scoatw

Riding here in Columbus today. 29f with a brisk westerly wind to push me home. We had a nice snowfall during my ride which made for some relaxing riding. Of course folks look at me as if I'm nuts to be riding in this weather

kpottkotter

I go down Frantz/Dublin Rd and then cross the bridge at either Hayden or Fishinger. Frantz and Dublin Roads are relatively wide - the turning lane provides enough room for cars to pass - and traffic isn't too heavy. It's a nice ride that usually takes 45 minutes to an hour depending on my timing at lights and how much I want to hammer on a given day.

scoatw

Woke up this morning and flipped on the Weather Channel to see what I had to prepare for. I saw a big white splotch on the radar indicating snow heading east toward Dublin. I figured that I might hit the beginning of it by the time I got to work at 5am. Temp was 24f with the wind from the west at 10mph(altho it felt like 15)Brutal! When I left, there was a slight snowfall. By the time I got to the river it was coming down pretty good. By the time I got to the BP in Linworth, it was a steady snowfall. Pretty neat the way my headlights lit it up. This afternoon it felt as if the temp had dropped but I don't think it did according to my thermometer, 25f. Had a nice tailwind pushing me home. Felt nice riding, I was real comfortable, didn't get cold. The gear is working. I dug out my old snowpants I've had for some time, preparing for the frigid stuff that they're calling for at the end of the week. Just pick em' up and put em' down.
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brotherj

I go down Dublin to Fishinger to Northwestern Blvd to Goodale to Nell to Scioto River bikepath to Broad to Grant to Franklin U. Nice ride, 14 miles each way.

This morning was 27 at 7:00 with a little headwind, but after the first mile it was nice and warm. Trip home this evening was easy, light traffic. Didn't even need the snow tires. I don't know why I listen to the news they make it sound so bad in the morning. My co-workers keep asking if I'm still riding my bike. They can't quite understand.

scoatw

I know what you mean. I get the same where I work. I tell folks that I'm bound and determined to ride everday, and I have. Snow, Ice, rain. Yesterday I was in BikeSource/Westerville to pick up a new chain and the guys in there asked me how it was 'out there'. I said "it wasn't bad, if you dress for it, you don't feel it". The one guy says "Right,....I don't believe you". I said, "Really, I feel rather comfortable out there." I also mentioned that the clothing crap that they sell won't do squat in the cold. You need X-C Ski clothing (SportHill) to handle the cold stuff. At least that's what I use. Thanks to BikeForums and ICEBIKE. That's what got me ready for this cold stuff. This is my first year of Winter Riding. And I was getting ready way back in Sept. and Oct. I've got this cold-ridin' stuff licked, so I think. When there is snow on the ground, I break out the Nokians'. I keep a separate wheel-set ready when I need it. Working so far.

brotherj

ICEBIKE was what gave me the confidence to keep up the commute. I got silk long underwear, poly long johns, fleece top. Tights and a wind breaker top it off. My biggest problem is that I keep dressing in too many layers and end up sweating. Then I have to decide if it's worth stopping and stripping a layer.

I did the same thing with the snow tires, built up a second set of wheels and mounted Nokian studded tires. Work great, but are a little more resistance than my 1.2" Michelin's.

Even with my street tires on I'm seeing slower times on the round trips. Prior to Thanksgiving I had gotten my inbound time down to :44 now I'm pushing :50. I feel like I'm pushing just as hard. My cadence is there I just can't maintain the same sprocket gear. I'm running 1 lower than I had.

Any ideas? Is it just the cold on the muscles or what?

scoatw

Cold air is denser than warm air. At least thats the excuse I use when it seems my commute is taking longer than usual. Don't worry about it. On good days, you'll make good time. And by Spring you'll be cruising.
Rode in this morning with 24f and calm winds. There was a light snowfall as I rode in. I was expecting the howling snowfall we had on Tuesday. But I lucked out. I like riding in the snow like that in the morning. Its peaceful and serene. I kept the road tires on because I knew the snowfall would be light. I stopped at the BP as usual to pick up a newspaper, and some lady commented to me how she sees me every morning and thought it was "amazing" how I ride everyday, particularly in this cold weather. I said "Thanks". Riding home the temps dropped to 19f. It felt nice and cool. It's all in the gear. Had the wind at my back.
I might have to put the snowpants on tom'rw morning. Talking about 7f in the morning. If so, that will set a new personal record for me. At this point I'm pushing 400 miles so far.
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scoatw

Ride home this aftn felt alot cooler than the 49f indicated. But it still felt nice not having to wear all of the cold weather gear. No balaclava, no shoe covers, just a single layer. Got me thinking about Springtime. Whoa! Hold on there, we still have February to go thru. Expecting thunderstorms tom'rw. I wonder what that will be like. Come on March. Ride this morning was real nice. 37f, no wind, made good time riding in.
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scoatw

I was expecting super slick roads this morning due to all of that slush from yesterday freezing overnight. The stuff froze, but with the light coating of snow on top of it made it OK to ride on. Once on the main drag it was smooth sailing. Made good time riding in.
The aftn was quite enjoyable with the sunshine and all. Temps were in the mid 30’s and it felt nice and cool. Winter hopefully is winding down, I sure hope so. Expecting another storm next week, but according to the weather monkey’s, it will be more rain than snow. Let’s hope.
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misterbaseball9

What up C'bus area cyclers? I'm in the Delaware area. Wife and I used to live on the North side of C'bus and often rode the trail along the river from Worthington to campus and back. We're looking to get a little more serious about riding. Need to get some decent road bikes, though.

John5.0

I had a great experience at BicycleOne in Gahanna, picked up 07 Madone 5.0. They do have a 2007 Raleigh all carbon bike for under $900 with 105s. They have a good selection of '08 Trek bikes.

scoatw

Sat Mar. 8, 08 Todays commute was one for the ages. 20” snowfall total that broke a 98 yr old record. Riding in this morning went OK. I left a half-hour earlier than usual at 3:30am. The roads were sloppy but rideable. I rode 90% on my granny ring. So my progress was slow and steady. Averaging anywhere between 6-9mph. As long as I was keeping it around 8mph I figured I’d get to work on time at 5am. Traffic was sparse as expected. Thru-out the commute the road was about 1 ½ lanes wide. So when a car came from behind I would bail out on the side as much as I could to let them by. Then continue on down the middle of the road where traction was best.
Thru out the day as I watched the Blizzard go thru, I knew it was going to be a long commute home. I got off 1 ½ hours early. The side road where I work was totally un-rideable. So I had to walk about ¼ mile up to 161. Once on 161 the road was about as bad as it gets.Visibility at this point was about 200 yds or less. So I kept a close eye on cars coming up behind me. Thankfully traffic was light. So I did some more Ridin’ & Bailin’ all the way to Worthington. I made my way from Evening St. to New England. One half of Evening had been plowed, but New England was a quagmire of deep, loose snow which made it impossible to ride. When I crossed High St. @ New England I came upon some Snowplows which had plowed New England all the way back to 161.Back to more Ridin’ & Bailin’ on 161 to Giant Eagle where the road conditions worsened enough to start hoofing it. At one point I was walking in snow up to my knees. I thought this sucks, but I had no choice because of traffic, which had increased around I-71. And I did this for about 100 yds till I Was able to move to the service Rd. in front of Devonshire. I took the service Rd. all the way to Cleveland Ave. The service Rd. had its good spots and bad spots. 90% was bad. I’d ride for 50 or 100ft and then have to walk 100 or 200 ft. thru 6” of loose broken up snow.I made it to Sharon Woods Blvd/161 about 1 ½ hours from when I left work. At this point, I'd only covered 4 miles. I took shelter in an alcove at Jiffy Lube and took a break. My legs were getting tired, and I thought I should re-hydrate.Temps were 26f with a N wind I figure at 20-25mph. I drank the ice water I had which was refreshing and called home to let them know I was safe. So I continued on to Cleveland Ave. I don’t know how many cars I saw stuck in the ditch along 161. But it was a lot.I wanted to stop at Kroger at Cols. Square to get some stuff on my way home. By the time I got to Kroger I was bonking out. No better place to bonk out than at a grocery store. But I already had food with me, left over from the stuff I take to work, So I sat inside the store and ate that and relaxed for awhile before I did my shopping. The final leg home went better. I was able to ride more than walk. So that made me feel better. Altho the one footpath I took to get thru to my neighborhood was up to my thighs as I struggled with the bike to get thru that for about 70 ft. When I got home I had to trudge the final 30ft.to the door thru some more thigh high stuff. Home at last! The whole ordeal took me 3hrs. I had a little taste of what the Iditarod might be like. Those people are the strongest people I know. Doing the 350 mile leg to McGrath or the 1100 mile leg to Nome in conditions a lot worse than ours. Keep in mind that they walk roughly a third of that when the snow on the trail is deep.
After I rested and relaxed for a spell at home. I did a little snow shoveling and gave the bike a wash with a couple of buckets of hot water to clean it off. Monday were expecting an Alberta Clipper with cold temps and LIGHT snow. On Sunday I will rest for my journey on Monday
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scoatw

Wow! What a great day to ride. This morning was the best in a long time. Still had some of the winter gear on but I made good time ridin' into work. I enjoyed it so much that I didn't want to stop. This afternoon was Spin city. No gloves, no balaclava, just a light jacket(my does-it-all Showers Pass rain jacket), my regular tights. It felt great. People were smilin' at me with that look on their faces that they wish they could be out ridin' a bike today. Temps were at a glorius 62f or so. And the bike was moving on the road tires. After spending a week on the Snow studs. Took the bikepath from Antrim up to Worthington. Had it all to myself. After today, I don't care what the weather does the rest of the week. Yesterday I flipped the odometer over 1000 miles

politicalgeek

Just started getting bike into biking here in Columbus. Hoping to find a new apartment in the fall closer to work and campus so I can ditch the car.

misterbaseball9

scoatw, I couldn't even imagine cycling on Saturday 3/8. I'm just now getting out there. Was pretty chilly yesterday, but not unbearable.

scoatw

Rode out to Hilliard today from Cooper Rd area. Did a total of 44mi. I visted a friend out there, and it gave me a chance to put in some miles to prep for TOSRV. Temps stayed around the 45f mark, even tho with the wind it felt cooler than that. I rode down Bethel to Hayden Rd. It sure would've been nice to have a bike lane to ride on going down Bethel Rd. But the cars had room to go around me.

John5.0

Trying to get ready for a couple big rides for me. TOSRV and Indy Tour de Cure. Live in Marysville and work in C-Bus/Dublin. Looking at forcast for next 5 days, looks like windy and more wet. Sunday appears to be best(as of right now) and would like to get in 60-80 miles (maybe a little more or a little less) in some where. Any suggestions? Anyone else up for it?

scoatw

Woke up this morning to a steady rain. "Great", I said. By the time I got ready to leave it had died down to nothing. I got all bundled up in my rain gear for nothing. Even tho it was just a light 'spittin' type of stuff. I'm gettin' used to riding in at 4:30am. It's so nice and peaceful. Gives me time to contemplate. I've got the news on my radio. The roads all to myself. I enjoy that. A friend at work tells me that her husband is "considering biking" to work to save gas money. I gave her a few links to pass onto him to give him some info. Including this one. For all you newcomers, or folks getting ready for the warm temps. The important part is TO BE SEEN. At least get a tail-light or two. I have three. PerformanceBike has them on sale. And as much as it sounds corny. DO follow the rules of the road, as if you were driving a car. Stop at Red lights, I go thru Worthington everyday. And I stop at the light at 161/High St. if its red. Even if no one is around. I just mosey on up to the crosswalk button and push it and the light changes for me. You don't know how many times the cops have seen me do this. When it comes to Stop signs. I do rolling stops as much as anyone else, but use caution. Give the right of way if you have to. We're talking about waiting for 15 sec. or so. Try to set a good example for other bikers. We know that the cagers are impatient. But one good thing about riding a bike is that it slows the world down. Be safe and practice good habits. Peace out.....Oh yeah, the ride home this aftn was great. A little chilly, 42f. But once again, I had the bikepath all to myself.
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scoatw

Wow! Today was the first nice day of the year. Sunny and 67f. Lots and lots of bikers and walkers out. I rode up to Sunbury around 11am via the Westerville Bikepath. It ends at Plumb Rd. Just a short hop over to Galena, and then up Harrison St. to Sunbury. I rode around Deleware County for about 3hrs. I saw several pelotons between Galena and Sunbury. Stopped and had lunch at Big Walnut and Hoover Resevoir. Made my way back to the Bikepath and buzzed home. Had the sandals w/socks on, very cool and comfortable.
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brotherj

I did the Hilliard to Plain City route yesterday afternoon. Beautiful day with a lot of traffic on the rail trail. Obvious the folks that hadn't been riding all winter, and the parents and kids who over estimated their abilities.

Great ride, got home and settled down to do homework...yahoo.

scoatw

YOWZA! Today was the second best day of the year! Commuted in a nice and comfortable 55f. Which meant no winter gear. Yea! It's about time. This aftn. was out of this world. Rode home on the bikepath nice and slow. I had shorts, sleevless jersey and the sandals barefooted. I saw alot of walkers and bikers. I saw alot of bikers dressed as if it were 40degrees out there. Heck, it was 70f. Today was one of those days to hang loose. I rode up and down the Bikepath several times. I didn't want to quit, it felt so nice. I had the bike on the middle ring and just took my time. Listening to the radio and smoking cigarettes. ( I know, thats bad.) Stopped by the river and hung out. I just took my time heading home. Tom'rw is supposed to be even better. Tom'rw I have to stop by PerformanceBike and pick up another tail-light because I busted one off. 10% off on Tuesdays.

MalcolmsFrejus

Just got back out yesterday (4/23) Broke my leg the weekend of the big blizzard (long story involving the flu, my dog, 5AM, slippers, ice and XC skiing) Couldn't stand all this nice weather we've been having so I unstrapped the cast a week early and went out for a spin.
Happy to ride next week sometime but I'm not supposed to have the cast off for a few more days.
I'm taking it very easy.

scoatw

Wow! What a nice day today. 76f. I rode thru Westerville down State St. Traffic was heavy in both directions. I just rode alongside it practicing "taking my lane" Life is good when you don't have to worry about $3.65/gal.
.......Anybody getting ready for TOSRV ?

dobovedo

"Life is good when you don't have to worry about $3.65/gal."... IF you are smart enough to leave work with enough time BEFORE the storm hits.

I didn't do that today.

Only got 3 miles into my 10 mile ride, and the skies opened up. I think there was a bit of hail mixed in there. I woulda kept going but the crosswind got too dangerous on the rush hour-heavy road I was on, so I pulled over and waited it out a bit next to somebody's garage.

Definitely doin' TOSRV. It's an annual thing. Already 'ready' for it though.. Calvin's Challenge TT is this weekend so I've been training for that.

katieisbiking

Another Columbus person here! How did the TOSRV go? I'm from Chillicothe and I enjoyed watching the bikes go through every year.