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2016! how was your commute today?

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2016! how was your commute today?

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Old 01-21-16 | 05:21 AM
  #226  
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Oh lordy what a night...totally unrelated to my commute: DC area was absolutely paralyzed by a 1" snowfall that quickly turned to ice on many roads.

Did not know if I would make it in this morning but I needed to be at work early and here I am. All in all not too bad considering the chaos of last night. 25F/-4C with icy side streets, heavily slated main roads, and the MUP was covered in a light fluff which was not bad to ride in other than the extra leg work.
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Old 01-21-16 | 05:54 AM
  #227  
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A very nice uneventful commute in this morning. The temp was 20f degrees with clear skies and they weather people mentioned a wind chill factor. The roads were dry and free of any snow or ice so it is bicycle time for me!
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Old 01-21-16 | 07:28 AM
  #228  
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Great ride to work this morning with temps in the upper 20s and a beautiful sunrise. Unfortunately, I was scared away from riding yesterday due to forecasts calling for afternoon snow, which never materialized. That's alright though because my legs were all the fresher today. I also got to park in my "new" parking place at work for the first time. I've actually had the space for the past 1-1/2 years but I was letting my daughter use it. However, she just moved into a new apartment with indoor parking, so she no longer needs my spot. I'm going to hang onto it at least through the winter since it only costs me $15/month. With all of the rain we've had here the last three years, I may just hang onto it indefinitely.

Forecasters are calling for more snow, sleet and freezing rain tonight, tomorrow and Saturday. Our local forecasters have a history of really exaggerating and blowing winter forecasts involving snow and ice, so I'm not totally convinced that the storm will do anything other than rain. Regardless, it looks like today will be my last commute of this work week. The real bummer is that I'm probably going to have to cancel a trip this weekend that we had planned for months. My wife and I were planning to join several other couples on a "snowshoeing" trip in West Virginia this weekend, which happens to be near the center of the storm predicted to hit the Eastern US starting tomorrow. Current forecasts are calling for 12-24" or more of snow, and we would have to be driving through the storm to reach our destination -- a 6.5 hour drive under ideal conditions. What really sucks is that we will be stuck paying for the house we rented, whether we use it or not, but sometimes you just have to cut your losses.
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Old 01-21-16 | 08:29 AM
  #229  
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No snow here either just a bit of rain on the commute home but not enough to be especially uncomfortable. It's enough weather that I haven't seen another cyclist this week, but lots of deer. They always seem to come out more in the more unpleasant weather.

Someone mentioned his theory that the second deer always follows with enough gap for a car to scoot through, (never heard that before) so I kept track this morning. Easily amused I guess. There were five groups of deer. The first crossed in a group of six, more of a stampede than darting across. The next two were singles, no one followed so that technically counts as a "gap". The fourth was one on the side, another on the other side deeper in the forest and neither one crossed. That always makes me nervous because you'd think they'd want to be together and one or the other would dart across to the other, but mostly they don't. The last was another big group, with one right in the middle of the path as I approached. She balked left then went right, and none followed her but moved back in the woods. As one can imagine, I don't try to dodge the deer - I slow down and sometimes call out, waiting for them to decide what they're going to do. It seems more or less random to me; maybe I'll keep track and see if any real pattern emerges.
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Old 01-21-16 | 09:10 AM
  #230  
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Lots of thunder and lightning this morning, rain, 34°F. I'm glad I did NOT ride, although sad to break my streak going since September. Oh well. Grandmama used to say that if it thunders 3 times in winter that it's going to snow. Looks like that may be the case as they're forecasting 3-6" of white stuff for tomorrow. Might be getting a snow day!
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Old 01-21-16 | 09:18 AM
  #231  
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22F with an extremely light tail wind on the way to work this morning. Went to the company office today so 8 miles each way. Pretty easy ride.

Had a cross-country skier pop out of the woods and startle me. He wasn't anywhere near where I would hit him, it just wasn't what I expected to see.

Noticed one 1/4 mile stretch of sidewalk that had nearly 2' of snow drifted over it, with a few tracks of the unfortunate who had trudged through it. There would be no way anyone in a wheelchair could use it, and due to the way the street was constructed (four lane major artery with a median) there was no easy way for pedestrians to cross the street to walk on the other side. There aren't any buildings on this stretch, just vacant lots for sale so I'm guessing the owners aren't around much to maintain the walks. Our city has an ordinance that sidewalks have to be clear of snow and ice 48 hours after a snowfall, so when I got to work I emailed the city to let them know that this stretch still needs to be plowed out. That was my big excitement for the morning.
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Old 01-21-16 | 11:50 AM
  #232  
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The reason I drove got canceled. Missed a ride for nothing.
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Old 01-21-16 | 11:54 AM
  #233  
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I wanted to ride on Tuesday, but I was concerned about getting up too early and having a too-long day, since I had an evening rehearsal. It was the coldest day so far, so I skipped it. If I wasn't going to have a long day, I think it would have gone OK now that I know how to dress for cold weather.

I cycle-commuted yesterday (Wednesday), and it was fantastic. It was still cold enough to keep a lot of people off my route, so I had it to myself at the northern half. The weather report lied once again about the winds. I swear, I'm thinking of putting a weather station on my roof so I can have true reports of the wind direction and speed. Expecting no wind, I had strong headwinds in the morning. I had a tail wind in the evening; it was mild, but I was grateful for it.

The cold days we have had so far have been bright and sunny. This is so much better than the typical dark and cloudy day with high humidity and low air pressure. I love my new jacket and ski helmet. They have transformed cold weather cycling for me. I don't know my new low temperature limit. I suspect it's 15ºF and maybe lower.
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Old 01-21-16 | 11:55 AM
  #234  
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We are due for snow on Saturday, and it might start Friday (tomorrow) evening. I'm thinking of putting the snow tires on and riding to work for the fun of it. If we do get a good snowfall, I'll play in the snow with my new tires on Saturday.
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Old 01-21-16 | 01:26 PM
  #235  
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I forgot to mention my headlight. It is such a joy to be able to see well and to know my headlight will keep on working no matter how long or far I ride. I put a B&M dynamo-powered headlight on my new commuter bike, and last night was the first night using it. I really like dynamo lights a heck of a lot more than battery lights.
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Old 01-21-16 | 06:27 PM
  #236  
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Originally Posted by noglider
We are due for snow on Saturday, and it might start Friday (tomorrow) evening. I'm thinking of putting the snow tires on and riding to work for the fun of it. If we do get a good snowfall, I'll play in the snow with my new tires on Saturday.
I'm a NYC commuter also, I'm interested to know what snow tires you'll be using. I've got some the choice between 35c marathon winters or a 2.35 ardent for my MTB. Not sure which to go with for Monday yet.
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Old 01-22-16 | 06:12 AM
  #237  
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Looks like I won't be doing any riding for a while. It is sleeting and snowing here now and expected to continue thru Saturday. Roads are already white and treacherous, very icy, not fluffy powder. Unless we get a significant warmup over the next few days, our roads are likely to be terrible for a while.
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Old 01-22-16 | 08:42 AM
  #238  
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No snow, no ice just a lot of wet this morning. I took my faring bike just in case so I didn't really notice the rain just above freezing, except for my ankles. I should have rolled up the cuffs on my jeans. I don't think we'll actually see much of the snow storm until overnight.
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Old 01-22-16 | 10:04 AM
  #239  
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It's been a week of cold mornings and mild afternoons, not much different today except that this morning the pre-dawn sky was crystal clear for the first time this week. I took my hands off the handlebar and sat up straight, taking every opportunity to look up and see the five visible planets in a clear arc across the sky.
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Old 01-22-16 | 11:41 AM
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Good morning, fellow commuters-

I've been commuting for about nine months now and learned a lot from this forum early on. I thought it might be time to join.

This morning's commute was beautiful. Cold but clear, and the sunrise was a spray of blues and oranges.
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Old 01-22-16 | 12:20 PM
  #241  
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Originally Posted by Zenno
Good morning, fellow commuters-

I've been commuting for about nine months now and learned a lot from this forum early on. I thought it might be time to join.

This morning's commute was beautiful. Cold but clear, and the sunrise was a spray of blues and oranges.

Welcome to the forum and it is nice to have you.
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Old 01-22-16 | 12:27 PM
  #242  
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Originally Posted by ds3000
I'm a NYC commuter also, I'm interested to know what snow tires you'll be using. I've got some the choice between 35c marathon winters or a 2.35 ardent for my MTB. Not sure which to go with for Monday yet.
Schwalbe Marathon Something-somethings. They have carbide studs for ice. They are 700c by 35mm. They look like weapons. I rode them a quarter mile to the bike shop and back as a test. They are freaking loud. I took them off and will probably put them back on tomorrow so I can play in the snow. It hasn't fallen here yet.

I did ride into work, and I faced the strongest cold headwinds I have ever faced, and I've been riding a fair bit for 40 years. I was adequately dressed, so I wasn't cold. The effort required to move was great, and I had to shift way down and go slowly. It took a long time to get to work. I didn't really mind, but I was impressed at how hard it can be. It will get harder if I want to ride in this kind of wind and cold when snow or ice is on the ground.

Originally Posted by rhm
It's been a week of cold mornings and mild afternoons, not much different today except that this morning the pre-dawn sky was crystal clear for the first time this week. I took my hands off the handlebar and sat up straight, taking every opportunity to look up and see the five visible planets in a clear arc across the sky.
How lucky for you. So far, our cold days have been clear. I guess that changes tonight.
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Old 01-22-16 | 12:29 PM
  #243  
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Welcome, [MENTION=429636]Zenno[/MENTION]! What kinds of temperatures are you seeing this week in Northern Utah? This is normally our coldest month of the year. Here in the northeast near the coast, we tend to get more snow in February than in January.
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Old 01-22-16 | 12:36 PM
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Originally Posted by joeyduck
Welcome to the forum and it is nice to have you.
Thanks, [MENTION=190611]joeyduck[/MENTION]!

Originally Posted by noglider
Welcome, @Zenno! What kinds of temperatures are you seeing this week in Northern Utah? This is normally our coldest month of the year. Here in the northeast near the coast, we tend to get more snow in February than in January.
Thanks! This month's been mild (but that's not historically the case---last winter was very mild, and while we've had more snow this year, it's still warmer than normal). December got cold (mornings in the teens), but mornings in January have been near freezing (which seems easy now!).
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Old 01-22-16 | 04:49 PM
  #245  
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dark. raining sideways. all good.
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Old 01-22-16 | 11:47 PM
  #246  
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We had a team building exercise today (always lame) but it was at Nob Hill on Ford Island Hawaii. You can almost reach out and touch the USS Arizona Memorial from here.

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Old 01-25-16 | 08:20 AM
  #247  
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23F, headwind, but nice to be back on the bike after a week off. Complications from December shoulder surgery kept me off all last week - might be the longest string of car commutes I've had in about 5 years. I didn't need the reminder, but I've reaffirmed my commitment to riding to work - driving sucks!
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Old 01-25-16 | 09:12 AM
  #248  
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Bike commuting will take a real hit this week for most of us East Coasters. We got mostly sleet in my city, which is slow to melt in areas where roads are shaded and north-facing slopes. I drove to work this morning and the major roads were in good shape, but I waited until temperatures rose above freezing and much of the black ice had time to melt. Neighborhood streets and back roads still have lots of frozen sleet and black ice. Hopefully the sun and temps in the 40s and 50s will melt much of the remaining ice today, and more importantly I hope that temperatures will remain above freezing overnight. If we get another hard freeze tonight, it could be several more days before I am able to ride.
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Old 01-25-16 | 09:23 AM
  #249  
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first commute in snow today. used 40mm studded tires (nokian hakkapeliittas) with 50mm honjo fenders. it was awesome! lots were plowed but LOTS were not plowed. i had to ride in the lane where there had been car tracks.

lots of fishtailing. i think i might deflate the tires a bit like what was recommended on this board.

it usually takes me 20-25 min to ride to work and today it took 30. so even tho i had to have one foot on the pedal and use the other foot to kick thru the slush to get going, i made it in without too much of a delay. looking forward to the ride back!
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Old 01-25-16 | 11:28 AM
  #250  
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Originally Posted by noglider
Schwalbe Marathon Something-somethings. They have carbide studs for ice. They are 700c by 35mm. They look like weapons.
I also got the Schwalbe Marathon Winter 700x35 and used them for the first time this morning, to deal with the melt of snow banks that refreezes overnight and creates black ice. What an improvement over the Schwalbe 700x32 slicks, and the sound of Rice Crispies (or sizzling bacon) is mesmerizing.

After mounting them I saw blood on the sidewall, and then noticed that I cut my hands in three places just mounting them. Weapons indeed!
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