Shaking the winter blues.
 

First ride today in over a month!

Nearly all of my business this winter has been within short walking distance from home, included the work commute. Taking that into account with a lack of motivation to take any cold/wet weather leisure rides, I can only regret that I haven’t really been riding at all.

Today however, brought the opportunity get peddling as I had an appointment across town. Paperwork at admins for a new job which will actually necessitate riding to and from. Looking forward to it!

Clear. Dry. Low 40’s. And no wind. Today was a cool enough ride to warrant an outer top shell, a wool cap, and gloves, but was otherwise lovely as can be. The kind of day that reminds you what you’ve been missing. And I can’t describe how much pleasure it was to just roll right along at cruising speed. A marked bike route offered uninterrupted riding, happy leg muscles, and the scent of spring in the air. I felt very much alive. I think that bikes have a special way of doing that for us, especially if they’re C&V!


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LOL, I thought this thread was going to be about _winter_ .

KIDDING!!! I know winters can get icky up there in PNW. Maybe it's even harder to mentally prepare when the overall weather is more temperate. And I gotta say, as much cold and snow as we've had here, I'd prefer it over cold rain any day of the week. So I see where you're coming from, the first day with a little sunshine is like a drug. Hey look, there's shadows!

Myself, I feel the winter blues shaking off every day with the days getting longer.

I'm South of you in Ontario and all in all the Winter hasn't been that bad. But I am itching to be riding again.
But I have another project on the go so that helps with the "Cabin Blues".

Say what saddlebag is that?

It was sunny and 47° in Seattle today. In your face, Eugene!

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Man, I’d be eager, too, if I had that Eisentraut staring at me from the garage. Great bike, great pics...

shaking winter means = .................. lawn mowing.

Ooooh you guys got lucky up there! Did ya ride?

...

Two days of bliss ahead, and then it’s back to playing in puddles as usual. Steady warming up though...

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Well, to be fair, it’s been a particularly mild winter here for sure. I feel a bit spoiled complaining about it actually. Especially since I’ve noticed more bikes on the road this winter than I can recall from previous years.

I’m glad to hear you’re noticing longer days where you’re at, and shaking those winter blues!

Cardiff

Say ​​​​Shrevvy have any bags left?


Fair enough, I can see that. Unfortunately nothing but concrete & asphalt in my neighborhood though :(

We just enjoyed 30 straight days of copy-paste heavy cloud cover with rain. That was our January. Couple that with a few health gremlins that keep me off the bike, including one that started at the beginning of this year, and January was a very long month. I'm happy that the bus service is good and doesn't take too long to get to work and back. I stare longingly at my bikes, waiting for one or a few to sell (good luck with all that rain and cold!) so I can build up more to sell and clear space in my apartment. Got one out the door today, which felt great--its new home will see it well-loved. I've kept myself involved with bikes by either occasionally volunteering when possible, visiting with or having bike friends visit me and we work on bikes, cleaning a few of mine, or simply visiting bike shops and the employees that I've built relationships with. The longer days have also been a huge encouragement.

Today's sunrise and early post-sunrise light was classic intense pastel yellows and blues with contrasting light and dark greys of surrounding rain clouds. The city, Space Needle, and Mt. Rainier bathed in the bright sunlight. Sunset was similarly gorgeous. Yeah, its no secret it rains here. A lot. We're at about 3rd wettest on record (1953 was a special year). The sorta secret I think of Seattle is, if you can avoid going postal with the rain and dreariness, the bright, cold, clear days are stunning. But my rent and housing values keep skyrocketing up, so please don't move here. I think I can afford something in Skagit county. Bit of a commute...

I got precipitation literally every single day last month. The issue isn't the cold or the days being short, it's that we've been holed up in a wet cave since before New Years, with only brief scattered indications that the sun exists. Until yesterday, I hadn't had a good opportunity for spending a decent chunk of time outdoors in clear sunlight since December 28, which was stunning:

https://i.imgur.com/NuDya9P.jpg

I'm not normally someone who minds the grey weather here, and it can even be beautiful...

https://i.imgur.com/eM36zEM.jpg

...but January this year made me admit that there can be a toll when it's unrelenting.

Nobody was celebrating this Sunday for being warm. Clear winter weather is usually accompanied by colder temps here, and it was not one of the warmer days we've had recently. Anyone who wanted heat went outside on the night of January 31 when, during a windstorm, the temperatures shot up in the mid-50s. I went on a short bike ride in summer garb that night, and the temperatures felt great.
No, people were celebrating this last Sunday because of this:

https://i.imgur.com/BhWtnso.jpg

Here in Tokyo it was cold the day before yesterday, but I went for a little Tokyo ride all the same.

This was the first time I'd been up to Tossaka pass and over it down to the west since the typhoon of mid October. Access is still forbidden but construction workers and others rarely mind incursions by us cyclists as long as we don't get in their way; and as it was Sunday, there was no construction.


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(This is around 14 km on the RwGPS map.)

The big thing is the following climb, to Kazahari pass (the highest point of any road in Tokyo), at about 25 km. It's quite a climb; but I have no shame and therefore use a 24-tooth chainwheel on my "Mens Sana".

There are two other ways up to Kazahari; this one is the most demanding. But it has very little traffic, as motorbikes and cars can't get out at the top. I'm doing this climb to Kazahari once a month for one year (as well as other rides, of course). Nine months down, three to go.

Try this instead.

I feel for you all. If I couldn’t get out on my bike everyday and play with the cars, I would go NUTS!

I took advantage of the 47' of Seattle, did I ever. I was up excited hopped. I had so much mojo, I had to lay the biggest skid and almost slammed into the back of a car that jammed their brakes and ripped a u-turn with out a signal. I seriously thought I was going to blow the rear tire and splatter on to the back of another SUV that was equally surprised. Oh of course I let out the loudest OH CHIT! Mind you I have a voice that carries.

RiddleOfSteel Knowing your collect as I do, may ask what did you sell?

Even here in SoCal, the older I get, now 70, it gets harder to get out on a chilly morning. It was nice around New Years (always is for the Rose parade!). I got out on a few rides, and soon I had 5 days in a row. I'm not one for resolutions, but decided to see how far I could take my string of rides. I made it 18 days straight, before out of town guests and rain knocked me off the bike (not literally). I ended up with 27 days in January, 551 miles, probably a personal best over the last 20 years. We've had big time, almost dangerous winds lately, but not that cold (40s to 60s temps, but up to 40 mph winds). Still, its tough to get out on coldish days. I find that setting a goal worked for me, even if its only 5 or 10 miles, at least the wheels are turning. I just missed two days this week, and it seems like a week off the bike. I feel for you guys with "real" weather. Hang in there, it will get better.
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Cold weather gear for a 50° morning.
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On the road to Ojai, on a January morning.
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February Pasadena Vintage Ride, no cold weather gear required!

Oh, yeah, the last two days I did my little loop from north Seattle, down and around Green Lake, down to Lake Union, over to UW, and then up up up Ravenna hill. I had to, else I'd feel too much guilt for blowing a rare day of winter sunshine. :thumb:

Mowing lawn is nothing compared to ‘keeping the forest back’ on 3 sides of the house.


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A dry day often means yard work, so call it cross-training. :rolleyes:

It's been in the high 30's-low forties in Manhattan and I've been up and down the western path a bunch. I have a video I snapped while heading home in a 25/30 mph tail wind! It was awewome! I think I know the drawing the electric bike now! :lol:

I really need to get in the habit of taking more pictures when I ride. Weather has had a couple short breaks to interrupt the chill and wind and rain that's been the standard since the pleasant spell we had at Christmas time, but managed to have other things to do until Sunday.

There were some heavy rains Thursday and Friday (fortunately not as severe as some other parts of the country, but I am able to report that the Roanoke River Greenway is a bit prone to flooding. I was looking forward to riding to the end of it on Sunday, but after passing some substantial mud and stick deposits, I wasn't terribly surprised to find that the part that can see people fishing off the low roadway was barricaded at about the 3 mile point. I wanted to get in a bit more than six miles, so I explored a connecting greenway and found that I have a set of skewers that needs to be retired. Every time I applied increased torque while in the small ring, I ended up with the tire rubbing the left chainstay. A good thing to know well in advance of taking that bike on any organized rides.