tarwheel 

Congratulations on retirement, Fletchh. You could still ride to the coffee shop every day and count that as a commute. There ought to be different rules for retirees.

I'm approaching retirement myself, but probably still have another 5-7 years of bike commuting, depending on the stock market. If it keeps crashing every 3-4 years, I may not ever be able to retire.

dcb23

Definitely a chill in the air this morning...and a steady headwind made it worse. Long pants, gloves, hat, winter riding is here.

Tractortom

Was back on my bike this morning for the first time in a very long time. I kind of quit riding in September after my fathers death, and didn't get back to it for nearly two months. Only rode around 100 miles a month in September and October. Now with the time change, it's light in the mornings early enough to ride well, so I was back on my Bacchetta Giro 26 this morning and into work. Will be off the bike tomorrow (supposed to rain, and I need to get to the polls) but weather forecast is good the rest of the week, and a bit colder, so I expect I'll be riding Wed-Fri as well. Feels good to stretch my legs in the morning and get breathing hard.

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

wphamilton

I'm getting up earlier now, partly the time change and partly because I woke up to a flat tire last week with no time to spare. Sure enough, another flat this morning. The walmart stick-on patches appear to be failing. Age or colder temperatures, but they're all going at once. Luckily I'd patched up some tubes yesterday with some better quality park tool patches!

I was way overdressed thinking it would be cold - google's weather app has it at mid-30's but it felt much warmer and I arrived hot. Still, better that than freezing on the way in.

arsprod 

A beautiful morning with daylight - thank you DST! Today was my coldest commute so far, 27 deg F. I feel like a bit of a slacker compared to you canucks! I've never rode year round and committed to stay with it this year (or maybe I need to be committed?). I was actually more comfortable than I expected, thanks to some great gear suggestions from this thread. All was warm except my toes. With wool socks and a borrowed pair of neoprene covers my feet are still cold. I think I just need to give up the idea that I can use cycling shoes through Fall and Winter and switch to some insulated shoes/boots.

gecho

It was bound to happen sooner or later. I forgot my keys and wallet so I had to go back home. Since I'm missing my morning classes, I'll make myself lunch before going in for my afternoon lab. It was 0C with a 30 gusting to 45kph headwind. The wind is supposed to shift I could potentially have to go against the wind 3 times today. With Friday's snow melting it is quite damp and feels colder.

I installed a rear rack on my Pugsley on the weekend. The rack mounts are a few inches forward of the rear drop outs, which puts the rack further forward then I would like. I can just barely squeeze my QR trunk in place. I'm able to put my panniers further back, so heel strike isn't a problem.

dramiscram

cold

LarDasse74

How wide are the tires you use on the pug? And how much more rolling resistance do you think it has over normal MTB with ~2 inch wide tires? Do you use it for an everyday bike in the winter?

caloso

Heavy legs, in a good way. And surprisingly warm. I guess we'll get some rain and cool winds later this week, but today is just gorgeous.

EKW in DC

Cool this morning with a temp in the low forties and a brisk northerly headwind... 15 mph with gusts upt o 20+. Near my limit comfortwise for not wearing some tights under the athletic shorts I tend to wear to ride into work, thanks largely to the wind, I think. Only got about 4 hours of sleep last night, but surprisingly was not too much worse for wear on the bike this AM.

Looking forward to the tailwind going home. Bike commute tomorrow morning will be significantly shorter than usual. I'm taking the day off from my office job to work as an election officer at a local precinct for Election Day. That means getting up at the 0 dark 30 in order to make it to the rec center in time to be around for prep starting at 4:45. Should be an intersting day, though. Anyway, the rec center is less than a mile from home, so my commute will go from 14 or 15 miles round trip to about 1 or 1.5 miles round trip. Looking forward to it though.

Be safe out there in the early darkness post-clock change, everyone! And get out there and vote tomorrow.

gecho

I have 3.8" tires on it. Definitely a lot slower to accelerate as the rear tire is about 1700g and front 1500g plus another 860g for each rim. I haven't got a real feel for rolling resistance yet because its been very windy every day I've been on it, and no bar ends to get into a more aero position. I also don't have a cycling computer yet. Once up to speed it seems to roll well, but I think slower. It also corners much better that I thought it would. Though I hear the Larry tire up front sacrifices grip to make it roll better.

It does handle soft surfaces better. We had 5cm of snow Friday and I found it quite easy going through the snow even riding on snow covered grass.

I have only been riding it for a week. The stock tires are very unstable on ice, but I have a studded set on order. I'll have to see how it handles when we get some more snow. It does seem to be less affected by car ruts than the other bikes I've ridden.

Notso_fastLane

It was pleasantly nice today! Low 50s, no wind, mostly dry roads.

Now the sun is out, it's supposed to be around 60 for the ride home. I donated blood today, and they said I shouldn't do any real heavy lifting or strenuous exercise for the next 12 hours. I think I'll take the long way home, but make it a kinda leisurely ride.

Ns1

finally back on my bike after a few weeks...

got a new tube, new shoes, new jersey. Cleaned the chain for the first time ever.

All this led to the smoothest commute to work yet. As long as I don't get a flat, looking forward to commuting again.

vtjim

Colder than this morning, and little pieces of white stuff were falling from the sky!

animabella

I made it home just a little while ago...it was raining moderately and was about 50*F outside...I was cold and soaked! ...but it was fun! I love riding in the rain.

Mr. Hairy Legs

In a word, awesome. First pitch-dark commute of the year, and I loved every minute of it. The new Urban 550 headlight isn't disappointing - glad I didn't go with anything weaker.

Bluish Green

I found a new use for my bike's battery-operated headlights... I knew it would be pitch dark when I left the office tonight, but I didn't know that the parking lot lights were apparently not set back for daylight savings time change, so it was absolutely 100% full on dark at the bike rack. I used one of my PDW Dreadnaughts as a makeshift flashlight to get the bike unlocked and prepped, then put it on the handlebar for the ride.

I had an aggressive SUV pass this morning, which is not normal for Springpatch, so I chalked it up to Monday morning blues on the driver's part. Other than that and a little confusion/who's-turn-is-it? at a 4 way Stop, both rides were really nice today, no wind at all.

Do any of you guys grow beards specifically for winter riding? Is it worth the itch?

stringbreaker

one compound word, HEADWIND

essiemyra

It was a cold 22f this morning, no wind to speak of and clear skies, a nice ride in all in all, except for the soreness in my right leg when I started out. I took advil at work, I will see how that works.

jrickards

Coldest morning ride for me so far, -4C with a slight breeze. I was warm all over except my toes which were cold but not really cold.

It was odd to ride in with a growing amount of light to the point that I didn't need my lights for the 2nd half of the ride (but kept them on so as to be seen). However, the effect of the time change will wear off and we'll be riding in pure darkness in a few weeks or so.

tarwheel 

Very cold in the mid-30s with our first patches of frost this fall. The extra daylight in morning is great but it was weird riding home in the dark yesterday and I was afraid that the battery on my light might not make it (but it did). I am going to have my usual reverse the pattern for using my light -- running it on the medium setting in morning and low in afternoon. Tried running it on medium setting both ways yesterday and the low-battery indicator came on about halfway home in the afternoon, so I ran it on low this morning and it was fine with the extra daylight.

SpecialJ

Between last weeks sandy remnants and the 0C yesterday and today's -1C, the rain pants the missus bought me are fantastic. Need something for my feet now. Toes are getting cold!

spivonious

First really cold commute. In the mid 20s when I left. The high today is only 41, so it will be cold coming home too.

I supplemented my normal cold weather outfit (long-sleeve under-armour shirt, track pants) with a hooded sweatshirt, gloves, and my facemask I use for skiing (covers from the nose/cheekbones all the way down my neck).

I got a little warm by the end of it, but not sweaty. I think I may leave the facemask off on the way home, depending on how cold it is.

It will also be my first darkish commute tonight. I hope my lights are enough (blinky in the back, headlight in the front). I have a reflective yellow vest, so cars should be able to see me okay.

enigmaT120

50 degrees, dark, and misty when I left this morning. Now (yesterday, actually) begins the several months of perpetual dark commuting. My lights work fine (except in heavy mist/fog like this morning!) but I miss the scenery. This is the time of year when it's almost nothing but a workout for me, and a way to avoid buying gas.

LarDasse74

I find it gives little warmth, certainly less than a fleece-backed lycra or polypropylene balaclava (<--- I bet that will be the longest pair of words I type today), if warmth is what you are looking for... I don't know how cold it gets in illinois, but here in Eastern Ontario Canada a beard is not really useful. I get much less enjoymnent from the warmth of beard and more from the fun of arriving at work with the lower half of my face covered in ice crystals like a deranged mountain man. But that is certianly not worth the itch (to me, anyways)