Be careful interpreting static weather radar images!


It wasn't raining when I left the house, and the radar looked like the line of showers was southeast, and probably heading further away based on the curvature of the line.


Wrong.


Heavy rain started halfway to work, splashed across 4-6" of water at intersections, and the creek, which was low since it hasn't rained much for two days, had water pouring into it out of the storm sewers. It's a good thing I was wearing my "Rubber Ducky Yellow" jersey this morning.


At least it was warm enough that I didn't get cold, at least until I got inside.

18F, some ice and frozen snow

Nearly barfed on my ride this morning. Carrying an extra 15-20 lbs of body mass, a few pounds of winter clothing, a 5 lb pannier, while riding studded tires, into a headwind, trying to minimize the speed delta on a busier stretch of road... is a great way to find out if your cardiovascular conditioning is up to snuff.

I finally get to see the sun most of my ride home now. Yesterday I saw it disappear behind the buildings on the horizon when I was only a mile from home. It was really warm, too. And with a chorus of frogs peeping in the swamp, it really starts to feel like spring. Whew!

That's what I was thinking: it could have been a complimentary honk.


I was all excited for my evening commute last night: had a little soccer game up on 77th street and B-way, so I was gonna ride up, play, and then ride back to Queens, through the park and over the 59th street bridge.

All went to pot by 41st on the way up, when I got a flat rear. Was really looking forward to the ride home, but instead I was on the subway.

Although I'm sure I was looking as good as I always do, I think that honk was more of a, "Don't ride on my road" type of message.

Another 65F morning and going up to 74. Overcast skies and I felt a few drops of water on my arms, but no real precipitation.

Nice photo [MENTION=60072]HardyWeinberg[/MENTION]. I saw some blooming red bud trees this morning. And one house I ride by has a long row of buttercups in full bloom.

Got a few droplets this morning, but otherwise clear. Now the sun's come out. :/


Noticed a few budding trees this morning down here, too. I wasn't close enough to tell if they were redbuds or a magnolia, but they looked a bit large for redbuds.

What a difference a day can make. Was 45F and raining for half of my trip. My feet were getting wet and cold. So I stopped to throw on the shoe covers and they helped a lot. Glad I brought them along. I didn't think it would rain in the morning. But know it would rain in the afternoon so I brought the shoe covers and knee covers for the trip back. The temp is also going to drop to 40F later on. So wanted to be ready for it. Brr...

30F, breezy. Snow day for the kids so a) I didn't have to make their lunches (or breakfasts) and b) they're teenagers so I don't have to stay home with them either. Turns out it's a total skating rink so cars that were out were not much in control. I was fine with studded tires but mostly because I was leaving space for cars to slide around me, in front of me, behind me...

It was 18F this morning, a beautiful morning to ride. I can't believe how much lighter it's getting in the mornings! I did see someone out walking their dog on the MUP, no lights, so at first I thought it was a couple of coyotes. I love how almost all the ice is gone, just a couple days after getting a few inches of snow.

I thought I had lost my favorite wool gloves, but fortunately I found them! They had fallen behind the bookcase where I set my cycling helmet and gear. I was glad to have them--they keep my hands warm, and are breathable enough to allow moisture to wick away.

39F and my weather app said cloudy, no rain predicted. And it was pouring as I pulled out of the driveway. I ignored it because it wasn't supposed to be happening

A dusting of snow on the ground as I rode in this morning. We're supposed to have up to 3" down by the end of the day so the ride home might be a bit more interesting.

Discovered that a large employer is building in the empty lot right next to our office. Their new space will hold up to 2500 people currently working on the opposite corner of the city. Not sure how they're going to filter that much traffic through the little road into (what used to be) our quiet cul-de-sac on the edge of town. Looks like commutes will get a lot more interesting in about a year when they're scheduled to open.

winning!

At 10F it was the coldest I've ever ridden in to work. I was plenty warm, but the 1-3 inches of dense snow/frozen slush covering about half my route made it difficult.

A very nice 60F ride in this morning. Except for the one pickup truck that intentionally gave an extra bit of gas as he passed me so that he could spew black smoke in my face. Again, whatever. He's the one who has to live with himself.

Hey, it's cold again, What is this, February or something?

Woke to another 4" of snow this morning. We're actually right on target for normal snowfall amounts at this point in the season (30 inches and counting) but the interesting thing is so far this year we've yet to have a single snowfall over about 5". Usually we'll have at least one 8"+ by this point in the winter. This season it's been lots of little snows. We're supposed to get 5+" more tomorrow.

February has been a cold month. I just looked it up and so far we've averaged 10 degrees below normal. Average Feb temp is 11.7F actual air temp and this year we've averaged 1.6F actual air temp. We've also had 26 days below zero since December, which is a little above average (22). Forecast is to continue the trend for more colder than normal days in the next few weeks as well.

Got up early to blow snow out of my driveway. Finished that up and was able to leave about 10 minutes earlier than normal. Temp was 18F (Whoohoo! Double digits!) Headwind was 16mph. Wind chill was 2F (Woohoo! Above zero!) Arrived at the office right at 8:00 ahead of most everyone who was driving and stuck in traffic. Considering the headwind and that the MUP was unplowed, I actually made pretty decent time.

48F and raining again, and again my app said no rain. If I can't trust the interwebs what can I trust?!

Beautiful weather, 70F and sunny. Washed some bike clothes last night and decided to hang them out to dry, first time for that in a long while! I must have picked the wrong time to leave, though, since there was a lot of traffic on the suburban streets as I was picking my way through the neighborhoods.

22F, icy (but much less than yesterday, no sliding cars), still

[MENTION=465722]robertorolfo[/MENTION], you can't fix a flat?

[MENTION=175954]Tundra_Man[/MENTION], that's real winter you have in your parts.

Took a week off last week only to have a flat about 1.5 miles into this morning's ride. Pushed it back home, startled my wife, and took the metro in.

I've been thinking 7 years on this bike has been a good run..maybe this was just the sign I needed.

Driving to work some this week due to needing to help transport kids to activities after work. One big difference I noticed is I wait for stoplights a lot more when driving. Probably because I just avoid them or filter to the front on my bike.

A bit drizzly here, but definitely ride-able conditions. Already wishing I had ridden.

Heavy, heavy headwinds this morning. I pushed hard and still only averaged 11 mph. I took the elevator to the office rather than walking up (from 4 to 12).

32F, heavy mist