Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Ahh the joys of winter

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SamHouston

12-23-04, 02:08 PM

Now I'm home, had a hot shower and fresh clothes. I woke up knowing it'd be snowy since it was when I went to bed, but snow ain't bad. As soon as I stepped out the door the snow was done, changed to ice pellets, after 5 mins of riding that changed to straight freezing rain... Now if there is anything that will make a fresh 23cm snowfall downright unpleasant it's a few hours of rain. So instead of fresh snow, packed snow and slush to ride in I got swampy slush and packed ice with water on top. By the time I got our eastside office I was thoroughly depressed and not looing forward to the next 5 hours. To make this better for me I had 40lbs of last minute holiday cheer and legal briefs to distribute over a 6km x 3km range. Seeing my distress my dispatcher quickly handed me a bottle of wine....to deliver of course, at my furthest point west. The boss came in and asked me when in gods name (god is a friend of his) would I be getting that turkey he gave me the hell outta the company fridge and into my own.(my own being as far west as the wine destination) "The turkey stays" I said, pointing to my oversized bag with tubes and now a bottle of wine sticking out of it. Truth is the boss is a nice guy, came outside as I left to snap a few photos of me getting on my ride with an oversized bag and deep snow to make a flyer for the clients so they'll love us more. Gave me a candy cane he did.

So I fell twice, nice and cotrolled each time. Once to watery ice and once to covered streetcar tracks. I slowly lightened my load over 5 hours to finally, finally arrive home. The rain stopped at noon, then it snowed nicely for half an hour, then the sun came out and it's a nice day...now that I'm done.
I know any of my geared bikes would've gotten me through the day ok, but my furry beast did it spectacularly as usual and will do it even if every day is like this for the next 4 and a half months. That's why I got her.

Here is me at the end of my short day. and some pics of my furry beast. The only ice I had to knock off to make it go was on my seat and grips when I had to wait inside an office for some documents for 20 minutes.
Furry Beast (http://www.under-the-weather.ca/WinterFur/index.html)
If I look happy it's cause I'm done, all I gotta do for the rest of the day is get some groceries and wipe her down and bring her in. That and my fiance saw me arrive from the window and came down, took a pic. She so sweet.

nocoins

12-23-04, 02:22 PM

Wierd Beard

12-23-04, 02:25 PM

Bummer. Nice bike though.

SamHouston

12-23-04, 02:33 PM

oh man, I do love snow!

a) why is your bike furry?
b) great pictures!
c) why is your bike furry again?
d) how do your clipless pedals work in all that mess? I imagine it would be more difficult to clip in with the ice getting into everything? I never rode with clipless and now that winter is here, I dont plan on switching over just yet.

a)I had some fur and some time, was bored, these things happen
b)thanks!
c)she looked pimping, by winters end it'll look madmax. plus no one else had fur
d)Time works great in ice & snow. Even with solid ice built up from staying at one stop too long they pop right in tight. same with ice build up on the cleat, or both. If it's really bad you might have to give the pedal a sharp kick and you're in. The springs bust out any ice on the pedal and the cleats squash it out from between when you step on. I tried SPDs in winter, sometimes you would have to kick them quite a lot or dig it out with a key or stick, never with the Times and the hold tighter.

dabern

12-23-04, 02:49 PM

Cool pics...literally. Nice fork, too; looks like a Colnago...

HereNT

12-23-04, 02:52 PM

Dang, I thought I had gotten my bike coated before, but that blows it out of the water. Wow.

MKRG

12-23-04, 06:13 PM

You make rock and roll look like easy listenin'.

wasted weasel

12-23-04, 08:56 PM

SamHouston

12-24-04, 12:50 PM

those are awsome pics.
When I got home from work tonight I had to try it on my bike....fell once into a large puddle and got soaked after about 20 minutes then headed home. Fun though.
What do you use for leggings/tights? are they waterproof? Just looking at the amount of slush and ice built up around the chain stays on your bike.... I was only out for a half hour and I think I've ruined a perfectly good pair of chords by doing so...

Also if I may ask; where is your 'east side' office located compared to your home in the west end? what kind of commute distance is that?

Post the pics your boss took of you when you can too.....

again awsome stuff!!

I use cycling shorts over the MEC Venturi tights with a UTW 3/4 length over those in the winter. Not completel waterproof, but I don't really got for full waterproof cause even the waterproof breathable stuff is a touch warm when you have to layer under it and I end up sweating.
Our office is near Jarvis and Richmond east, I come in from the Dufferin/College area, a super quick commute. Then I do a "morning run" consisting of overnight packages due by noon. My area is bordered by University to the west, the lake to the south, College to the north and Parkdale to the east. So it can easily take til noon specially if I feel lazy. Then I can either do normal runs or go home, I play my contractor card pretty hard but my company is amazingly cool like that. Pretty much work the hours I want if I do that morning run.
Yeah I'll post those pics my boss took, I'll probably get them in the mail with my next bill since we have an account with them.

wasted weasel

12-25-04, 07:38 PM

Then I can either do normal runs or go home, I play my contractor card pretty hard but my company is amazingly cool like that. Pretty much work the hours I want if I do that morning run.
That's pretty cool and seems like a fairly large area to ride within. I work in an office downtown, but it's always been in the back of my mind to try a messenger job or try to swing it part time (just day dreams though). Unless there is messenger work on the weekends I'd never be able to swing it. That's awsome that you can do it.

If I ever spot your bike downtown sometime I'll be sure to stop and say hi...