I took the day off and rode the train in this morning. The forecast called for 1-3 inches of snow. Yesterday was a nice commute albeit a bit cold (32F to 42F). The forecast caught me by surprise since it originally said less than an inch yesterday. Oh well. At least I'm not in Boston getting 8-12 inches of snow...

https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/ma/boston

I feel for my New England peeps on a day like today. Getting tired of winter and really waiting for this month to be over. @Tundra_Man is a Yeti so he can handle any amount of snow in his hood!

21°F this morning, with a light north wind. It hit 35°F yesterday which caused a lot of snow to melt and run onto the pavement, which then froze overnight and turned into glass smooth sheets of ice.

I expected this to happen, but am having to ride over 21 miles today and I really didn't fell like doing that distance on my winter bike with studded tires. Plus I'm still jazzed about the rebuild of my hybrid, so I opted to take it today and just be wary of slick spots.

Saw @labrat on my way in. Tried to catch up with him but only got within 30 feet before he turned north and I turned south.

It's supposed to get into the low 30s again today and for the rest of the week so the morning ice/evening wet cycle will probably be my story for a few days.

My Niterider headlight switch has stopped glowing red to notify me that the battery needs charging. It just stays the regular blue color until the batter completely dies without warning. It still charges fine, and overall seems to last just as long as normal. Kind of annoying though.

@ptempel - Except this is more like the kind of Yeti I am:

^^ Heh. Every time I think Yeti, I think of the cute character from the old TV animation you see around christmas time:



Ah, its was "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" (1964).

Years ago I was in a band that was looking for a name. I suggested "Yukon Cornelius and the Bumbles." It was soundly rejected.

"remind them" lol. I've heard the same from others... Like a database forgets. Slow pedaling the battery replacements is apparently the company policy. The recall deal lasts all year but it will cost you a few more bucks out of warranty.

29F and calm. I'm so ready for Spring... and I'm sure I'll be soon complaining about rain

I remember when I was going to school up near Boston, all the locals claiming that the weather was the same as it is in NY. Nope. Not even close.

I decided to ride in this morning because the snow didn't look too bad from my window, nothing was sticking on the ground, and everything is supposed to stop by the evening commute. Well, I didn't factor in the wind that was whipping the snow around at a nice clip, but it wasn't terrible. In the AM I'm only riding a mile and a half, with the ferry in the middle.

I rode Citi Bike to my doctor's appointment this morning. It was snowing hard, but the snow isn't sticking, and the falling snow is warm and wet. It's basically just rain that looks like snow before it hits the ground. No big deal.

I took the subway from there to work, as I figured it would be faster than riding Citi Bike, but I'm rethinking that. It's a close call.

I ran up the eight flights again and hit a new record: 1:17. I think I might be able to improve further. And it's good interval training.

Good on you for riding today. I hope to resume tomorrow.

That would have been an excellent name. Ah well...

I warned my wife about the delay that I read about online. I also had a feeling that they would rather the warranty run out. They were originally going to charge $29 I think she said. But she reminded them that the phone was still under warranty.

Yesterday we hit a record high at Sea-Tac Airport of 73 degrees F. I took my road bike to work by bus because I was still tired from riding over the weekend and hadn't fully adjusted to Daylight Savings. Riding home, first I was following another commuter until we both hit this silly intersection where the city expects cyclists to take two crosswalks to get to the trail on the left. I knew about that intersection but had only gone once before so didn't switch over from the bike lane to the left turn lane, and neither did the rider ahead. When a third rider came to the stop in the left lane, then proceeded onto the trail while we were still waiting for the light, the guy in front turned back, looked at me, and then we both said simultaneously, "that's the way to go."

Later on I was doing about 24mph and was passed by a guy on an e-bike. He got in front of me, then took his hands off his bar while I kept pace until we hit a grade. He didn't catch much wind because he was wearing an aero jersey with an Audi logo, so I don't think I got much of a draft.

I took Citi Bike home, and I didn't take the path along the river. I joined all the delivery cyclists and the rest of the madness of traffic. Lucky I brought a whole lot of patience with me. If I had a helmet mounted camera and posted the video, you would shriek with fear, but this is all a day in the life.

The wind was pretty fierce, and the temperature was pretty low, and I now feel like a badass, because I think I've got the hang of winter cycling.

29F this morning with a light headwind that seemed to die as I got closer to downtown.

Got up to 38F yesterday, so there was a lot more snow melt covering the pavement which then turned to sheet ice in the overnight. I rode the hybrid without studs again today, apparently because I like to tempt fate. That or I'm subconsciously wanting spring to arrive.

A friend of mine who's a commuter took a spill yesterday. She was coming around a corner into a part of the street that gets shaded by a building. The snow melt had covered the area, and what she thought was a big wet puddle was hiding a layer of ice underneath. Her face took the brunt of the impact and she spent the afternoon at the oral surgeon hoping to save a front tooth that was knocked loose. Hearing about that reminded me to be extra vigilant this time of year with all the freeze/thaw cycles and the black ice.

Last night's ride home was hopefully a last blast of winter (we usually get it during March madness). 30mph headwind gusts and heavy snow - felt like I was riding in the Yukon. This morning it was 19F but calm.

We had a mixture of snow and rain and stuff yesterday, adding up to 5" of slush on the grass, 3" on the streets. The kind of stuff that more or less melted when a car drove through it, but when plowed it built up fairly large piles of heavy wet crystals. The ground was thoroughly waterlogged, streets flooding in lots of places, and then it froze overnight. So this morning the streets I rode on were all pretty clear, but there were several places where cars had to drive through a puddle as they entered the street, spreading water onto the street where it froze. So there were some nasty icy patches.

42F, clammy

The big snowfall skipped Manhattan. It amounted to nothing, literally. The streets are clearer now than they were before the snowfall.

But man, is it cold and windy! I had an unusual tail wind coming into work. I took my McLean racing bike for a change, just to spice things up. The racing bike plus the tail wind made for an exciting ride in. I checked the forecast, and it says winds will get even stronger. I'll have a headwind. I have an appointment this afternoon to donate blood platelets, so I better leave extra time for travel. It's going to be tough going.

+1

I met a fellow commuter on the way to the bridge and we rode down the Hudson Greenway from 154th to 109th together (where I had to peel off to go east). There was a pretty good headwind going on for us. Wooo DOGGY! I had to gear down to be able to conserve a bit.

Was 30F and was a good ride in despite the slight beat down from the wind. I think the Greenway was windier than the streets. But maybe not an apples to apples comparison since I was mostly going east on the streets and south on the Greenway.

[MENTION=25132]ptempel[/MENTION], I don't think I'll ever "not notice" the wind in this city. It is shifty and gusty, since we are on a harbor and the buildings and cliffs channel the wind. I saw one guy riding in the direction opposite mine, struggling against the wind, and his gear ratio was much too high. But I don't yell out advice to people. The wind map shows the wind to be coming from the west, but that will feel like a headwind if you're going "south" on the greenway, because it isn't really south, it's "NYC south." I bet you had a tail wind most of your ride going "NYC east."

29°F today with a light tailwind from the east. Wind is supposed to pick up later today so I'll have to fight it going the other direction.

It's been getting above freezing during the days this week which has meant our snow accumulation is slowly receding. That also means the mornings are icy. This morning was no exception, but I have noticed that the ice patches are gradually decreasing in size and frequency as well.

I've been tempting fate and riding my hybrid without studs this week. I came across one spot today about 5 miles from home and 3 miles from work that was about a 50 foot patch of sheet ice. I'd already crossed a dozen or so of these, so I did my standard non-studded tire method of dealing with these areas: build up enough speed prior to reaching the spot so I won't have to pedal, aim the bike so I have a perfectly straight line across the ice with no turns needed, unclip from the pedals and let my feet hover over the ice in case I lose traction and then just coast across.

All was well until I was about halfway across and broke through the ice. Much to my surprise this wasn't just a thin layer of sheet ice over the concrete. The puddle underneath was about 3" deep. I kept the bike upright but had to get my feet back on the pedals to keep my speed going, otherwise I was going to stop and have to stand in the water. I made it through but my feet got pretty wet. Then about a mile down the road I hit my brakes and was surprised to discover I didn't have any; the water had frozen on my rims. I had to ride the brakes for a few hundred yards to heat up the rims and melt the ice.

Tomorrow we're supposed to get snow, along with more on Monday. So I'm guessing I'll be back on the winter bike for a spell.

Later today is a good example of what I sometimes have to do to keep my commuting streak alive (485 days and counting): my son's high school's basketball team made the playoffs and the games start this afternoon. As a result, they're dismissing classes at noon in the hopes that the students attend the game. My son isn't interested in going, and isn't driving yet. So around 11 AM I'm going to leave work and ride back home. From there I'll get the car and drive to his school. I'll pick him up along with a neighbor boy who needs a ride, and deliver them back home. Then I'll get back on my bike and ride back to work. This evening I'll stay an hour or two late to make up for the time I'll lose running this errand, then ride home after that.

It would have been easier to drive, but what's the fun in that?

[MENTION=25132]ptempel[/MENTION] and [MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION] you guys can have the wind! We're finally back to some semblance of normal winds. It's odd thinking 10mph headwinds is a relief. 32F this morning

I had two good ones this week between the rain days. Yesterday was a dramatic sky as the thunderstorms were moving in. Both daycare days happened to have rain so none of that this week. I've got my MTB on the market now, got some nibbles on the weekend but not since. One guy was ready to drive over and buy it until he asked his riding buddy who told him it was too cheap!

I've been riding hard and climbing stairs like mad, and I need to stretch. Walking is good for that. I took the subway, using a route that requires more walking. The wind is still cold and fierce today.

I pity the poor cagers!


They were probably looking at me this morning and thinking, "Look at that poor guy riding his bike. It's so cold!" (It was above freezing. Barely.)


I was late getting out of the house because everything was out of whack after driving two days. As a result, I hit the worst possible time for morning rush hour -- I didn't know some of those intersections EVER got backed up that far! So while it was chilly, I was warm, out in the sun, listening to the robin and blue jay chorus, and riding around all those poor people in their cars, trucks, and SUVs.