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-   -   2016! how was your commute today? (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/1043477-2016-how-your-commute-today.html)

KCBikeCommuter 12-12-16 08:06 AM

It was around 18F/-8C as I left the house this morning. I was dressed about right for the conditions... a little cold to start, but then warmed up as the ride went along.

Tundra_Man 12-12-16 08:32 AM

Winter decided to show up. -6°F this morning. Light wind. We got 4" of snow on Saturday and for some reason the city chose not to plow, so by today all the pavement was rutted ice.

Rode my winter bike. Because of the sub-zero temps I threw a sweatshirt between my work shirt and my windbreaker jacket. That turned out to be a mistake as I was quite warm while I rode (lots of resistance on the winter bike) and by the time I arrived my work shirt was sweat soaked. Oops.

Saw three other riders out beside me. One was a regular commuter I see frequently. One was an obvious DUI/lost license situation. The third I think was cycling by choice, but I wasn't 100% sure.

arsprod 12-12-16 08:32 AM


Originally Posted by KCBikeCommuter (Post 19246348)
It was around 18F/-8C as I left the house this morning.

Watching your weather head our way - 33F this morning and temps are dropping. Snow and rain last night and I'm glad it was above freezing this morning - I don't want to ride the studly tired bike any more than necessary!

Steely Dan 12-12-16 08:51 AM

we got about 6 inches of snow yesterday. the streets were pretty damn sloppy, snowy, slushy, icy, rutty, etc.

i'm glad to own a winter beast with studded tires. it was definitely the right horse for this morning's course.

rhm 12-12-16 09:04 AM

I couldn't do it. Got up at 4:15, opened the back door, and saw a heavy cold rain coming down. I didn't see any signs of ice, but the rain was enough to send me back to bed. 6:30 it had lightened a bit but still too wet for me.

Working from home today.

ptempel 12-12-16 09:35 AM

^ I also thought to WFH if there was more than a light dusting of snow. The temp raised enough to 34F or so to turn into rain and wash the little bit of snow away. GWB sidewalk was also open so was good to go! :) I also had a hard time doing WFH since I was out all last week except for Monday. So already had some time off the bike with only two days on the road form home last week. Should be nicer later on today and go up to 47F.

Yttrium 12-12-16 10:58 AM

Slush and cold rain in Boston. It was my first bike commute ever! On the plus side, the waterproof gear (forgot the booties) was well worth the money I spent on it.

rhm 12-12-16 11:25 AM


Originally Posted by Yttrium (Post 19246711)
Slush and cold rain in Boston. It was my first bike commute ever! On the plus side, the waterproof gear (forgot the booties) was well worth the money I spent on it.

Well, congratulations! Sounds like you're doing it right. Couldn't have picked a better day to start on; it can only get better.
:thumb:

HardyWeinberg 12-12-16 11:26 AM

drove - need to deal w/ food for lunchtime xmas party

chas58 12-12-16 11:44 AM

1 Attachment(s)
Snowday

esmith2039 12-12-16 02:34 PM

14 when I left the house. Wind chill made it a bit nippy. The same I guy everyday at the bus stop ask me if I ride all the time. The cold sure does take it out of me though, need a nap midday after lunch but after the ride home I'm re-energized!

kellichou 12-12-16 03:15 PM

20F this morning when I got on the MUP at about 5:15. Great ride. Feels good to be back!

Abe_Froman 12-12-16 04:30 PM

Big snowstorm overnight...couldn't believe the new MUP I take to work was plowed already. Going to be chilly on the way home...19 and dropping.

Darth Lefty 12-12-16 04:34 PM

It was pretty unremarkable today, just glad I could be out for a ride at all.

trailmix 12-12-16 04:52 PM

Low 40s and raining. For some reason I really enjoy riding in the rain, I must have issues.

joeyduck 12-12-16 07:43 PM

Snowy here today, we got an unexpected snow day for the little man today. So he hung out with the grandparents and I went to the ER for an infection and the wife and daughter went to work/daycare.

It was nice to have the snow, and based on an email from school a lot of people didn't know it was a snow day.

Here a few pictures from the last few days.

https://goo.gl/photos/ipK9EuEYqnuynmqG9

Last Thursday we had about a 1/4 inch of ice in the bay, then snow Friday from school (which should have ben closed, I had 30/120 students for the day), then the evening lights on the way into town for my wife's Christmas Party, the girl getting herself ready to go out, and this morning's snow.

I saw a mink running about outside my desk window yesterday and a hummingbird in the courtyard at the ER this morning. This goes with the owl which swooped in front of me last week. I live in a great place.

Darth Lefty 12-12-16 11:57 PM

Traffic was completely backed up on Hazel going up the bridge - it might have been one of those days it was actually faster to ride home. I encountered about a dozen salmon fishermen walking back from Nimbus dam, always fraught as they dress in muted colors and no reflections or lights on the dark MUP. But no one was down there fishing and someone seemed to be working on the dam itself. Fishing is allowed til one hour after sunset, so the time was about right, but it was such a sudden concentration I wonder if a ranger came along and told them to leave.

When I got home my wife was right behind me in the van. She said she'd come across me about a mile out coming back from a coffee run, and had sort of stalked me, for fun, passing by me at least five times. I never noticed. I was zoned out listening to an interview with Jamie Oliver about holiday food, and thinking of dinner.

Darth Lefty 12-12-16 11:58 PM

Joeyduck buries the lede again

Phil_gretz 12-13-16 06:17 AM

Pretty Nice Morning
 
It was just below freezing today, but the air was calm. I enjoyed the ride in. The guard who checks ID asked me how long I had been riding. I answered "45 years, but only 15 minutes this morning..." He laughed.


My motivation hasn't been great lately, and I'm just dragging myself to get started each day.

esmith2039 12-13-16 06:54 AM

24 this morning but 12ish wind chills but it was out of the north ie from behind so no issue's. I'm officially done with the riverfront trail between KCMO/KCK. Had a 18 gauge nail through the back tire last night, I think it was intentional. I've had more flats since I found that trail than ever on the street. And I'm not the only one, another guy was carrying his and he had 2. Back to the street don't care who I tick off.

mgw4jc 12-13-16 07:34 AM

Yesterday's ride home started out at 60F, but felt cooler as it got darker.

About 38F this morning felt okay with the right layers. I left about an hour early to hit the gym before work. This two-legged route ends up being about one mile shorter than my normal route.

TheNormanRider 12-13-16 08:30 AM

32F this morning, with a partly cloudy sky and very obscured moon. Light winds out of the north made the ride to work a bit colder, although I think my top layer wasn't quite right. Hoping to correct that tonight. The weak point, however, continues to be shoes, with the cold wind cutting right through. Only the merino wool socks save me some, but they're almost just not enough. Came across a group of young female joggers, most likely from the university; they were a bit oblivious until I was actually passing within 2 feet of them. Uneventful ride otherwise.

wphamilton 12-13-16 08:53 AM

I spent some time tuning up my fared winter bike and rode it today as a shake down test although mid-40's is typically too warm. The front end had been starting to sag a bit, since the coroplast and aluminum brace tends to bend over time, so I braced that up and I added some overlapping hinged panels on the sides where my handlebars swivel out which worked really well. I want to pull the front up about two inches though because it feels weird to have cold air from the eyes up and warm dead air everywhere else.

The commute today, taking the Greenway instead of major roads was uneventful. In this weather we don't see many bike commuters or even pedestrians, and my late start missed even the die-hard joggers so it was just me and the deer.

Tundra_Man 12-13-16 09:03 AM

Consecutive commute number 199. Looks promising that I'll hit the 200 mark tomorrow.

-1°F this morning with a brisk head wind. Wind chill was somewhere around -20°F. The news was giving the typical "flesh will freeze within X minutes" messages we get most winter days in our area. I was completely covered except for my cheeks and my nose, but was generating enough internal heat that I didn't feel cold. Roads are still rutted ice from the unplowed weekend snow so I took the winter bike.

Encountered three idiot drivers in my 1st half mile from the house. The first close-passed me on a residential street at 40+ mph. The second passed me while there was an oncoming car, causing him to have to veer back into my lane directly in front of me. The third decided she couldn't wait 5 more seconds for me to get through an intersection and pulled into the oncoming lane before turning left. Thankfully after that I had no further encounters.

Abe_Froman 12-13-16 09:22 AM

16F on the way home yesterday.

Nice and toasty except for right big toe, which seems to be a constant issue. I think I have circulation problems.

The one thing that is really annoying is it seems I need to make a decision between goggles and balaclava...both just makes the goggles un-usable due to fog. Moving slow enough with knobbies and snow on the ground I don't really even need the eye cover yet anyway.

arsprod 12-13-16 09:38 AM

Forecast was for snow beginning overnight but nothing on the ground when I got up. I took the studded tire bike anyway and probably a good thing - about 1/4 way into the ride to work it started snowing and still going strong. Studs don't do anything for snow but it's warm enough that we'll get ice patches. Tomorrow should be interesting with single digit temps... yay winter... almost

noglider 12-13-16 09:57 AM

I rode to work for the first time in over three weeks. I was waiting for the spirit to move me, and it moved me today. Well, my legs did some of the work, too.

My tracks from this morning

Last night, the weather forecast for today called for cloud cover and a small chance of rain or snow. This morning, it improved, and the sky is clear. Rather than my usual headwind, I had a mild tailwind. The wind probably won't change much, so I'll have a mild headwind this evening.

I overdressed a little, so I was overall comfy but slightly hot.

I've been lifting weights lately, and it seems to be helping. Climbing my few hills is easier than before, and I'm using much higher gears to climb. Lifting weights really does build strength!

If you zoom in, you can see the George Washington Bridge which I often feature in my commuting route pictures.

https://ridewithgps.com/photos/2163941/large.jpg

bmthom.gis 12-13-16 10:17 AM

Soggy commute this morning! I got it in my head I really wanted to ride in the rain though, so there ya go. It was mostly enjoyable, who knows what the cagers thought! Have a ride home from the Better Half tonight, as we have plans with friends after work. All contents stayed dry. The bottom of my panniers does not do a good job of keeping the water out, but the tops do. I wrapped everything in plastic bags and those were dry, but had little water puddles in the bottom.

Anyway, shoes are stuffed with newspaper, all bags are open and drying, and I'll have to make it a point to go down later and see how the drying effort goes.

HardyWeinberg 12-13-16 10:19 AM

37F, gray, clammy. Stuck w/ tights and full gloves, went back to one shirt, but the long sleeve one, under the coat. Also through fluke of laundry, super skinny socks. Just about right overall, top a bit warm even with (as always) pitzips etc... cranked all the way open.

Steely Dan 12-13-16 11:57 AM

it was a chilly one this morning, 17 degrees with a 15mph NW wind that i was riding into most of the way.

i was happy to see four other fellow bike commuters out there in the cold. it's fun to see other hardy souls.


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