Metro Boston: Good ride today?
01-14-11, 09:55 PM
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I commute, therefore I ride. Here's what happened Wednesday:
...I started out before 6:00 AM and road conditions in Kenmore Square were at the extreme limit for my Marathon Winters. Though the roads were ploughed with a hard-packed base, that was covered by loose wet, and rutted snow up to about 2 to 3 inches deep. The only way to ride was in a continuous line of my choice. However I was stymied by going toward the Longwood Medical Area, with fairly heavy traffic that I had to accommodate on narrowed roadways. My goggles accumulated a lot of snow requiring frequent but incomplete cleaning, and I saw a flash of lightning. 
My alternative was to ride two miles to the commuter rail station. There was nil traffic going towards downtown and I could plow through pretty well and caught the train which was on time. I rode about a mile from the station to my destination in Norwood on wide, lightly traveled roads with conditions similar to those in Boston, and felt comfortable going at about 7 to 8 mph. I kept my feet out of the toeclips since skids, but not falls were frequent.
The drivers in Boston were pretty tolerant of me and the only shout-out I got was when passing a pick-up truck stopped at a light and I was told “Go Home.” I previously quoted a thread, “When does hardcore become stupid?”. Today, hardcore would have been to leave at 5:00 AM and ride 14 miles, my shortened ride was prudent, and to ride the distance with a late start would have been stupid.
My alternative was to ride two miles to the commuter rail station. There was nil traffic going towards downtown and I could plow through pretty well and caught the train which was on time. I rode about a mile from the station to my destination in Norwood on wide, lightly traveled roads with conditions similar to those in Boston, and felt comfortable going at about 7 to 8 mph. I kept my feet out of the toeclips since skids, but not falls were frequent.
The drivers in Boston were pretty tolerant of me and the only shout-out I got was when passing a pick-up truck stopped at a light and I was told “Go Home.” I previously quoted a thread, “When does hardcore become stupid?”. Today, hardcore would have been to leave at 5:00 AM and ride 14 miles, my shortened ride was prudent, and to ride the distance with a late start would have been stupid.
01-14-11, 11:02 PM
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For Those About to Bike, We Salute You
I did a couple of miles around the neighborhood on Wednesday (https://connect.garmin.com/activity/63188711) but kept slipping with only one studded tire.
on Thursday I thought seriously about riding in, but I"m glad I didn't. the snow is plowed so high that the shoulders and bike lanes are completely spoken for and the only way to ride is to take the lane. I'm OK doing that for stretches but not for 13 miles.
I may try again on Monday, but we'll see...
Jim, it's a really good thing you didn't go all the way down 1A on Wednesday. I drove up that road Thursday morning and it was completely caked with ice and the white stuf
I did a couple of miles around the neighborhood on Wednesday (https://connect.garmin.com/activity/63188711) but kept slipping with only one studded tire.
on Thursday I thought seriously about riding in, but I"m glad I didn't. the snow is plowed so high that the shoulders and bike lanes are completely spoken for and the only way to ride is to take the lane. I'm OK doing that for stretches but not for 13 miles.
I may try again on Monday, but we'll see...
Jim, it's a really good thing you didn't go all the way down 1A on Wednesday. I drove up that road Thursday morning and it was completely caked with ice and the white stuf
01-15-11, 05:30 AM
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For Those About to Bike, We Salute You
I did a couple of miles around the neighborhood on Wednesday (https://connect.garmin.com/activity/63188711) but kept slipping with only one studded tire.
on Thursday I thought seriously about riding in, but I"m glad I didn't. the snow is plowed so high that the shoulders and bike lanes are completely spoken for and the only way to ride is to take the lane. I'm OK doing that for stretches but not for 13 miles.
I may try again on Monday, but we'll see...
Jim, it's a really good thing you didn't go all the way down 1A on Wednesday. I drove up that road Thursday morning and it was completely caked with ice and the white stuf
I did a couple of miles around the neighborhood on Wednesday (https://connect.garmin.com/activity/63188711) but kept slipping with only one studded tire.
on Thursday I thought seriously about riding in, but I"m glad I didn't. the snow is plowed so high that the shoulders and bike lanes are completely spoken for and the only way to ride is to take the lane. I'm OK doing that for stretches but not for 13 miles.
I may try again on Monday, but we'll see...
Jim, it's a really good thing you didn't go all the way down 1A on Wednesday. I drove up that road Thursday morning and it was completely caked with ice and the white stuf
Thanks for the reply and I caught your paraphrase, as I presume you did mine. I posted about Westwood the next day;
My above two ride reports were in the context of decisions on studded tires. There are currently (at least) three such threads, one started by a Brookline rider. It' s amusing and a sign of the season change to see the Winter Cycling Forum "heat up," but people still post in the summer. In July 2009 a suscriber, who I learned lived in Attleboro, started a thread entitled, "How do you handle approaching snowplows?
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 01-15-11 at 05:55 AM.
01-15-11, 08:49 AM
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Jim, how do you find the motorists when the roads have been narrowed by packed snow?
I tend to stay on the shoulders and in the bike lanes because I don't like blocking traffic, and I worry that some impatient driver will...well...
I tend to stay on the shoulders and in the bike lanes because I don't like blocking traffic, and I worry that some impatient driver will...well...
01-15-11, 09:33 AM
#805
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01-17-11, 07:32 AM
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Still commuting to work every day. Fortunately, I had the week off after xmas. After the last storm, the rides have been slushy and bad, the bike lanes are not cleared and cars are parked in them. Haven't been out for a long weekend ride since Christmas morning. Santa brought me some nice winter gear.
01-17-11, 09:01 PM
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I rode home on Friday night on the VFW Parkway, which had a mostly cleared shoulder, but in some areas it was blocked and a couple of times I just pulled over into a side street and let the traffic pass. A couple of years ago while riding (in summer) on a busy commercial thoroughfare in a Detroit suburb, I realized that the traffic passed me in groups with each light change, and then I had a clear interval. I thought of the traffic passing as a "bolus," a medical term for a "large dose of a substance given by injection for the purpose of rapidly achieving the needed therapeutic concentration in the bloodstream." So I came upon the idea of bolus riding. When a large fleet of cars passed, I would take to the sidewalk and ride, and then re-enter the street after they passed. It's slower, but a lot less nerve-racking. So that's what I did Friday night on the VFW.
01-17-11, 09:40 PM
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interesting, Jim. I don't use the term "bolus" but do exactly that when heading south on Washington St. in Roslindale on my way home. There are tons of cars parked to the right, and everyone's traveling fairly quickly, so it's treacherous unless you take to the sidewalks until the "bolus" as you call it passes. then I duck back out on the road and haul.
I also do FRAP even though my VC friends would say I should take the lane more often.
I bet it helps to be a reverse commuter!
I also do FRAP even though my VC friends would say I should take the lane more often.
I bet it helps to be a reverse commuter!
01-18-11, 12:06 PM
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interesting, Jim. I don't use the term "bolus" but do exactly that when heading south on Washington St. in Roslindale on my way home. There are tons of cars parked to the right, and everyone's traveling fairly quickly, so it's treacherous unless you take to the sidewalks until the "bolus" as you call it passes. then I duck back out on the road and haul.
I also do FRAP even though my VC friends would say I should take the lane more often.
I bet it helps to be a reverse commuter!
I also do FRAP even though my VC friends would say I should take the lane more often.
I bet it helps to be a reverse commuter!
I left this AM about 6:15 and I had to do some bolus riding southbound on Centre Street between Jamaica Pond and the VFW Parkway because of the increased traffic and near total obliteration of the shoulder by snowbanks. BTW another form of a "bolus" is a mouthful of food as it's swallowed down the esophagus.
PS to sherbornpeddler: Sorry to veer this thread from its usual Metrowest "roadie" orientation to urban winter commuting, but you asked "OK, Who is riding?"
01-18-11, 06:27 PM
#810
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Where else can we learn about Centre Street and the esophagus? You kids are my heros and inspiration for winter miles and musings! Taking the lane, FRAP and bolus! Ride on!
01-18-11, 07:32 PM
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I haven't had time to ride. My biking activities have been gathering parts to bring this bike back to life. Extra points to whoever identifies it first.
So many small details. So many decisions. Difficult ones too. If you guess what it is you'll know why it is so difficult.
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01-20-11, 11:52 AM
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I am a fair weather rider and take my hat off to all you year-rounders. These days I am on snowshoes with toddler in tow (of course) and am getting ready to break out the xc skis to haul him around with. I will look for you guys and gals on the road when snow and ice disappear.
WooooHoooo!!! Did you get this from fellow BF visitor? I am thrilled for you!
01-20-11, 12:03 PM
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I either need to get up earlier or sleep in later. Plowing through the snow with the rush-hour traffic is a real PITA.
And worse, the MUPs are not plowed. I almost fell today on the Southwest Corridor, even with a front studded tire.
Pair of Marathon Winters are on the way. When they arrive, I'll switch to using my folder full-time.
And worse, the MUPs are not plowed. I almost fell today on the Southwest Corridor, even with a front studded tire.
Pair of Marathon Winters are on the way. When they arrive, I'll switch to using my folder full-time.
01-20-11, 01:10 PM
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It came from BF member scottryder.
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Real cyclists use toe clips.
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02-07-11, 04:24 PM
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I've been commuting all winter (only around 7mi round trip), except for two days when I needed to get to work in the literal middle of a blizzard, so I snow shoed.
But for the first time this calender year I got out for a pleasure ride due to the 2 days of melt we've had... 24 miles. Was excellent! Didn't even need studded tires!
But for the first time this calender year I got out for a pleasure ride due to the 2 days of melt we've had... 24 miles. Was excellent! Didn't even need studded tires!
02-18-11, 08:41 AM
#817
on a road near you...
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two days in a row of skinny-tire ride-able weather! Wore thermal bib-tights yesterday and it was a bit too warm in the afternoon. Now if only the "road glaciers" could recede a bit so the roads are a bit wider and drivers have better visibility around corners and side-streets.
02-18-11, 02:49 PM
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Ghah!
I went over every inch of my bike with a toothbrush to clean the winter's worth of gunk off, and now I realise... I don't want to take it onto those filthy roads again!
I think I'm going to be calling a lot on my faithful old clunker of a Peugeot for spring training and leaving my new bike tucked safely away until the roads get cleaner...
I didn't have a problem riding it all winter, but now everything is so grimey out there...
I went over every inch of my bike with a toothbrush to clean the winter's worth of gunk off, and now I realise... I don't want to take it onto those filthy roads again!
I think I'm going to be calling a lot on my faithful old clunker of a Peugeot for spring training and leaving my new bike tucked safely away until the roads get cleaner...
I didn't have a problem riding it all winter, but now everything is so grimey out there...
02-19-11, 02:51 AM
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02-19-11, 08:55 AM
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but it rains all year, and I hate moving my equipment (AirZound, lights, bell, rear rack) from bike to bike all the time. and sometimes it rains without warning. so I just leave fenders on the bike I ride year round. only "seasonal" mod is studded tires December-March
02-19-11, 12:32 PM
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on a road near you...
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I have a rain bike. It has the various lights and race blade fenders installed year round. It also gets a beam rack w/ panniers for commuting duties. The "sweet bike" comes out on nice rain-free (or sand and salt free this time of year) days. I have a superflash on my helmet so I don't need to worry about swapping helmets. Both bikes have small saddle bags with a road-side repair kit.
They are both parked by the door so I can grab and go w/o effort.
They are both parked by the door so I can grab and go w/o effort.
02-20-11, 08:16 AM
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I am also a fair weather commuter. I am in the trucking industry and a former big rig driver. With all the snow I will not ride my bicycle. Daylight savings is my official riding season. I am itching to get out and ride since the time is near.
02-20-11, 05:36 PM
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Year round commuter, and occasional centurian (with training rides) from May to October here. I have a beater mountain bike with fenders, and studded tires from December to April. The pristine road bike only comes out on dry roads, which includes dried salt. I just switch the rear trunk bag and handlebar front flasher; I have a rear flasher on the trunk bag, and one in my back pack for the commutes. I'll put the second rear flasher on the trunk bag for a training ride without the backpack. I also have a helmet light for additional illumination when needed.
Every morning it become a ritual game for me. I check the Doppler and forecast on Weatherscan, Comcast channel 245, and decide which bike to ride. I win if I ride the beater bike in sloppy weather and road bike when dry; lose if I ride the beater bike on dry roads, or road bike when wet. The latter situation is the worse loss.
Tomorrow it sounds like about four inches of snow in the morning; easy win.
Every morning it become a ritual game for me. I check the Doppler and forecast on Weatherscan, Comcast channel 245, and decide which bike to ride. I win if I ride the beater bike in sloppy weather and road bike when dry; lose if I ride the beater bike on dry roads, or road bike when wet. The latter situation is the worse loss.
Tomorrow it sounds like about four inches of snow in the morning; easy win.
02-21-11, 09:54 AM
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Gah! Two days of riding in SS jerseys and fingerless gloves was such a tease. Spent the weekend *****ing about the return of seasonal temps while on the trainer. Now I have to go outside and shovel.
On a positive note, I picked up a brand-new bike repair stand, wheel truing stand and a full box of park tools off CL for $130 yesterday. Guy is moving out of the country and had them priced to sell. Repair stand (feedback sports sport mechanic stand) was much, much nicer than I was expecting. Even the tools looked like they were never used (probably weren't). I had been borrowing a friends stuff from time to time but it was always a hassle.
Guess I'll spend my day off today wrenching instead of riding. Oh and shoveling.
On a positive note, I picked up a brand-new bike repair stand, wheel truing stand and a full box of park tools off CL for $130 yesterday. Guy is moving out of the country and had them priced to sell. Repair stand (feedback sports sport mechanic stand) was much, much nicer than I was expecting. Even the tools looked like they were never used (probably weren't). I had been borrowing a friends stuff from time to time but it was always a hassle.
Guess I'll spend my day off today wrenching instead of riding. Oh and shoveling.