EdZilla

Great full moon early morning mid December bike ride. Cold, clear, and a blazing full moon.
https://docs.google.com/a/summitbid....ppQnNPSUk/edit

bmontgomery87

^^ Agree with Edzilla.

I didn't get to ride monday or tuesday and kept thinking how much I wanted to be riding with the bright mornings we've had lately.

It was 30ish and windy here, but a really cool ride with the full moon. That being said, I shaved about 5 minutes off of my commute and felt like dying when I walked into work.

dcb23

The moon yes...even in a cityscape the bright morning moon is making a difference. Nice ride in, wet streets with some ice on cars from the overnight freeze.

tarwheel 

Swapped bikes today and forgot the keys to my office. Fortunately I carry a spare key to my bike lock on my pocket, so I was able to lock up. Waiting for someone to show up at work with keys to the storage room where I keep my clothes, towel and bath supplies. I've been lucky with the weather so far in December and have missed only one commute day so far. If I can keep it up, I should top my goal of 5,000 commuting miles this year.

dramiscram

In my case it's the other way around, the weather forced me to skip 5 commute days so far in december so I'm already 110 kms short of my annual goal of 10 000 kms total (not just commuting) With the forecast I'll probably have to skip few more days.

I'll try again next year.

tarwheel 

I am amazed at how much you manage to ride up in frigid north country. My problem this year has been vacation time, which is a good problem to have. I got an extra 2 weeks of vacation days this year, which cost me about 200-250 miles of commuting. I've actually been commuting more on days with marginal weather this year, but all that time off reduced the number of commutes. My total mileage is higher than ever, however, and I should top 9,000 miles for the year this week.

mtessmer

It didn't start well. My bike helmet headlight/flasher died on me (with a full charge) and I no sooner get out of the driveway and my rear tire was almost flat. Hmmm... I hope my day gets better.

FBinNY 

I don't know if this has been mentioned on the forum, but cold weather riders should know that batteries don't like very low temps (below freezing). As temps drop battery performance drops also. The effect varies by battery type (chemistry), and how that affects your light depends on the circuitry. Some will read a cold battery as depleted and shut down, or even if running may put out significantly less light.

So if you live in an area where your car won't cold start easily, figure your lights will likewise suffer.

mtessmer

We've had the longest, coldest December weather since the early 70's. Plus we've had snow 12 out of the last 17 days. It's hurt my bike commuting figures. Most of November was colder than average also. I'll stop complaining.

mtessmer

No, it's a bad switch. It worked great all last winter.

Rick@OCRR

Temp. was 58 Deg.F when I left the house, so no problems and no issues with motorists equals an excellent commute this morning.

Should be in the 70's by the time I ride home.

Rick / OCRR

squegeeboo

Last two days have seen both my main bike and backup bike break. So my commutes have been bad. Hopefully I can find my chain repair tool and a spare link or three and get the backup running again at least.

mstraus

Last nights commute home was great. Cool but not cold and I was layered perfectly.
Moon was big and bright giving me fantastic views as I approached and went over the Golden Gate Bridge.

I stopped at a bike store on the way home to pick something up, browse a bit, and ask questions about a bike I have been eyeing. Felt much colder when it got back on the road and had a bit of a chill the rest of the way home, but didn't feel like adding a layer.

This morning was great. In the low 40s warming to mid 40s after being about 50 yesterday. After a cold start I pushed hard to warm up and felt good the entire ride. Made good time and even got a new best on one of my climbs.

iamjethro

UGH! Had a meeting out of town so I drove today. Then about 10 got a phone call. meeting cancelled. Perfect day too. Was under 30 this morning when I would have left in, but about 62 forecast for the ride home this afterrnoon. And I missed it.

rumrunn6

when I was commuting I wrapped my battery in bubble wrap and it rode in a spare bottle holder w/ 2 sandwich bags rubber banded over the top. lately though it rides in my rear trunk, well insulated. can you run the battery from within your jacket? or is the battery in the light itself? if cold wasn't the issue with the battery then maybe it's time to replace the battery. rechargeables don't last forever. these are the times that make you tuff and really enjoy the swift summer commutes

dcb23

Last commute today until the 30th....happy holidays and safe riding everyone!

prooftheory

Dry and warm (30/-1) but I had to ride through a police barricade where a pedestrian had been killed by a driver.

dramiscram

I wish I had that kind of problem

wphamilton

I almost fell over this morning from a dead stop, an embarrassing moment. I'd veered into the grass to circumnavigate one of those huge tree clipper platforms, but there was about a two inch lip to get back on the path. Stopping, I'd forgotten the straps. By blind luck I ripped both feet out just in time.

I've been using the clips and straps since early fall, but I still can't say for sure that they're really worth it over just platforms for commuting. All my starts are pedal a couple of times, pause a second to slip my foot in, settle then go. No really quick starts any more, plus feeling spastic if you have to jerk your foot out in a panic. Does it ever get better than that?

Ky_Rider

Great job tarwheel and dramiscram. Those are some amazing commuter miles.

Left work early and decided to take a new longer route home. This is the longest hilliest route home so far, but I enjoyed it. It took me about 2 hours to get home with some stops. The hills frequently had me in the lowest gears. 20 miles and 828 feet of climbing.

tarwheel 

First daylight morning commute in a while as I did some work from home and left late. Although it was nice riding in sunlight for a change, I really felt less safe due to increased traffic and less visibility without my lights standing out. I have actually started enjoying my commutes in the dark lately with all of the Christmas lights glowing. I should get plenty of that on my commute home today because I'm going to a Christmas party after work and will be riding home entirely in the dark again.

Leebo

26 F and clear sky with lots of snow and ice. Love the 35 x700 studded tires. They plow 3 bike paths that I use, nice. Gatorade did not freeze up for the 18 miles, bonus. Just have to get used to the front wheel crazy dance with rutted, bumpy ice as well as the brown car snot.

AusTexMurf

In Austin in the winter, I wear these Keen Austin Cycling shoes w/ SPD cleats on A530's and M324's, both dual platform pedals.
Multi-release cleats are available if you have difficulty unclipping at stops...
I like this setup much better than straps/clips on flats. Winter weather conditions in austin/atlanta are a bit similar.
Been running SPD's on my commuter setups for almost 10 years.
No reason to change, here.

arsprod 

40F this morning, a veritable heat wave! That's almost 30 degrees warmer than yesterday morning. More importantly, the snow and ice has finally cleared from most of the MUP. There was a pretty stiff headwind but I'm not complaining - I'll take a headwind over surface-of-the-moon riding... until I forget about it and will start complaining about headwinds again

droy45

Finally a decent ride in today. 15F and calm. That time of year has arrived where I have to ride in the traveled lane as there is snow on the shoulder. The traffic was fairly forgiving allowing me the room I need to stay on the cleared pavement.