Atvar

Quite cool (1°C = 33.8 F), but pleasantly uneventful, apart from a donkey on a muscle car who honked at me, before using a gas station as a shortcut to avoid to stop at a traffic light. I ignored him.

I'm starting to think about realizing user pmcadamis' "poor man pogies" showed on https://www.bikeforums.net/10253149-post31.html with a couple ziplock plastic bags to cut down on wind chill.




Stats 2016
-------------------

Commute ratio (November): [19/30]

Near Misses: 0

Idiots met: 1

SCR score for today's commute:
- AM: 16+1-0 = 17
- PM: 16+0-0 = 16

SCR total score for 2016:
9

dcb23

Can't say I enjoyed having a drafter/tailgater for 6 miles in the dark. I suppose I could have just motioned for him to pass.

Phil_gretz

Another bicyclist? Strange that he didn't pull alongside to chat...

rhm

It was supposed to stop raining overnight. But when my alarm went off, I thought I heard rainy sounds. I went downstairs and opened the back door, and, sure enough, it was raining. So I wore my rain jacket... totally unnecessarily. It had stopped raining by the time I left, a half hour later.

Phil_gretz

I flatted again on the rear this morning. Ugh. I have to ditch my Blackburn Air Stick. It's just not efficient enough.


I'm thinking that I need to keep a floor pump in my office at work. I've needed to top off after repairs at least three times over the last year and a half. Having a pump here would remove that worry.


Anyhow, a nice spirited ride otherwise. There'll be a headwind this afternoon, so I'm glad that I took a racing bike today.

esmith2039

26 degrees but was absolutely perfect. Wore the balaclava and two layers at the bottom, three up to top and wool socks. Looking forward to snow!

tarwheel 

Beautiful ride today after two rainy days, with sunny skies and mild temperatures. I had to be careful, however, to avoid slipping on wet leaves. I left my car at the dealer last night for its annual inspection, so I had to ride today regardless. I'm appreciating every bike commute these days since I'm retiring at the end of January.

arsprod 

Moose Mitts is back in business - Home!

Windy! And it's a crosswind so I'll get it again going home. The temp was a decent 37F but 28F with the windchill... windchill, that thing again!

mgw4jc

The forecast said the rain wouldn't start until after 6pm, but the big green mass on the radar decided to arrive early - 4:55 to be exact. I think this was the first commute in rain the entire way. Definitely the first time in rain and darkness. Lucky for me it was still 65F, so not bad - especially since I had no jacket. The main thing I didn't like about it was the visibility being lower. My glasses were splattered enough that I just slid them down my nose a bit and peered between them and the edge of my helmet. My helmet does have a short visor too, which I feel helps.

This morning I had an appointment a few miles further away than my office, so I rode there for 17 miles. Then went back to the office for an additional 5+ miles. A big 22+ miles to start off the day.

I'm off work tomorrow - so today is my Friday!

Wolfhaven

Tired of the wet. Rained yesterday and the temps are just above freezing. Sanding trucks were out this morning since it was hovering around 32 degrees. Glad I put the studs on last night. Headed out in light flurries which became hit or miss over the miles. Nice ride overall. Hopefully the sun reappears some day.

I find it interesting the mental shifts that take place when you commute regularly. At first it's like this big mission you're undertaking. Moves to not such a big deal to ride, then the weather takes on less importance to finally commuting is just what you do. For coworkers it went from "you rode your bike to work? in an are you crazy voice, eventually switching to "why didn't you ride today?". On bad weather days it's still the "are you crazy?" comments but figure that will change by the end of this winter.

RidingMatthew

@tarwheel congrats on the retirement...


I rode today after a strong storm moved across the state last night.. Warning for wind gusts up to 50mph last night.


We have much cooler temps today and the sun is back. 42F this morning. I felt good and it did me good to be on the bike again.

HardyWeinberg

40F and clear(-ish) when I left the house. In the home stretch of the commute there seemed to be something like frost/black ice on the pavement but no traction issues.

TheNormanRider

28F this morning, with surprisingly clear skies and brilliant stars. Wind was very slight, but not bothersome in the least. I could feel the cold, and was tempted to sleep in some and just drive, but decided against it. Had to stop at Walmart on the way to grab a frozen box of breakfast and lunch. Other than that the 10-mile ride to work was uneventful, just as it should be.

PatrickGSR94

First below-freezing commute of the season for me this morning. Also my first commute in 2 weeks since I was off last week, had some heavy rains, etc. My bike computer got as low as 30°F at one point during the commute.

Unfortunately I'm about 200-300 miles off my commute and total annual miles compared to this time last year. I probably won't match last year's end-of-year numbers unless I do some big recreational rides this month, which is also unlikely.

So I guess the ~3,500 mile/year and ~2,500 commuting miles per year is about my limit that I can physically handle. If I ever move closer to work, I'll probably commute more often, but the total commute miles will likely end up being less. Oh well, such is life.

noglider 

Wow, @PatrickGSR94, it's colder in Tennessee than in New York.

PatrickGSR94

Don't think the cold front has reached you just yet. Also that was at 6 AM this morning. Highs are in the 50's right now.

HardyWeinberg

May I say 45F at 3pm feels a lot colder than 40F at 6am

heywood

That's a good idea.. i bought a pair, they make a huge difference..you can even toss a couple of the chemical heat pouches in if you want to.. your hands will stay very toasty.

essiemyra

A very nice uneventful commute in today. The temp was 33f degrees when I left the house this am. It was my first ride this week, even though I worked all week and I am ready for a weekend. They have had construction in my office since Wednesday this week and it is very noisy. Not riding and being irritated is not a good combination.

KCBikeCommuter

Coldest commute of the season so far. Around 25F as I left the house, but minimal winds at least. My toes started to get a little cold by the end, but otherwise a nice, quite commute. Should be sunny and 45F for the ride home!

Wolfhaven

29 but dry this morning. I'll take it. As I walked out of the house I grabbed a pair of ice armor gloves but just walking to the garage they proved to be too warm. Put on some leather work gloves instead. Warm but not too warm. Will have to dig out some different glove options this weekend. We might even see some sunshine peak through later today.

HardyWeinberg

40F, light drizzle, no wind. Went for long sleeves under the coat, finally, and gloves instead of fingerless cycling thingies. Still shorts though.

RidingMatthew

wow that is crazy. I am bundled up more than that.


30F or so this morning saw 29 but not a bad ride.

no motor?

I made both of the lights I usually get stuck at on the way in this morning, and I didn't even have to do anything different to do that. It was amazing!

HardyWeinberg

40F, brutal headwind, nasty spitting rain going home last night. Also, was in a hurry to leave so forgot the full-fingered gloves. Ramifications for Monday morning as well.