Bike Forums - The Annual "Put My Bike Away for Winter" Thread

Bike Forums (https://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php)

- Commuting (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/)

- - The Annual "Put My Bike Away for Winter" Thread (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/1159482-annual-put-my-bike-away-winter-thread.html)

I can't stop! Commuting any other way just feels wrong now and so inconvenient.

It isn't the cold or wet that bothers me though. If anything, I worry about slipping – and other commuters. You can be as safe as you want, but that won't change how other people respond in adverse weather.

But I'm going to continue to ride to work until I feel it is just too dangerous – or until my bike lane gets covered with snow and ice. Pray for me.

:winter2:

Quote:

Originally Posted by RHETTORIC (Post 20680618)

I can't stop! Commuting any other way just feels wrong now and so inconvenient.

Half the time when I drive I forget my badge or something else that is just part of my daily routine on the bike

Quote:

Originally Posted by RubeRad (Post 20680657)

Half the time when I drive I forget my badge or something else that is just part of my daily routine on the bike

Exactly. Biking makes the world better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RubeRad (Post 20680657)

Half the time when I drive I forget my badge or something else that is just part of my daily routine on the bike

Hah! My experience exactly. For the first week of driving to work, I forgot something almost every day. It took me all that time just to re-organize and get all the stuff I need for work out of my panniers!

One tool to stay organized, a new practice for me, is to empty my bag completely both at home and at work. That way I know I have what I need. I also have a small pouch for the small things I carry such as a USB adapter, a flashlight, etc. I don't always check the pouch's contents, but I check to see that I have it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by noglider (Post 20679034)

There is some kind of war going on between IB and r-e-d-d-i-t, so try this link instead.

I just realized that reading text from drivers complaining about traffic is satisfying and makes me want to shake up some popcorn. Some of it borders on poetry:

" It’s predictable in other places. Boston’s traffic just appears because f*ck you and your day. "

Here is a Haiku version:

Been in other places
Boston's traffic just appears
F*ck you and your day

Quote:

Originally Posted by noglider (Post 20681016)

I also have a small pouch for the small things I carry such as a USB adapter, a flashlight, etc. I don't always check the pouch's contents, but I check to see that I have it.

One tool to stay organized, a new practice for me, is to empty my bag completely both at home and at work. That way I know I have what I need.

A few years ago I posted to this A&S thread, Bicycling or not, what items do you take with you that you never leave home without?:

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerhouse (Post 18374460)

Whether you are on a bicycle ride or not, what items do you always bring with you or 'never leave home without? The list can be surprising. I'll start…

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostarchitect (Post 18374616)

Don't a lot of these things go without saying for the vast majority of people? Clothing (a jacket is clothing, too), footwear, keys, money, ID, cell phone etc.

It's probably more interesting to ask what non-standard things do people always have with them. In my case I pretty much always have a good pocket knife, a small flashlight, a small tape measure, a rugged pen, and a small notebook. I usually also have a book that I am reading

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 18375482)

I have a flat mesh black bag, about 8 x 6 x 3 inches I call my “clutch bag” with some of my non-standard items I take everywhere, including bike rides:

Nailclipper, I hate hangnails
- Callus cushions and tape for a callus over my fourth right metatarsal bone; occasionally hurts walking or pedaling
- Extra pair of eyeglasses with lens wipes and lens cleaner because I am so nearsighted. I was in a couple of bike crashes, and glasses got bent.
- Mints for dry mouth
- Hairbrush especially for helmet hair. I wear gel, and HH easily brushes out
used to compulsively carry Chapstick after one windy ride long ago, but gave it up after a few years.

Quote:

Washington Post
Sunday, December 14, 2008

Let's make a list of the important things you need before walking out the door: Wallet: Check. Cellphone: Check. Keys: Check. Lip balm?

You slap your back pocket. Nope. Rummage through your bag. Nada. Search the bedside table. Negative.
This is a problem. A huge, paralyzing problem. You are a lip balm addict, after all. And you are not alone.

Countless Facebook groups are dedicated to the "crackstick" in all its varieties: ChapStick, Blistex, Burt's Bees, Carmex. Any lip lubricant that comes in a tube or a tub. There are online quizzes that measure how addicted you are to ChapStick. (Question: When you are wearing only a bathing suit, do you have ChapStick on you at all times?)

And there is a self-help Web site, Lip Balm Anonymous (Lip Balm Anonymous), dedicated to helping lip balm addicts.

Also, for cycling or otherwise, I wear a backpack with space for lightweight extra clothes for temperature variations, to put on or remove (since I ride a carbon fiber bike).

Yesterday I left for my 14 mile one-way commute and rode 2.5 miles until I realized I left home without it. The clutch bag fits in my always-attached seat bag (or into the backpack when not riding..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archwhorides (Post 20681150)

Last week I replied to this General Cycling Dsiccussion thread,thread, "Do Cyclists Have a Negative Reputation?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 17570899)

…One public reflection of those motorists’ attitudes is occasionally expressed on a talk radio show here in Boston, The Howie Carr Show with anti-cycling rants as the topic

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 17738370)

…Personally, I did not think the … callers to the talk show were particularly hateful, though one snow plow driver did admit to being slowed by a cyclist on a narrow road, and as he passed the cyclist he plowed out a wave of slush to his right.

This winter of historic snowfalls though did bring out more hostility than usual.

Nonetheless “hatred” is way too strong a word; IMO here in Boston, more like “exasperation.”...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 17640832)

One thing I found funny was that he referred to cyclists as a new “protected” class, the ”Spandex-Americans.” As funny IMO, as ”Gyno-Americans.”

:lol:

I put my bike away for the winter when Daylight Savings time hit. I don't trust the heavy traffic where I live to ride in the dark. I'll be back on my bikes in March or April. In between, I'll be on my trainer or my jogging bike.

I rode home last night and it was below freezing or right at most of the time. I like my new headlights set up. I was beside a car with only one headlight and my bike lights were whiter and brighter than their car. It happened many times on the ride home.

We just got a decent amount of snow and now there's salt out, so I think it's time to put the bike away for the winter. I've been fantasizing recently about doing a winter / crappy weather build out of a mountain bike, with big tires, fenders, a single chainring and an internally geared hub. I was checking out the DBR Axis TT because it's titanium, but I don't know if I can justify the cost of that for a bike that's going to be abused. I do have an aluminum Cannondale Trail SL4 laying around that I almost never ride though... Maybe I could try to find a rigid fork for it so the suspension doesn't get ruined by salt.

There's a lot on the menu for winter maintenance including replacing the disc brake rotor, chain, cassette, and possibly converting to bullhorns on the Surly, then a BB overhaul :cry: and shifter cables / housing on the vintage Motobecane.