The Fat Guy In The Back
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Posts: 2,532
Bikes: '81 Panasonic Sport, '02 Giant Boulder SE, '08 Felt S32, '10 Diamondback Insight RS, '10 Windsor Clockwork, '15 Kestrel Evoke 3.0, '19 Salsa Mukluk
Mentioned: 92 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 320 Post(s)
Consecutive bicycle work commute number 877:
0F this morning with a 20 mph wind. Thankfully the wind was at my back.
The last three days I rode my old winter bike because I was doing split commutes and needed the skinnier tires to fit on the bus bike rack. Thursday and Monday mornings I caught the bus on the way to work because of double-digit below zero temps in the morning, then rode the whole way home. Last Friday I rode to work in the morning, then caught the bus on the way home because we'd gotten 7" of fresh snow and the MUP hadn't yet been plowed.
Yesterday morning I did an experiment and rode to a different bus stop from home. It was a bit farther than the one I usually use, and I had to climb a bigger hill. However, the hill was on a residential street with little traffic, versus the main artery of my regular route. I didn't mind the bigger hill as I could take it nice and slow because I wasn't worried about trying to keep up with traffic. It was nice to reach the bus stop without completely gasping for oxygen in the sub-zero temps. I think I'll probably use this stop going forward on the handful of days I don't ride the entire commute.
Today I was back on the fat bike as I am planning on riding the complete commute today. The MUP has been plowed, but there's a ton of snow pack and lots of ice ruts, so it was nice having the big tires to float over the rough surfaces. The previous three days of riding the old winter bike really reminded me how cushy the ride is on a fat bike.
It's supposed to get up to 23F today, which is the warmest we've seen in a week (by about 10-15 degrees.) I'm going to feel like a wild man on the ride home, even having to fight the wind.