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.