Commuting - Extreme commute club: week 8

Well, I will be dealing with the aftermath of the weekend storm, plus there is snow forecast every day this week. So, more challenges ahead this week. Also, my friends, let's all remember that this is the week of the office Christmas parties. :eek: There will be a lot more drunken drivers on the roads for the next few days. Please, more caution and restraint for all XCC members!

Mars good luck with all of the snow. I now remember why I moved from New England to points south.

Pretty uneventful ride except for the sections of ice that have plenty of ruts. I thank my Nokians after every ride.

Good advice Mars. Finally did the whole VLC for the first time since my crash. The trail is probably 3/4 clear with icy stretches on the unpaved portions. This time I still had my Nokians on and rode without incident. It should be a fairly decent week for biking with temps slightly above freezing and no rain or snow in the forecast. Good luck everybody.

......

I was pretty tired when I finally got to work and watched in horror as it snowed heavily all day. Then....I hate to say it.....I..... caught a ride (sob). That is something else I have never done in my years of commuting. So, Saskcyclist, I have lost the right to my I heart Regina t shirt. Better luck to you my friend.

I rode through a worse storm last year, but this was the second worst conditions I have faced in my bike commuting. It years past, it seems to me that the plows were out earlier and always did a much better job. I'm not sure what is happening with that. Maybe a reduction in plow funding?

Well Mars, safety should come first over a t-shirt. Kudos getting out the door in the morning, it sounds like you gave it a hell of try. I fear the day we get a similar dump of snow. Usually the day after we get a large amount of snow the temp drops to extreme cold. The worst part of our winter is yet to come. Lucky for me, it was windy last week when we received 4 inches of snow so I only had to contend with spots of 2 or 3 foot deep drifts. As far as the t-shirt, lets see how it goes.

This morning was a good ride; the city was clearing my bike path on my way in this morning. I hope the operator of the plow got the point of just how much I appreciate his effort. Not sure if the wave, thumbs up and ear to ear smile would be obvious enough.

Well Mars, safety should come first over a t-shirt. Kudos getting out the door in the morning, it sounds like you gave it a hell of try. .

Thanks, man. I just hate to lose that nice shirt. In retrospect, I think I could have ridden home and made it ok. It really wasn't as bad as last year and I got through that. Oh, well.... more storms ot come I would guess.

Friends, this will be my last post as an active Extreme Commute Club member for a while. Tomorrow, I will be driving into Boston for surgery. I am told that I will not be able to ride for 6 weeks after that. Marylandnewbie, the VLC commuter of the year, has agreed to run the threads until then. I know that he will do a great job.

I will be reading the threads and posting now and again, I would think. Until then, be safe everybody, and ride those bikes to work in any kind of weather and any time of day!!

We got our weekend storm as well. It's warmed up a bit, slushy out now. It was an ice rink yesterday though. Definitely Nokian weather. No commuting for me this week though. I had to bring the car in to work today to load up for an install I'm travelling out to for the rest of the week.

I'll be in Brookings, Oregon. I did a yellow pages search for bike shops in that town; none unfortunately. There are a couple thrift stores though. If I get time I'll check them out; maybe I'll get lucky.

Friends, this will be my last post as an active Extreme Commute Club member for a while. Tomorrow, I will be driving into Boston for surgery. I am told that I will not be able to ride for 6 weeks after that.

Mars:

Good luck on your surgery and may you have a speedy recovery.

Friends, this will be my last post as an active Extreme Commute Club member for a while. Tomorrow, I will be driving into Boston for surgery. I am told that I will not be able to ride for 6 weeks after that. Marylandnewbie, the VLC commuter of the year, has agreed to run the threads until then. I know that he will do a great job.

I will be reading the threads and posting now and again, I would think. Until then, be safe everybody, and ride those bikes to work in any kind of weather and any time of day!!


Wishin' you a speedy recovery! Just use the time off two wheels to fix up your commuter and/or buy new stuff for it :D

Good thoughts to you!

Good luck, Mars! We'll miss you!

No commuting for me this week though. I had to bring the car in to work today to load up for an install I'm travelling out to for the rest of the week.

Well...hmmm...is often yout get to reply/quote yourself?

Scratch my earlier post from today. My install got canceled. The site wasn't ready for me.
Perhaps I can get ride in this week after all...if my g/f does kill me at the mention of it :D

DL -- you may have stumbled across a vastly underestimated hazard for winter commuters. I know sometimes my wife is less than thrilled with my commuting decision.

Mars -- best of luck and let us know how the recovery is going. We'll try to be pithy, witty and insightful in your absence.

I'm laid up today. One of the cuts I got in my crash got infected and now my eye is swollen shut. Fortunately, the antibiotics seem to be working so I'm hoping by tomorrow I'll have binocular vision again. You never appreciate depth perception until you don't have it! I'm really hoping to finish out the week on the bike, but I'll just have to wait and see what I can see in the morning. Have a good ride everybody.

I'm laid up today. One of the cuts I got in my crash got infected and now my eye is swollen shut. Fortunately, the antibiotics seem to be working so I'm hoping by tomorrow I'll have binocular vision again. You never appreciate depth perception until you don't have it! I'm really hoping to finish out the week on the bike, but I'll just have to wait and see what I can see in the morning. Have a good ride everybody.


Sorry to hear about your eye. That sounds unpleasant :(

Ok...now...raise your hand if the rest of you have tried closing one eye and walking around your room or reaching for your cup of coffee to try to experience the whole loss of depth perception thing only to make it across the room fine and drink your coffee w/o incident causing you to scratch your head and think "What the heck are they talking about?". C'mon...I know I'm not the only one :p

Good luck Mars, see you soon buddy.

This is the last post for me until 3rd January as i am off on holidays, so may I just wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a great New Year, its been a pleasure to share stories with you guys.

Be safe everyone.

Nearly stacked it quite badly yesterday. I was hauling my usual downhill and set myself up for the tight 90 degree angle. I'm used to the road being wet but I guess I've been getting a bit cocky on it because I nearly threw the rear wheel in front of a double decker.

I felt it slid out and just though "I'm dead now". I don't know quite how I managed to recover but the guy riding behind me caught up and told me that I should be dead by now.

Thankfully I wasn't riding on my road bike, those slicks just couldn't have handled it.

Nearly stacked it quite badly yesterday. I was hauling my usual downhill and set myself up for the tight 90 degree angle. I'm used to the road being wet but I guess I've been getting a bit cocky on it because I nearly threw the rear wheel in front of a double decker.

I felt it slid out and just though "I'm dead now". I don't know quite how I managed to recover but the guy riding behind me caught up and told me that I should be dead by now.

Thankfully I wasn't riding on my road bike, those slicks just couldn't have handled it.


Yikes....I am glad you are okay.

Newbie: sorry to hear about the infection.

Sask glad that you are still able to type and communicate with us.

Well been off for most of the week, as I hit a rut in the ice and my rear Nokian slid out from under neath my bike. My 45 year old body does not heal as weel as I would like. Hoever, I will be riding my last century of the year on Saturday.

Tibike, man I can agree with you on that. Seems like once you pass 40 the warranties expire. I'll be back on the bike tomorrow for the final commute of this calendar year. These injuries have really dented the mileage I was hoping to have by the end of the year. Oh well at least I'm still riding.

Newbie:

I am not sure that you are aware of the a Dc New Year's tradition of the Most Boring Century in the East. The ride is comprised of 33 laps around Hains Point. You should come down with your son and do a couple of laps. If the weather is good, I will be there on my new Spectrum.

The ride in was among the top 50 rides of the year. This morning was one of those times where I wish I could have just kept going rather than stoping at work.

One more commute before being off for Holidays. I hope everyone has safe and happy holidays and if you celebrate Christmas or the like....Merry Christmas.

I am off to the country for a few days to visit my spouses family. I expect to mostly be sitting on my butt for a few days...no riding for me.

The only extreme thing this morning was that it was extremely lovely. The temperature was up to 8 C and the roads were nigh empty. I'm expecting more of the same next week to be honest.

Tibike -- is that on New Year's Day? If so we might be around and if the weather is decent it could be a good way to break up the holidays.

I had a wonderfully serendipitous sighting of a fox this morning. I stopped to raise my seat and dig out sunglasses. While I was standing there I loked down to the river and saw a fox skulking along the riverbank. It's only the second time I've seen a fox and a wonderful bonus for the last commuting ride of 2005.

Newbie:

Yes in fact the ride is on New Year's day.

I di not commute yesterday, but had en enjoable day (see picture) (Hint 40 inches and 35 lbs)

Tibike -- thanks for the info on the ride. I guess we'll see what the weather holds before deciding about the ride.

That is one serious fish -- do I see a holiday dinner in the making? I'm no fisherman, but I'll guess its either a rockfish or an extremely large bass?

Have a great holiday everyone.

Yes, it was a Rockfish that took 15 minutes to land.