heavier" or denser than other days? That was the situation here. I was riding with Doug the Thug and we both felt like the wind was like riding through molasses. Man, though, that Doug is a strong rider.

Gah----again....crap lodged in my brake pads on the way home. I gotta fix that.

Local news website clocked winds at 23 miles an hour when I left; gusts up to 35. Windchill in to the teens. Slowed me down a lot, took me 2 hours to get home when it usually only takes me hour and fifteen or hour and 30.

I may need to reevaluate my commuting this time of year. If it's taking me near 2 hours to get home...I got things to do at home and that's nearly double the time it'd take me to drive. :(

Now up to a 15 mile ride to work through the ever more congested and aggressive streets of London. People are moving away from cycling and walking and on to public transport. As a reaction more people are moving away from public transport and into their cars to avoid the unpleasant mass of humanity that is buses and tubes in London.

Sadly these people are unused to regular driving in Central London, the thought required to conduct a motor vehicle through heavy traffic and the changin in timing of getting to work.

Subsequently the space to agression ration is begining to look like the odds a bookie would give on GWB never messing up his lines again in combination with the Pope using a condom whilst sleeping with Shiva.

However today's threat came not from the mentally ******** coffin skippers but, alas, one of our own. He damn near T-boned me because he shot a red light whilst smoking and sending a text message. It seems my stature and torrent of abuse were enough to make him reconsider his actions as he has certainly paying attention to the road as he bolted. Not least of all the bit right behind him to make sure that I wasn't in it.

I don't condone violence or anger but sometimes it just seems absolutely necessary.

DL: Don't be our first casualty of the winter, keep the faith, its good for the soul all this bad weather!!

Thursday mornings seem to leave cagers a little punchy. I was buzzed once and cut-off twice all in the space of about 10 blocks. When I caught up to the guys that cut me off I should have asked them to discuss what makes a person behave like an insolent child. Mind you, my 2 year old girls have more respect then some cagers. Normally, cagers give me lots of room so I am not exactly sure what gives.

Anyway, made it to work safe and it is getting to look and sound a lot like Christmas around here. So all is good. Cheers!

I don't condone violence or anger but sometimes it just seems absolutely necessary.


Some truthful words from a "preacher":

...Moses SMOTE those sinners in his wrath yes he did!
...To smite is to go UPSIDE the head!
...Because sometimes, brothers and
sisters, that is the ONLY way!


Amen to that! Ok folks....name that movie! :p

I guess the clear weather has brought all the weather wussies back out. (I feel comfortable saying that now that I've ridden through a snowstorm and the ice and snow left behind the next AM). Last night I saw 10-12 bikers on the trail and about the same number this AM. I'm guessing that tomorrow's snow/sleet storm will put most of them back in the garage. It was about 20F this morning, but the clear sunshine made it not too bad once I got a couple of miles under my wheels. By then I was warmed up and rolling smoothly.

The studs are still nice to have for all the patches of packed snow and ice that exist on the unpaved part of the trail -- although I'd love to have a SAG car waiting about 4 miles from my house with regular commuting tires to do a quick switch for the clear pavement. So far my wife has rejected the idea with a most dismissive snort! Speaking of wives, how many of you have a spouse or SO who questioned your sanity when you went out to ride this morning?

I'm starting to get into the perverse pleasure of riding when other people think you're nuts. I think I may be a complete convert if the balaclava and goggles on my Chirstmas list come through. With those I should be fully geared up and as prepped as I'm ever going to be.

Some truthful words from a "preacher":

...Moses SMOTE those sinners in his wrath yes he did!
...To smite is to go UPSIDE the head!
...Because sometimes, brothers and
sisters, that is the ONLY way!


Amen to that! Ok folks....name that movie! :p


I'll play....was it Pulp Fiction?

Let me echo Dave's comments, don't give in DL! When it gets cold and dark, it's easy to start to rationalize why it's impossible to continue. But consider, you said it took 2 hours to get home when it would take one hour in a car.... But what are you going to replace your fitness hours on the bike with? You will have to start going tot he gym or riding rollers like a wussy. You will still be using your time "savings". Stay the course, dude, we need you here!

Speaking of wives, how many of you have a spouse or SO who questioned your sanity when you went out to ride this morning?

My wife has nothing less than admiration for me riding my bike. It saves the family alot of money and time, since we only have one car, and 2 kids to get to school in the morning.


I'm starting to get into the perverse pleasure of riding when other people think you're nuts. I think I may be a complete convert if the balaclava and goggles on my Chirstmas list come through. With those I should be fully geared up and as prepped as I'm ever going to be.

As one feeling the same way, I can sincerely say: welcome to the dark side. Now to complete your journey you must start commuting on a fixed gear.

On DL's trivia question I'm going to guess it's from Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider. But DL you have top keep riding so that the population of nuts is maintained.

Rykoala -- I think (or maybe hope) my wife was teasing. I think I'll stick with gears and only ride a fixed gear when the ice builds up on my bike and turns it into one.

Thanks for the enouragment everyone. I was so beat down from last night's battle with the winds that I couldn't even will myself out of bed early enough to ride today. Sorta worked out for the better though. I got an email notification that my xmas gifts I ordered in arrived at REI so I can go pick them up after work, and we're out of rice at home so I really should go to COSTCO. Plus I was able to go to the bank and Radio Shack on my lunch hour; needed a fuse holder and fuses for my "Geekiness" light.

As for the movie trivia question....no one has guessed correctly yet. :D

Thanks for the enouragment everyone. I was so beat down from last night's battle with the winds that I couldn't even will myself out of bed early enough to ride today.

As for the movie trivia question....no one has guessed correctly yet. :D

1955.....Mr. Munsons friend ?
My wife knows. I didnt, so it wont be fair for me to answer :roflmao:

The wind was killer, for lady's and men here too !!
It blew my bike over with such force it broke part of my front brake
lever and ripped the hood :cry:
Today, I purchased a beater off of a nieghborhood kid for 10$
Its an old steel Schwinn ATB. Just needs oil and lights !!

Be safe ....

LEm

Some truthful words from a "preacher":

...Moses SMOTE those sinners in his wrath yes he did!
...To smite is to go UPSIDE the head!
...Because sometimes, brothers and
sisters, that is the ONLY way!


Amen to that! Ok folks....name that movie! :p

...To smite is to reMIND! We got to
STOP that decline! And scramble back
UP to the face a the almighty Gyod!

"Amen!"


...'Stead a worshippin' that GOLDEN
calf, that earthly TRASH on that
GARBAGE island! That GARBAGE island
in that shadowland WAY outside the
Kingdom a God!

"Way outside!"


...That GARBAGE island where scavenger
birds feast on the bones a the
backslidin' damned!

"Yes they do!"


...And so, let us pray...


Google is my friend.

Google is my friend.


Hehehe, good job! It's from The Ladykillers w/ Tom Hanks. That's my favorite part. :D

1955.....Mr. Munsons friend ?
My wife knows. I didnt, so it wont be fair for me to answer :roflmao:

The wind was killer, for lady's and men here too !!
It blew my bike over with such force it broke part of my front brake
lever and ripped the hood :cry:
Today, I purchased a beater off of a nieghborhood kid for 10$
Its an old steel Schwinn ATB. Just needs oil and lights !!

Be safe ....

LEm


Lem! Long tiem since you posted here! Good to see you are still riding the Vermont roads. :D

Beer time boys. Catch you next week.

I love Australia, being a day in front is so good.

Oh How I love my Nokians.

Well have been silent for awhile, sorry about that. Had a blast of a commute this morning in DC as I awoke to snowy, icy conditions and 20F. I was able to ride on 10 miles of a virgin bike path, which was fun. Can't wait for the ride home yee ha!!

Tibike -- I'm so bummed! I'm home doing daddy daycare so I missed out on the ride. I figured it would be fun while just nuts enough to draw a few stares. Enjoy the ride home.

This weekend looks like it will be a bike cleaning weekend. I've got pounds of crud to clean off the frame and the chain can use a scrubbing. Not much fun, but necessary. Have a great ride everyone.

Nothing extreme about todays ride -2C.....although my legs just couldn't seem to get into high gear. I guess I might be a little tired. Have a great day everyone!

Winter storm conditions on the way to work this morning. There is a new road opening soon on my route. It is finished, but not open to traffic. I rode it this morning through the fresh, swirling snow. Imagine 3 miles of riding on a silent, empty road, right down the center stripe as huge flakes of snow fly by. It was beautiful. Too bad the road is going to open on Monday.

I had my studded front tire on and it worked great. I left the studded rear off and missed it a cople of times when I fishtailed around a bit. Next time storm conditions are present or froecasted, I will put both studded tires on.

I neglected to mention what it is like to ride a recumbent in these conditions.

My bent has suspension on both wheels. This makes a huge difference in handling the ruts and bumps on the winter roads. The front tire on my bent is 20" and the back 26". I find the 20" tire handles the obstacles quite well, as long as I have a treaded tire on. The summer slicks would not have faired as well, I think. I can't move my body around to balance like on an upright bike, but the bent is so responsive steering wise it seems to make up for it.

One positive, falling off a lowracer bent in the winter is not a big deal. I fell on purpose to see what it was like. You only fall a foot or so, and the handlebars absorb most of the impact that does accrue.

So, all in all, I am pleased withthe performance of my recumbent in the winter conditions Ihave encountered so far.