Commuting - I hate snow in the city $#@$!!

We got enough last night to put a nice layer of slush on the road but not bad enough that I'll stop. So I got to work this morning and my all black outfit's gray and I have salt and sand all over me. Yeesh, I can't even imagine what it's doing to my components...
And I used to like snow when I took mass transportation to work.

Sounds like you need some fenders.

Sounds like you need some fenders.

I got front and rear, but it comes off the sides and off cars and everything. :(

That's too bad, I love snow!

I like riding through small amounts of snow. I'm sure Slvoid really means "I hate slush in the city $#@$!!" Because with the warmer temps in NYC, they had a lot of mixture or snow that becomes slush when it hits the warm ground.

I agree that the slush stuff is annoying. What is annoying is the amount of damm salt towns put on the roads when a few flakes start to fall.. Driving wise, it's almost slippier driving on all the sand/salt than it is if it was pure snow.

Jay

Well, it's sunny now, the slush has melted, and what remains will freeze just in time for the ride home tonite! :)

...and I gotta ride home carrying a bike frame on my (back?/shoulder?/hands)

ch0mb0: I once carried a spare wheel (yup, a spare wheel) on my road bike to the bike shop by taking a bungee cord and making a loop around my forehead/neck and biked to the LBS. Taking a frame I would use a bunch of bungee cord or 1 long one to make something like a messenger bag, put one hook around one end of the frame and another hook on the other an strap it around the shoulders...

Jay

Well, it's sunny now, the slush has melted, and what remains will freeze just in time for the ride home tonite! :)

...and I gotta ride home carrying a bike frame on my (back?/shoulder?/hands)

Aw man.... ice, the #1 most hated thing for my slicks next to slush.
I'd bungee it and wear it like a backpack, that's the most comfy way to do it.

hmm...good call guys, there a HW store somewhere around here too. ought to do the trick.

For the frame if you have a decent messenger bag there are probably straps that you can use to strap it fairly securely to the bag. It works pretty well though I seem to recall needing another strap from somewhere else to secure it all. Otherwise I've also just worn a frame home. Just throw it over you the way you would a shoulder bag, seat tube passing under one arm and head tube over your shoulder.

edit: and fork in the bag.

I think I will skip commuting tomorrow. The temp will be in the negative with 20+ mph of wind gust.

I think I will skip commuting tomorrow. The temp will be in the negative with 20+ mph of wind gust.

Nice! I'll be out early tomorrow, might take a little time going to work but the tailwind coming home should be worth it.

BTW: Any luck with that frame, chombo?

I think I will skip commuting tomorrow. The temp will be in the negative with 20+ mph of wind gust.

Weak. But then again, I'm a hardass. ;)

There's one thing that makes the biggest difference between dying in the cold and being warm for me in temps like this, the combination of my Patagonia balaclava and Osprey windcap/helmet liner. I can do down to about -20F with my setup. Colder than that, and I'm not going to work anyway.

But back to the discussion... There's like 10 different grades of snow, not including slush types and the crap that's left over after a melt. The stuff I hate riding in the most is when the temps have been in and out of melting range and the cars have turned the snow and ice on the road into something the consistancy of sand. There's no traction at all and even if you manage to get going it will stop you in your tracks.

yeah. I was feeling lazy so I just did what bostontrevor said

It was a pretty chilly out tonite. Musta looked funny schlepping up that hill with a frame sticking out of my back, but in the end...success!

http://img37.exs.cx/img37/5718/dsc06837224vk.jpg

Hahahahaa.....I begin riding on Wednesday when the temp should be in the teens. I figure that I should get some rest since I have logged close to 500 miles this past 3 weeks. So, skipping a day or two from riding won't hurt. I do want to ride tomorrow, BTW. :D Something tells me I shouldn't.........


Weak. But then again, I'm a hardass. ;)

There's one thing that makes the biggest difference between dying in the cold and being warm for me in temps like this, the combination of my Patagonia balaclava and Osprey windcap/helmet liner. I can do down to about -20F with my setup. Colder than that, and I'm not going to work anyway.

But back to the discussion... There's like 10 different grades of snow, not including slush types and the crap that's left over after a melt. The stuff I hate riding in the most is when the temps have been in and out of melting range and the cars have turned the snow and ice on the road into something the consistancy of sand. There's no traction at all and even if you manage to get going it will stop you in your tracks.

8 degrees this morning on my 10 mile commute in. What is bad and kind of dangerous with all the freeze, refreeze, is that the snow and stuff melts in the daytime and then refreeze overnight. And that is not the half of it. ATVs and cars make ruts in all the trails in the mud in the daytime and then it hardens into grooves and doubletrack. So in the morning when I commute on the trails to work, voila, you hit ice, then a tire groove which inevitable will fill up with runoff and freeze over and then you hit some frozen ridge. Flop... Ouch... crash... burn...

Jay

8 degrees this morning on my 10 mile commute in. What is bad and kind of dangerous with all the freeze, refreeze, is that the snow and stuff melts in the daytime and then refreeze overnight. And that is not the half of it. ATVs and cars make ruts in all the trails in the mud in the daytime and then it hardens into grooves and doubletrack. So in the morning when I commute on the trails to work, voila, you hit ice, then a tire groove which inevitable will fill up with runoff and freeze over and then you hit some frozen ridge. Flop... Ouch... crash... burn...

Jay

The roads were ok here in the city, lots of salt and sand but overall dry.

have you had any problems cornering thru the sand etc.?
I'm kinda ascairt of that stuff.

Woke up this morning and said FTS to riding in. Maybe another day...

have you had any problems cornering thru the sand etc.?


I slow way way down at the corners, like 5 mph, and if I know there's room, I act like I'm racing and take the widest turn possible and stay as upright as possible. A little sand is actually nice, it helps me stick to the road when I'm riding over small patches of ice or metal plates.

I wimped out and drove this morning. I will say that I've ridden in this temperature before, but I'm catching a cold, and I didn't think riding would be good for it. (Or maybe it would be -- that sounds like another thread.) Anyway, the thought of my nose filling up and oozing into my face mask half-way into the ride was extremely unappealing! :eek:

Oh, yeah, this thread was about snow, wasn't it? ;) I don't think the main roads were too bad today, but I definitely don't drive when they are, such as in an active storm or if they haven't been cleared. I'm not into studs or chains yet.