Darth Lefty 

Strange ride home today. Got a late start due to a work-related function, and had a lot of false starts, but finally got going. And it just turned into a slog. Emotionally disaffected, seemed like some parts of me were too warm and others too cold. Hope I'm not getting sick.

I did come across the biggest, fattest jackrabbit I've ever seen around here.

arsprod 

I guess it really is November, 29F. Thankfully the winds were nominal and the sun made another appearance

jrickards

A couple of centimeters of snow had fallen on the ground/road by the time I got out there, temp was a mild -2C (felt mild anyway) although there was a strong breeze (headwind for the first bit) that blew falling wet snow onto my face and occasionally into my eyes (I neglected to wear glasses this morning).

However, as I was riding, on my Kona Sutra with 700x35 tires, I noticed that I had slippage issues with the rear tire (the front Continental Contact that has softer rubber than the rear Schwalbe Marathon) so I took it easy. I also noticed that the wet snow compacted nearly into ice under car tires so I stayed in the untouched snow at the side of the roads when I could. However, as I was rounding a right turn, where car tires tended to hug the right side of the road, I had no untouched snow in which to ride and shortly after riding on the compacted ice-like snow, I went down. Fortunately, no cars behind me, no injury to me or my bike but it made me much more cautious for the rest of the ride. I figured that the busy street I would move on to next would have had all the snow under the car tires chewed up, leaving wet road surface. Wrong, I encountered a much wider portion of the road with compacted ice-like snow and I moved quickly to the side, unclipped my shoes and applied the brakes gently. Gently did nothing other than lock up both tires but with my feet out, one grazing the surface of the top of the curb, I was able to stay upright and slowly come to a stop. After that close call, I moved onto the sidewalk (encountering no pedestrians for the remaining 2.5km of the ride) and made it safely in to work.

I'll have to watch the weather more now and I should think about fixing up my winter bike sooner than later. The forecast is for 20-30cm (8-12in) snow overnight and tomorrow but no more for next week. However, as long as the temps stay low, tonight's dump will stay for a while.

Unless it gets mild enough today (it is supposed to get a bit milder) that the snow melts, I'll ride home on the sidewalks and bike paths.

GovernorSilver

We had the same thing down here in DC. While the Mt. Vernon Trail seems well-maintained, I didn't feel like taking a chance on wet leaves possibly landing on the trail in the evening after the storm(s).

tarwheel 

Nice commute this morning after a day off riding yesterday. My favorite weather conditions today, sunny and chilly enough to keep to sweat down. However, I suspect that there will be a hefty headwind this afternoon with a cold front moving through the area.

Yesterday the stars all aligned for a perfect commuting week. I couldn't bike commute because I had a meeting on the other side of the town, and it was pouring rain (we had over 2"). So, I didn't have to miss bike commuting on a day with nice weather, which I hate. An added plus was that I was able to carpool with a coworker to the meeting, so I remained carless for the week. So, I was able to bike commute 4 out of 5 days this week, and it rained on the one day that I couldn't ride anyway. Win, win. With all the rain we have had lately, a 4-day commute week is outstanding for me. We are more than 10" above normal YTD on rainfall, with much of that excess occuring during the past few months.

Tundra_Man 

Consecutive commute #144 :

They had predicted a chance of up to 2" of snow today starting in the afternoon. When I woke up I discovered that the band of weather had shifted farther north than expected, it was already snowing, and now they were thinking 4"-7".

I hadn't yet prepared my winter bike for the season (procrastination) but I figured I could probably get one ride out of it and then I could work on getting it into full shape over the weekend. I pulled it down from storage and decided to give it a quick once-over. I discovered the rear brake cable had completely seized, making the bike unrideable until repairs were made.

So, I decided my choices were to break my streak and drive the car, or ride my regular hybrid commuter. I decided to ride the hybrid.

Snow was falling rapidly. Temps were at about 30F which meant the snow that was accumulating was very wet. My glasses kept icing over and fogging. The closer I got to work the more slick the roads became. The tire tracks made by cars were particularly slippery as the compressed snow turned into a thin layer of ice. I definitely noticed that I didn't have studded tires on this bike. Several times I had the rear end slide out from me around corners, even though I was riding especially careful. Almost went down on one turn but managed to keep the bike upright.

About halfway to work my front derailleur iced up and would no longer shift down to the lowest ring. Then in my last mile I noticed the rear derailleur started to ice up as well. I got the bike into a useable gear and basically rode single speed the rest of the trip. I'm guessing I'll have to use that one gear the whole way home as the temps are supposed to continue falling and there won't be any melting going on.

When I arrived at work my fenders were packed with snow and the tires were rubbing. I decided that if I just left it as-is I would probably come out after work to find everything a solid block of ice. Rather than risk having a wheel that wouldn't turn, I went into the office kitchen and grabbed a knife from the silverware drawer. I went back outside and used the knife to dig all of the compacted snow out from the fenders and brakes. On my way back into the kitchen I discovered that wet bike shoes on a tile floor are extremely slippery and I almost hit the ground.

Snow is still falling steady. I'm guessing I'm going to have a treacherous, slow ride home after work. Days like today you realize that bike commuting isn't always easy and takes determination.

HardyWeinberg

25F, peasoup fog, frosty frosty frosty. My (black-clad) legs were white and sparkly w/ frost by the time I got to the office.

PatrickGSR94

Left the office yesterday a few minutes later than I should have, which meant that the commute was more dark than it would have been otherwise. And my light was dying. I had almost no light by the time I got home 80 minutes later.

The road construction detour is really pissing me off bad. I kept stopping on crappy gravel shoulders to let loads of traffic by me. A couple of cars here and there is no big deal to me, but I'm experiencing loads of cars on this otherwise 2-lane rural road that never saw too much traffic before the construction started. They were supposed to be finished with it this month, but at this point I'm not holding my breath.

I've been practically begging the state DOT to give me an update on every Facebook post they make, but haven't heard anything yet.

spivonious

Yikes! Be safe out there @Tundra_Man and @jrickards.

caloso

It was great, right up to a block from my building when a driver intentionally squeezed me and tried to move me over. I failed today's Stoic test by not controlling my reaction and said some things I wish I hadn't.

Tundra_Man 

Well, my consecutive commute record may very well come to an end today at 143 1/2.

The possible 2" prediction of snow that later got changed to 4"-7" is now up to around 10" and still falling. Just looked out at the bike rack and the snow is almost up to the hubs, and there are drifts out there much higher than that.

We'll see what it looks like by 5:00, but I might have to wave the white flag and catch a ride home with someone in their truck.

wphamilton

@Tundra_Man, you can still count it as a consecutive day commuting if you rode in. Since you're counting days, not each one-way section.

gaucho777 

Respect for all those dedicated commuters in cold climates. Here in sunny CA, I wore shorts and t-shirt on this morning's commute. Ain't global warming grand!

joeyduck

@Tundra_Man I am with @wphamilton. You still commuted today.

jrickards

If you ride home like this, you can call it 144 but like @joeyduck and @wphamilton said, either way, I'd still count it.



This was me going in this morning for part of the "ride" after I had fallen and wanted to get to a better point to continue.

tarwheel 

If you rode to work, that counts as a commute in my book, even if you catch a ride home.

KCBikeCommuter

@Tundra_Man

+1

essiemyra

The commute today was an uneventful nice commute. The temp was 36f degrees with clear skies. I was putting my pannier on my bike, and had to go in the house and get a hat as it was cold enough for that, I though I was going to just use ear band.

dcb23

Monday, ugh! 32F/0C

Actually all started on Friday...made it 7 miles before I realized I had the rear tire going down. Ended up walking the bike home the last three miles. Really not that bad since it was Friday and it was nice out. Yesterday I finally got around to replacing the tire and I realized there was a small nail in there.

This morning on the ride in, coldest since Spring, I hit a big bump and thought I heard something hit the ground. Foolish of me for not fully investigating but it turned out to be my work badge. Thanks to some kind people signing me in I finally got into the locker room and cleaned up.

I'll pay it forward to the next person who needs a hand.

jrickards

Coldest commute this season (so far), -8C with a bit of a headwind at times. Most of the way, I was warm enough (obviously, I dressed more than I did last week) except for my toes as I was getting near the end of the 35min commute. I checked the inside of my boots and there is essentially no insulation at the toe (by design, these are last year's new purchase) so either I'll have to get out my bigger boots or find a way to reduce heat loss from my toes. Hands were a bit cool but I have plenty of options, not with me, at home, but I was fine.

Forecast is for milder temperature on the way home, increasing over the next few days to a high of 6C (and 25-35mm rain) by Friday.

mgw4jc

Hey, North Carolina is not supposed to be colder than Mass.! It was only 27F here when I left home.

First ride under freezing for me since last winter. It took me an extra couple of minutes to find the warmer mittens, socks, shoe covers, etc. and get it all on, but once I did, the ride in felt okay.

KCBikeCommuter

Mid-30's for the ride in today, and I was probably a little overdressed. I unzipped my jacket, but was still sweaty by the time I got to work. Also, I hit a bump and heard my tail-light fall off. I stopped to pick it up and found that the plastic mount had snapped off. The sun wasn't quite up yet, but it was already getting light, plus I still had my wheel lights to act as a tail-light, so I continued on to work. I need to find some superglue to see if I can fix the plastic bracket.

bmthom.gis

Blah. I was almost all ready to go. Pumped up the tires after walking the dogs, noticed the rear was down to about 15 PSI...haven't used it in a week, so maybe it's ok. Make lunch, come back 20 minutes later and went from 100 to 80 PSI. Okay, maybe I can fit my lunch and clothes into my Carradice. Try with just my lunch...takes up almost all of it. Would be fine in the summer when I wear shorts and a tshirt to work, but not in the winter. Blah. To the car keys I go.

Tundra_Man 

Consecutive commute #144 - Part Deux:

By the time I left work there was 16" of snow on the ground. Certainly not the 2" they had originally projected. I decided to give it the old "college try" and see if I could ride my hybrid home. I made it about three blocks, then determined that perhaps I could make it all the way home, but given how long it took to go these few blocks it probably would have taken me four hours to go the 8 miles. My non-studded tires just slipped and slid all over the place, and the unplowed snow had me in my lowest gear. I accepted defeat, and rode back to the office.

A co-worker who lives about six blocks from me agreed to give me a ride home in her 4wd SUV. While I was waiting for her another co-worker received word from a couple of his buddies that ride and attempted to make it home on their fat bikes, but failed in less than a mile. They said the snow was up over the top of their chain rings and they just ran out of strength trying to fight it. That made me feel a little better about throwing in the towel with my hybrid, because if fat bikes couldn't make it through then this was definitely not a casual snow event.

Given the votes of others in this thread, because I made it to work and attempted to ride home my streak should stand. Maybe, but it feels a little weird. Perhaps I just allow it but mark the streak with an asterisk?

Consecutive commute #144.5*:

I was at home but my bike was still at work. By Sunday morning the plows had run for most of the city, so after church I had my wife drop me off at work and I rode home. Some of the roads were still pretty "iffy" but I made it. I definitely missed having studded tires though. Had one close call while riding through an apartment parking lot (that I utilize to bypass a stretch of very busy road) that was a large expanse of sheet ice. Lost traction on both wheels, but somehow managed to keep the bike upright. Did make me pucker pretty hard though.

5 degrees when I woke up in the morning. At least the day was sunny and I had a light tail wind. Made it home without any major incidents. Then I set aside some time to tune up my winter bike and get it ready for the next morning.

Consecutive commute #145*:

On the winter bike today. It was very nice to have studded tires under me. There was a stretch of about 1.5 miles that was extremely rutted and now had turned to solid ice. Even with the studs I was sliding around because the ruts were making it hard for the tires to bite in. Never went down but I did have a couple of close calls. A few other areas were still in bad shape as well, but 70% of the roads were pretty good; they had ice patches but at least they were smooth ice patches. After today the next couple of days are supposed to be sunny and in the low 30s so I'm hoping some of this will melt off.

The studded tires add a ton of resistance, and to top that off I had a mild but steady headwind. My speed averaged in the 12 mph range although I was breathing harder than I do normally on my ride to work. 27 degrees out and I just had a t-shirt and a windbreaker on, but I was sweating hard. Took about 50 minutes to ride the 8 miles to work, whereas it takes about 35-40 on my hybrid and 30-35 on my road bike.

I did try out my new ski goggles I bought in an attempt to solve some of the problems I've had with my glasses icing over at colder temps. The temps this morning weren't low enough to discover whether or not they help, but did give me a chance to determine their comfort. They felt pretty good. They block a lot more wind than my glasses do. On the down-side, they don't have a good way to mount my Take-A-Look mirror, so I had to rely on a handlebar mirror instead which I quickly discovered I don't like near as much.

We get our Thanksgiving turkey today at work. Normally I pull my trailer to bring it home, but my trailer doesn't hook up to the winter bike (fender and rack mounting points interfere with the skewer hitch.) I experimented with a couple of ideas for holding the turkey on my rack, but didn't come up with anything satisfactory. Finally I just packed my backpack and will attempt to jam a 20 pound turkey into it. Might get a bit wearisome by the time I'm finally home.

HardyWeinberg

Frosty! 25F and sunny. What passes for sun here which would be an oppressive gray-out in CA I guess.