One of the criteria I had for my winter bike was an aluminum frame. Carbon would probably hold up well too, but I didn't want to pay the premium for it.

All the steel components like chains, rings and cogs rust in a heartbeat as soon as the road salt hits it. You can also tell immediately which fasteners are stainless steel and which ones are regular.

Visiting northern cities from CA, it's always funny to see how all the cars are cheap, small, and new. People down here can put more money into a car because it's not going to dissolve

Heck, it might be a long plotted revenge for the 2001 bankruptcy... which was mostly due to Enron, but surely was not helped by the film in Y2K. Who knows?

The model with the highest number of new car registrations in Spokane County each year = Subaru Impreza

I drove today due to some off-site meetings - which is a shame because it's sunny mid 40s here today.

It reminded me what I think all of us who drive a car should be reminded of: driving is a privilege and a luxury - it should feel like that. I can remember when I used to drive every day it felt like a chore, and I got a sense of entitlement behind the wheel. Now that I ride 95% of the days I am in the office, it feels like a treat to drive in a warm car and listen to the radio. As it should. I am glad bike commuting gave me this perspective. Life is too short to have a stressful commute.

I am sure most of you also drive a car occasionally, is this your sense as well?

I drove yesterday because I had to drop my daughter of at her driver's ed class. My thoughts while driving in are along the lines of, "I'm glad I don't have to deal with this traffic every morning," and, "Which route is the least backed up?" However, at the end of the day when I'm more tired, I definitely have a bit of relief knowing I don't have to change clothes and bike home. But then I'm bummed I didn't get the miles in and will have a lower than average week for mileage.

Cool enough for lightweight gloves this morning. About 52F. Supposed to be a nice afternoon and weekend though.

Happy Friday!

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 820:

32F, snow flurries, 20 mph headwind with 40 mph gusts, and a fat tired bicycle.

No speed records were harmed in the making of this commute.

It's got to be miserable weather before I enjoy driving a car to or from work. And even then it's a mixed "blessing" because there's a mix of idiots who can't drive in the rain and the fools who won't slow down for rain or traffic. Most of the time I end up wishing I'd ridden the bike.

This morning, for instance, I did a broad swerve on an early turn that left me grinning like a kid. I noticed a yellow billed cuckoo calling (late in the year for that one), and a bright red cardinal I concluded had to be young of this year to be so bright in the fall. If I'd driven the car, I'd have noticed how long it took a traffic light to turn, and how long the guy in front of me took to turn. The car would have been a chore, or a duty, rather than the pleasure I got from the bike this morning.

I've put away my bike, probably til the 21st. This week of riding was done on Weds due to extracurricular need for the truck, next week I'm on work travel

Lost a fender strut bolt yesterday morning - was happy I'd stocked some zip-ties for a quick-fix.

Nice and cool in the mornings now, which adds some entertainment from watching the locals riding around bundled up in thermal gear.

This morning was about 64°F and overcast. This evening 70°F with light rain.

It was a dark and foggy morning. The moon lit up the fog, fields and road. I had to be at work an hour early, so had the pleasure of riding in the dark. A couple of times I put my hand over my headlight to see how well the moon lit up the road. It was enough to ride with until a tree cast a shadow making it very dark. A fun ride in, although one road had more traffic than I usually see which seemed odd for that early. Whatever.

My view this morning

The opening bid for the overbooking buyout is $600... voucher, not cash

Foggy.

I couldn't see 100 feet. It was insane. We don't get fog like that around here but maybe once every couple years. Today was the first day I was riding in it.

Confirmed the calibration of perceived temperature - 50° precisely is the boundary between "I'm fine" and "my hands hurt". It was 49; I neglected to wear cycling gloves and wished I'd had them. For some reason I'm always surprised at how abrupt that transition is.

True story.

I'm totally good at 60. At 55 it's a tad chilly. At 50 it's uncomfortable. At 49....nope. Not wearing gloves will cause my fingers to be absolutely miserable.

A brisk 29 this morning. The moon and some of the cloud formations were impressive. The gravel road section was a bit muddy but not real soft. Had four deer run across the road in my headlights. The last one didn't see the others jump over the fence. Down went Bambi. Luckily it was only a mandatory standing 8 count. Fortunately for him it's a heavy barbless wire. Overdressed for the temps. Going home this afternoon with mid 40's will be challenging for deciding on clothes. Takes me a few rides to dial it in when the mornings are this chilly.

Probably TMI but had 2 plantar warts removed from the sole of my right foot on Friday. Still hurts so rode in on the platform side of my pedals with street shoes so that I could move my foot on the pedal to avoid the sore spot.

Not the fastest commute every but I got here safe. My bar ends I posted about over the weekend worked well and looked cool!

A very nice commute in this am and I was ahead of schedule. The temp was 50 f degrees with cloudless skies so the full moon was able to be seen.

50F vs 49F - funny - maybe a mental thing to see that number 4. It was 50 when I left and 49 when I got to work. I wore light weight gloves and a jacket. I was afraid the jacket would get too warm as the sun came up, but, no, I was comfortable and only unzipped it a little for the last couple of miles.

And I may as well mention I was wearing my new Gore Bike Wear neon green jacket. I found it about 2 months on a clearance rack at Sun & Ski Sport.

A very pleasant commute this am with the temp at 39f degrees, what a difference a day makes. Well we still had clear skies so I was able to see many stars and the moon.

A rain storm is coming in this evening with high winds for tomorrow so today is my last commute for this week(I have Friday off).

OK, it's officially cold - 44F this morning

Had a close call this morning. Wheeling the bike out of the garage, I decided to walk away from the pecan tree as quickly as possible because the wind was blowing so hard, so I turned left. Four steps further, and I heard a whoosh from my right and saw a branch land about where I'd have been if I'd turned right. (It was a small branch, so it wouldn't have hurt. Too much.)

I'd stalled enough that the rain had stopped, but I caught some road spray coming off my fenders. Wonderful tailwind blew me to work without much effort on my part.

10/14 Morning 42 degrees F, wore my long sleeved cycling jersey and MTB pants
10/14 Evening 69 degrees F, short sleeved jersey and MTB pants

10/15 Morning 41 degrees F, wore my long sleeved cycling jersey and MTB pants
10/15 Evening 65 degrees F, short sleeved jersey and MTB pants

10/16 Morning 47 degrees F, light rain so I brought out the cycling jacket, still a little warm for it but I think I might need to bring out the full fingered gloves for the mornings. Since my old bike had grip shift and the Kona has trigger shifters, that's taking some getting used to. Not that one should shift multiple gears at once, but it was kinda nice to have the option in case of emergency. My chain was slipping between gears yesterday morning, so I think I need to clean and relube it this weekend.

Still trying to convince the wife to start letting me buy parts for the new bike, trying to stress the rear rack currently. (If you want me to run by the grocery store, I really need that ....)

I got to ride my own bike today for the first time since Thursday. It was so nice. I step on the pedals, and I go fast and far. I've been riding Citi Bike which is nice enough and quite convenient, but those bikes are uncomfortable and super heavy. I checked my rear tire this morning, and it was down to 30 psi, so I pumped it to 60 or 70. I didn't measure the front tire, but it felt OK.

I might get very wet this evening. We're due for heavy rain.