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Extreme cold and blizzards and floods

Old 02-21-15, 10:21 PM
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Originally Posted by gerv
I recognize that every cyclists has a threshold... for example I don't normally ride under -4F. . .. ..
I am curious as to how you arrived at such a specific temperature?!!
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Old 02-21-15, 10:49 PM
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Originally Posted by loky1179
I am curious as to how you arrived at such a specific temperature?!!
I could rephrase this "I never ride when it's -5F or less."

Either way I say it, it means this. I have set my line in the sand at -5F and will only cross that line if I feel like. -5F is just to let you know I have standards.
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Old 02-21-15, 10:55 PM
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Originally Posted by gerv
I could rephrase this "I never ride when it's -5F or less."

Either way I say it, it means this. I have set my line in the sand at -5F and will only cross that line if I feel like. -5F is just to let you know I have standards.
OK, drawing the line at -5°F makes a lot of sense. But drawing the line at -4°F? That's just crazy!
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Old 02-21-15, 11:02 PM
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79 F today in Tucson, AZ with lots of wild flowers in full bloom. What's not to like?
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Old 02-22-15, 01:09 AM
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Originally Posted by loky1179
OK, drawing the line at -5°F makes a lot of sense. But drawing the line at -4°F? That's just crazy!
I know...minus 4 is a heat wave!!

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Old 02-22-15, 01:58 AM
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35C today in Hobart. That's 95 in the old system.

We were out cycling this morning and early afternoon ... and the temps were about 30C (86F) and warming up then.
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Old 02-22-15, 10:30 AM
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Yeah, the sprayer is awesome. Our hose is buried under waist-deep snow in the back yard, and danged if I'm going to go dig it out. But the quantity of crap that has melted all over the bike room is really gross (and really not worth even attempting to clean it up for another month or two) so it's nice to be able to leave more of it outside!

I think it's an oversimplification to say that expansion of the MBTA is the reason maintenance was neglected. Expansion is generally popular and there are lots of justifications for it, plus extra sources of funding, incentives, and so forth. The current expansion phase is actually still part of the Big Dig - promising to build extra transit is part of what gave the whole plan enough air-quality improvement "credit" to go ahead. The MBTA was also saddled with a whole bunch of debt resulting from cost overruns on other, unrelated parts of the Big Dig.
But the real reason is that we just haven't been willing to spend money on maintaining infrastructure. It's not just the T - we have tons of crumbling bridges, road surfaces that have gone way over the recommended maintenance interval, etc. We have potholes like you wouldn't believe. (There's one road on my way to work where there was a trolley that last ran in 1938, but the tracks (and the cobblestone street) are still under the pavement. I know they're still there because there are multiple eight-inch-deep holes where you can see them.) There are massive potholes on I-93 for that matter - and there is no way that fixing them costs more than the collective wear and tear on thousands of vehicles hitting them at 65mph every day.
Infrastructure maintenance isn't exciting or sexy, and it has no major interest groups or lobbyists except maybe construction unions. No one puts on big demonstrations, marches, ice bucket challenges, walk-a-thon's, etc, for shoring up retaining walls and inspecting overpasses. No congressional representative gets on television for saying they're going to raise taxes to fund a round of road construction or bridge safety evaluations or buy new snow removal equipment that will be needed only every 5 years (but needed desperately then). It's just one of those things that goes to pot slowly enough that you kinda don't notice, until a disaster happens and everyone wrings their hands and acts shocked that we could have let it happen.
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Old 02-22-15, 06:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Coluber42
Infrastructure maintenance isn't exciting or sexy, and it has no major interest groups or lobbyists except maybe construction unions. No one puts on big demonstrations, marches, ice bucket challenges, walk-a-thon's, etc, for shoring up retaining walls and inspecting overpasses. No congressional representative gets on television for saying they're going to raise taxes to fund a round of road construction or bridge safety evaluations or buy new snow removal equipment that will be needed only every 5 years (but needed desperately then). It's just one of those things that goes to pot slowly enough that you kinda don't notice, until a disaster happens and everyone wrings their hands and acts shocked that we could have let it happen.
Amen.
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Old 02-22-15, 10:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Coluber42
Yeah, the sprayer is awesome. Our hose is buried under waist-deep snow in the back yard, and danged if I'm going to go dig it out. But the quantity of crap that has melted all over the bike room is really gross (and really not worth even attempting to clean it up for another month or two) so it's nice to be able to leave more of it outside!

I think it's an oversimplification to say that expansion of the MBTA is the reason maintenance was neglected. Expansion is generally popular and there are lots of justifications for it, plus extra sources of funding, incentives, and so forth. The current expansion phase is actually still part of the Big Dig - promising to build extra transit is part of what gave the whole plan enough air-quality improvement "credit" to go ahead. The MBTA was also saddled with a whole bunch of debt resulting from cost overruns on other, unrelated parts of the Big Dig.
But the real reason is that we just haven't been willing to spend money on maintaining infrastructure. It's not just the T - we have tons of crumbling bridges, road surfaces that have gone way over the recommended maintenance interval, etc. We have potholes like you wouldn't believe. (There's one road on my way to work where there was a trolley that last ran in 1938, but the tracks (and the cobblestone street) are still under the pavement. I know they're still there because there are multiple eight-inch-deep holes where you can see them.) There are massive potholes on I-93 for that matter - and there is no way that fixing them costs more than the collective wear and tear on thousands of vehicles hitting them at 65mph every day.
Infrastructure maintenance isn't exciting or sexy, and it has no major interest groups or lobbyists except maybe construction unions. No one puts on big demonstrations, marches, ice bucket challenges, walk-a-thon's, etc, for shoring up retaining walls and inspecting overpasses. No congressional representative gets on television for saying they're going to raise taxes to fund a round of road construction or bridge safety evaluations or buy new snow removal equipment that will be needed only every 5 years (but needed desperately then). It's just one of those things that goes to pot slowly enough that you kinda don't notice, until a disaster happens and everyone wrings their hands and acts shocked that we could have let it happen.
I think this may have more to do with the nature of the infrastructure itself than with how we're willing to fund it. My home state, Washington, has increased road spending by 143% in the last few years, more than any other state, thanks to big increases in gas taxes in 2003-2005. However, it hasn't made any difference; our roads are still going to hell in a handbasket about as fast as in every other state. A major elevated state Highway in Seattle is sinking. The tunnel project designed to replace the sinking highway is in big trouble. Many major arterials in Seattle are crumbling, along with many of the major freeways/highways across the state. It doesn't appear to have occurred to anyone that maybe the reason we can't build and repair the car infrastructure in the Evergreen State, or anywhere else, is because large-scale car infrastructure is, by its very nature, simply too expensive to sustain in the long run. It's the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone is pretending not to see.
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Old 02-23-15, 12:36 AM
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While the east is getting pummeled with snow we have been getting some unseasonably warm weather and moisture which has turned our roads into skating rinks, made highways treacherous, and made walking dangerous unless you have some Yaktrax.

I was given some Nokian 296 Extremes by my friend and although I usually get by pretty well with Marathon winter tyres I installed them... cold does not bother me at all but the road conditions have been heinous.

With these tyres you don't know you are riding on sheets of ice.

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Old 02-23-15, 04:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver
I was given some Nokian 296 Extremes by my friend and although I usually get by pretty well with Marathon winter tyres I installed them... cold does not bother me at all but the road conditions have been heinous.

With these tyres you don't know you are riding on sheets of ice.
Last night it rained, sleeted and snowed. I need those tires this morning. Little Rock is hills of ice.
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Old 02-23-15, 06:42 AM
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We had a one day heat wave of +20F but last night it went back down to -11F. My son and I just made plans to go out to lunch. We usually ride, but decided to borrow a car this time.
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Old 02-23-15, 06:56 AM
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It's gotten really chilly here ... one day it's 30 ... next day it's 13.
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Old 02-23-15, 07:39 AM
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Originally Posted by Machka
It's gotten really chilly here ... one day it's 30 ... next day it's 13.
You keep posting about how warm it is in Tasmania. That's not really the topic of this thread. I'd love to read about some of your Canadian cold weather experiences/tips/anecdotes...
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Old 02-23-15, 09:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Roody
You keep posting about how warm it is in Tasmania. That's not really the topic of this thread. I'd love to read about some of your Canadian cold weather experiences/tips/anecdotes...
And many parts of the world are not having a hard winter right now.


They are a wee bit concerned in Alaska right now about the lack of snow for the Iditarod.
Iditarod Trail Invitational


Maybe Boston should start negotiating a deal where they take their snow to Alaska.
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Old 02-23-15, 09:53 PM
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Originally Posted by bragi
...It doesn't appear to have occurred to anyone that maybe the reason we can't build and repair the car infrastructure in the Evergreen State, or anywhere else, is because large-scale car infrastructure is, by its very nature, simply too expensive to sustain in the long run. It's the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone is pretending not to see.
With gas taxes and other user fees only paying for about 40% of the costs of maintaining the roads, and with gasoline costs being less than half the operating costs of cars, I'd say that the problem is not so much that roads are too expensive to maintain, but that the motoring public isn't willing to pay their fair share of the costs directly.

If the gas taxes were raised to reasonable levels, relative to maintenance needs, then many people would likely respond by driving less, as they did in response to the rise in fuel costs in 2008. That reduction in traffic would then beget another reduction in traffic as the lowered perceived risk of cycling took some people off the cusp and onto their bikes. Wash, rinse repeat.

Of course people with money on the line realize this and thus fight tooth and nail to prevent any increases in the gas tax. Pay as you go encourages people to rationally assess the best means of transportation. Large fixed costs relative to trip costs encourage more driving since int drives down the cost per mile.
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Old 02-23-15, 11:59 PM
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Originally Posted by gerv
If you do decide studded tires might be useful, remember that many just put them on the front...
Yes, I often put on only the front studded tire, especially at the beginning of snow season. Front-tire-only will often preserve your steering control and save you from skidding out.

However, you will lack traction on your drive wheel.

This can lead to some comical conditions when going up a slight hill that's iced over. You might find your rear wheel turning without giving you any traction. Like the Red Queen, you will be spinning as fast as you can just to stay in one place.

I did this once for three or four minutes. Some little kids saw me spinning in place and started laughing. That brought out my Inner Clown and I really hammed it up for them. I was turning red and puffing loudly while standing and spinning. The kids were literally rolling around in the snow laughing at me!



No matter what the weather, you're going to have more fun on a bike!
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Old 02-24-15, 12:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Artkansas
Last night it rained, sleeted and snowed. I need those tires this morning. Little Rock is hills of ice.
We have more freezing rain on the forecast... installing those Nokians was timely.

Whereas the Marathon snow studs and Marathon winter tyres might slip a little those Nokians have some serious bite... my fg is geared rather low as an extreme weather ride and if I stay in the saddle you can't get those tyres to break loose.
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Old 02-24-15, 12:45 AM
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If you live where ice is infrequent or spotty a studded front tyre can be sufficient as this lowers the overall rolling resistance... in northern climates where ice can be a constant running front and rear studs offers the best stability.

Recovery from a front wheel skid is nearly impossible while rear wheel skids can be managed and are less dangerous.
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Old 02-24-15, 09:03 AM
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Originally Posted by bragi
I think this may have more to do with the nature of the infrastructure itself than with how we're willing to fund it. My home state, Washington, has increased road spending by 143% in the last few years, more than any other state, thanks to big increases in gas taxes in 2003-2005. However, it hasn't made any difference; our roads are still going to hell in a handbasket about as fast as in every other state. A major elevated state Highway in Seattle is sinking. The tunnel project designed to replace the sinking highway is in big trouble. Many major arterials in Seattle are crumbling, along with many of the major freeways/highways across the state. It doesn't appear to have occurred to anyone that maybe the reason we can't build and repair the car infrastructure in the Evergreen State, or anywhere else, is because large-scale car infrastructure is, by its very nature, simply too expensive to sustain in the long run. It's the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone is pretending not to see.
I'm guessing that 143% of previous maintenance spending just isn't enough to work through the backlog very quickly. Maybe if Washington had started from a baseline of everything being in pretty good shape, then this new level of funding would be sufficient to keep up with maintenance needs going forward.

I'm not personally familiar with the situation in transportation funding in Washington, but from what I read, it's pretty much universally true in the US that we need to substantially increase transportation funding just to keep from falling further behind in maintenance (never mind working through the backlog and eventually catching up).

Unfortunately, very few of our political "leaders" are willing to act like adults and deliver this news to the American people.
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Old 02-24-15, 07:40 PM
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Originally Posted by loky1179
But drawing the line at -4°F? That's just crazy!
There are those who would consider that to be the mental state of one who would ride in such temps.
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Old 02-25-15, 12:51 AM
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Cyclists in Boston built their own snow tunnel when a mountain of snow was dumped on a bike path.

Video and article from Wired:

Turns Out Boston Cyclists Can Engineer a Pretty Solid Snow Tunnel | WIRED
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Old 02-25-15, 12:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Machka
It's gotten really chilly here ... one day it's 30 ... next day it's 13.
How are you able to even survive?
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Old 02-25-15, 03:44 AM
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Originally Posted by bragi
How are you able to even survive?
It's difficult ... very challenging.




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