Commuting - Misreable commute.

The ride to work tonight started with a day that was Sunny and 30F with a light wind, okay not so light but it wasn't going to last. Halfway to work the weather turned, it got gray, cold with 20mph westerly headwind, my 12.2 average went to like 9.8. I was miserable, as the early part of the commute had me working up a sweat so I was pretty damp, then the wind and the cold hit and I was done. The last five miles were into that wind, off a lake for three of it, with drifting snow. And all I could hear was Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstien, "It could be worse. ... It could be raining." That would have been really bleak. I persevered and made it to work in 2:11, so it wasn't too much of a bite, but man what a miserable time on the bike.

Hey naisme, Sorry to hear about the tough ride!
What does not kill you makes you stronger! (that is what I tell myself when riding in the winds out here.)

By the way, Your web page is progressing nicely. I had opportunity to read through much of it tonight. To bad we don't live closer, I think we would be the best of friends.

Hope the ride home is better!

Bob

Sounds like you need to schedule a few days in Sunny San Diego. Don

naisme, you gotta remember when you commute there are going to be times when you think to yourself "what am I doing out here!"

those days when no one else wants to be out there, when it's cold, raining, windy, and down right miserable, are the days when the true cyclist in you shows up..... you stuck it out and that's the point :)

and indeed you can only get stronger by riding in conditions like that. (also makes for some good cycling stories to tell) :D

How about whe you are looking forward to flying home because the way in was a headwind and its changed during the day...

can you say 'Bitter and Twisted' :)

Ya, I got hit by the same wind. I know what you mean. The wind was mild in the morning which blew me into work. Then it pickedd up in the afternoon and made the ride home tough. Of course, we DID get hit with rain and wind in the "snowy midwest" this week. That was ugly.

Hey, Naisme, what time do you go to work that allows you to see the sun? With the short days of winter, I ride to work in the dark and return home in the dark.

Yesterday I stopped on the way in to work to see if I could help a fellow cyclist who was repairing a puncture. He had 3 tubes but had punctured two so was fitting his third.

his rim size was 26" and I'm on 700c's so i couldn't give him a spare just in case.

On the way home I stopped to find him fixing his 3rd puncture of the day (front wheel this time).

I offered patches just in case, but he had some anyway.

3 punctures on a cold Scottish day, in the dark. Now that's a bad day!

Halfway to work the weather turned, it got gray, cold with 20mph westerly headwind, my 12.2 average went to like 9.8. I was miserable, as the early part of the commute had me working up a sweat so I was pretty damp, then the wind and the cold hit and I was done. I persevered...but man what a miserable time on the bike.
Naisme,

Have you tried carrying a dry vest to slip into, or something to line your jacket with, to trap some warm air under your jacket for when the weather turns, or if you have to stop in the cold and change a tube? Sometimes I have a similar problem if I take the train. I am sweaty and warm, then I cool off in the train, then I get back out into the cold again, but I'm not dry like I was when I first started out. I try to dry my jacket off in the train, but my shirt usually does not dry in time, since I can't really take it off in the train... :p An extra vest to go under my jacket helps sometimes.

As miserable as it was I did find that I enjoyed the fact that I could get off the bike and have eight hours of work. I didn't have to ride as a friend showed up to ferry me home. It was a beautiful night though.
That said answers to the questions. I work the second shift, 4p to 12:30a, so I do get to see the sun occassionally, but by the time I'm at work lately it seems to be setting earlier and earlier. Hurray! 12/21 is the start of summer, as far as I am concerned, as the days get longer and longer. it also means that here in the North we have like two more months of some possibly extreme biking conditions, and out of the two months maybe two weeks that are just nasty cold.
I decided to not add a layer, even though I carried one, thinking with the way the wind was blowing it might not be a good idea to get in it with wet clothing and skin and add a layer. I was fighting time, cold and snow crusted bike paths. I felt time slipping, and I didn't think I could afford to loose a minute on the bike to ride the last five miles with another layer. Had it been any other day or I was going home, yeah I'd have stopped. I learned on doing my centuries this year, that I carry layers with me at all times. I also carry alittle bit of energy stuff, like gorp or such just in case the blood sugar hits bottom. I also am connected to a Camelbak to keep hydrated. This is under experimentation as my no leak bite valve freezes. I have gone to the insulated tube with a normal bite valve. So far no problems, but the season is still young.
And as for a couple days of San Diego, I dream of living there and working the ultimate bike job, the bike taxis in the Gaslight. I think that would be such a cool job. Much better than BMing. I am planning to be in Tucson in February, so I'll get away from the ice and cold.