The Light at the End of the Winter Commute Tunnel...
Originally Posted by
BobbyG
With the beginning of Daylight Savings time this Sunday, today will be the last scheduled ride home of the season that includes a post sunset portion.
In the old days that meant I put away my halogen bulb head lamp and its heavy 4-lb battery until fall. But now with modern LED illuminators and smaller, more efficient Lithium Ion Batteries, I just carry them on my backpack for when I have to work late at the office.
But I still get a little excited on this day.
Originally Posted by
mcours2006
I'm kind of bummed because I am riding at 6AM, it starts to get light around 6:20 or so, which is a nice treat. But now with DST I'll be riding in the dark for the entire ride. But I do look forward to the warmer temperature and not snow.
I had to quickly swap out the dry tires this morning for studs because there was a dusting of snow covering the road. This is most treacherous as you do notknow if there's ice underneath. Not the last time this winter, I'm sure.
Originally Posted by
no motor?
It's gotten warm and dry enough here, now we need some rain to clear all the leftover salt away.
I recently (2/27/18) posted to this Winter Cycling Forum, Who's got the studs on?
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
… BTW,though I didn't ride today,
I was thinking that after this weekend's heavy rains, the streets might be clean enough to bring out the pristine carbon fiber bike, in storage since December. The studs stay on the beater through most of March.
Carbide studs are reputed to last a long time.
I ride studded tires all winter from December to March, nearly entirely on bare, wet, and/or salted pavement. However, now my beater bike is an aluminum Diverge Elite road bike and I have 30 C Schwalbe Marathon studded tires, the narrowest I know of.
I really like the Schwalbe tires because I don't seem to feel the increased rolling resistance many claim for more aggressively treaded studded tires.
Originally Posted by
mcours2006
I agree, and those few minutes you save with dry tires you give up fiddling with the tire change anyway. However,
it would be a nicer ride.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
Just two days ago I posted on this thread, "
As a busy early morning commuter, it’s just too much trouble to change tires with the weather."
Thanks for your advice,@mcours, but as I noted above, after today’s rainy deluge (3/2/18) , the streets should be pristine (except for downed trees and branches), and I’ll bring out my carbon fiber bike for a ride I describe as “ethereal.” 
Regarding riding in the AM darkness
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
…My early morning dark commute is from about November til March, and other than the cold weather,
I enjoy the dark commute. The auto traffic is markedly diminished, particularly in my reverse commute direction from downtown to a suburb.
I hunker down in my mind in a state I call "cocooning," and become oblivious to everything but the Road and my thoughts. Also because it's dark, I can't tell how gloomy the sky might be, unlike in the dawn's early light. 
As evidence of the inexorable “March” towards Spring, just after reading this thread, I saw a white crocus beginning to bloom while still a few inches of snow are on the ground .
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
Does a near-perfect weather place exist?
Personally the only weather I don’t like to ride in is rain, and no rain would be a desert. That said, I really like riding in all seasons, even winter. So my near perfect weather would present the best of all seasons, without the extremes, and I already live here.
Nice, albeit short Spring with beautiful blossoms and that first few weeks of relief from Winter; glorious summer; cool crispy Autumn with colorful foliage; and even a bracing, and challenging Winter, but not one impossible to ride in.
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 03-10-18 at 09:51 AM.