I got lucky last night. Rain cleared out about 4:00, so I had clear skies and a nice moon when I headed out. One hour after I got home, the severe thunderstorm that had popped up hit (right as the warning was expiring, what about everybody in the eastern half of the county?).


This morning was clear again, just 30F cooler than yesterday. I didn't quite adapt -- I was dressed for about 5-10 degrees warmer, and the cross wind really bit. Then half way to work, it turned into a tail wind that blew me to work!

The other morning was beautiful: fresh snow covering the mountains, and sunrise making them glow pink. Amazing. I've been taking the mountain bike since I bought a new front tire and it is a beast in the snow. Unstoppable.


That evening I saw a moon I didn't want to see: a crackhead taking a crap in the bushes. Nasty.


This morning was soo slushy. Everything was soaked.

52F, downpour. Pineapple express took all the ice off the MUP. Would be much nicer than yesterday except, our stupid MUP is reverse-cambered so the ice was replaced with a roaring river with whitecaps on it which has its own issues.

I was thinking of cycling in, despite the -27C/-17F temperature (windchill -36C/-33F) but I had a bunch of things to do first and it was getting late when my wife offered to drive me in so I took the offer. In case I feel the need to battle the cold, tomorrow morning is forecast to be a similar -22C/-8F so the option is there.

A cold cold rain started falling between 1 and 2 AM and I remember waking up and hearing it intermittently before my alarm went off. It was loud. When my alarm went off I got up and looked outside, and then I went back to bed. The city was expecting a lot of snow, and public transit was going to be a mess. Not for me today!

We only got 4" here. The sun came out, but it got very cold. The ground was still warm from yesterday, so water was running out from under the snow and freezing when the cold air hit it. Nice. Lots of black ice out there now!

I think I'll take tomorrow off as well....

I took yesterday and today off. The roads are not clear from the snow storm yesterday so it's another short week for me. I hope y'all are doing well. I got in a little snow shovel "cross training" yesterday.

Wow. What a view. Photos or it didn't happen! . Mmrrm. Them again, maybe not...

Forecast calls for 10 cm of snow on the way home today. That ought to be interesting,..I mean suck!

Yesterday cleared up nicely and the sun actually came out but the winds were relentless and temps barely reached 20. I had a chiropractor appointment and in a show of protest to the wind gods I took the bus to my appointment. Still had to ride the rest of the way home. Taking today off - riding and work

A cool -20C/-4F but I dressed properly so I was fine. Going down the last hill to work, not a steep one and I didn't get much speed but it was exposed to an easterly wind so I cooled off quickly: I'm glad I was protected from that wind for the rest of the ride.

Have a great Friday and weekend!!

We had 10cm here in Sudbury on Wednesday and Vancouver has been hit hard with lots of snow; my cousin had to buy a shovel.

Crazy winds yesterday continued for ride home, except I didn't go home I went to meet up with a running group. I had short section on the way there that was so windy it was hard to ride straight.

This morning I smelled it a good couple hundred yards before I saw it. But sure enough there was a skunk about 5 feet off the opposite side of the road watching me ride by. His tail was pointing straight up, but he was facing me. I'm sure he could have done a quick 180 turn, aimed and fired if he wanted. I did not stop for a picture.

Pretty cold this morning at 28F. I'm still trying to warm up after being at the office for about 40 minutes.

WOOHOOO! I MADE IT!

Today marks one full year of bicycle commuting without the use of a car. Living in South Dakota the weather made it challenging at times, but with some perseverance and a bit of luck I pulled it off.

As a bonus, today was Winter Bike To Work Day and the local bike advocacy group had a couple "refueling stations" arranged. One of them happened to be just a few blocks from my client's office so I stopped by to celebrate with some quiche and a double mocha espresso.

Nicely done!! Congrats!!

In anticipation the snow that's coming on the way home I McYvered a mudflap for my front fenders using a mouse pad, of all things. Check it out:

IMG_0435.jpg

Should work okay, but I'd like to do a better job of securing it without using those black clips which can come loose.

Riding in snow on the way home? Woah there. Take it easy and get home safe. Closest for me was getting caught out on the bridge (GWB). The roads were perfectly clear. However the bridge sidewalk had about 1cm of light slush from freezing rain. Was a little scary going down the slight incline with the 180 degree turn on the Manhattan side. I just coasted slowly and made it down without wiping out. Having my hands on the drops also helped. Thats my tactic for high wind and crappy pavment situations.

Your bike looks more prepared than mine was with nicer tires for commuting. I just had my usual road bke, no fenders and 23mm Conti Gatorskin tires. The cheapest bike is the one you already own. But if I had it to do over again, I'd prolly go for something with at least enough clearence for 28mm tires on the Velocity A23 rims. That would be much more plush and cushy...

Maybe walking would have been a better option.

I rode home on Tuesday in freezing rain. Pictures here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/...rience-me.html
But I"m hoping to make it home before the snow comes today.

Yeah, that's not going to work here. Dicey road conditions, potholes, debris; you want a larger tire, and studs, just to be sure.

43F, drizzling sunshower. Rainbow was behind me, saw it fade when I turned the 2nd-to-last corner of the ride...

It's Friday, and I haven't ridden to work once this week. Yesterday we had a big snowfall, and my workplace closed. Today it's cold, and there is a lot of ice on the surface. Riding today would be suicidal.

We've been home with the babies for two work weeks now, and three to go. Our burn rate on diapers is astonishing. It's also weird to see the babies' dinky diapers next to the potty-training toddler's. The former baby is starting to seem enormous! We have settled into a "battle rhythm," as the management lingo has it, but my wife is terrified of me going back to work in a few more weeks.

Weather has been keeping us in. I got my kid out on his Strider and the dogs on a leash for a while yesterday. I haven't been on a bike in a month but that could change here pretty soon.

The other big local-ish weather news has been Oroville Dam which suffered a sinkhole under its spillway just as the flow rates are their highest since the 1997 flood. The bottom half of it is probably lost. The people in charge are hoping to keep it running rather than use an earthen emergency spillway which would cause a lot of erosion and break power lines. The salmon hatchery packed up in tanker trucks and left

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/O...r-10920358.php

Wow!

I think when my daughter was 9 months old I started taking her out for long (3+ hours) naps in the bike trailer. That's an infinite amount of time from where you are now of course...

that's about when I started the now-toddler. In hindsight a snuggler or a trailer with a better seat would have been preferable, he did a lot of uncomfy-looking slouching. 9mo from now will be November, of course... I don't get much commuting done in the dark and rain, much less recreational, and I want to get the by-then-3yo on skis, so I'll have to work the priorities.

I made it out on work release... a trip to the store for cookie ingredients and a dog's prescription.