I generally don't ride the fat bike unless we've gotten 4" or more of unplowed snow, which is why I tend to run the lower pressures. Interestingly enough, if I run above 12 PSI my rear tire expands enough to start to rub on my rack. As a result I don't ever run pressures more than about 10 PSI. I also have monster tires almost 5" wide so that also tends to lower the pressures needed.

There are certain things the fat bike does really well, which is why I own one. Outside of those specific situations, I will opt for my other winter bike. I don't understand people who ride fat bikes on nice summer days; that just seems like unnecessary misery to me.

You guys in the frozen North always have my admiration. The weather has been overcast but dry for nearly two weeks now, and the forecast has more of the same. Today I wore a sweater, and some big ski gloves because my fleece ones have not been replaced. It felt luxurious. I'd like to think I have preferred solutions to the rust and ice, but really I'd be talking way outside my comfy experience.

Smaug1 You must put out a ton of heat!

Rode the rock hopper with the studded tires aired up halfway for snow and ice. There were some stretches of snow and ice, but the roads were pretty clear for the most part. Worked a little late. Had to stop by the pharmacy on the way home before it closed so I didn't take the time to pump the tires back up. But I still encountered a lot of snow and ice in the shade so it all worked out.

Almost got hit this morning on the way in. I was on a quiet side street crossing another quiet side street except Google has been routing cars down it. I know because when I drive sometimes it routes me down it. Anyways I looked left. I looked what right. I waited for a car to pass. I looked the other way and I looked back and I started but a car was coming up. It must have been going 50 mph down a narrow residential street. I don't know how I didn't see it before then. Perhaps it turned onto the street from another Street, but I think it was just going so fast that I saw it a few blocks down and my brain said not a threat but my brain wasn't expecting it to be going 50 mph.

We're supposed to get a few inches of snow overnight and throughout the day tomorrow so I will be biking as driving in traffic and snowy conditions does not appeal to me.

Also, and I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, it's been frustrating and busy the last few days of work and nothing rings the frustration out of you like a good bike ride.

Something occurred to me about you guys' fat bike tires and the cold. When you pump them up the nearly adiabatic compression of the pump means the air you are putting in is not just the intake temperature but warmer. And as you go, since it's only nearly adiabatic, the pump heats up, which makes the air even warmer yet. So once you reach 7 psi or whatever, it's going to drop as it cools down to the indoor temperature - even prior to the dark morning outdoor cold. I guess there's no reasonable way to measure this with tools on hand. This is not unique to the fat bike tires but I am guessing it's proportionally larger than it would be with a little roadie tire in temperate conditions.

The idea that it feels slow with too low pressure is at odds with the prevailing wisdom, which goes more like, it it's not wrinkling, you aren't getting all the traction you could have. I have a bike with 3 inch tires and they feel too stiff in the mid teens; can't imagine running a 5 inch tire with 2x more volume at any pressure I could accurately measure on any pump gauge I've got.

I don't have the background to respond knowledgeably but my intuition tells me that tires with smaller volume and higher pressure are more sensitive to temperature than big tires with low pressure. Do any experts know?

Yes, I do notice a drop in tire pressure in the colder temps, especially when the temps are single digits and lower. And it's more noticeable on the larger tires than it is on my road bike tires. It's more than just the air temp as well, as constant contact with snow, ice and frozen pavement also cools the tires quickly and keeps them from heating up as I ride.

In extremely cold temps I generally try to pump up my tires an extra amount to try and compensate. Also, for my fat bike I bought a special tire gauge that tops off at 15 psi so I can accurately measure those low pressures.

OK Tundra_Man just invalidated my theory. Thank you.

It's pretty much the core of my career

Someone should warn your students lol

I'm glad to have experts here. I'm always open to learning. I don't believe I'm doing a disservice to my students, and when I tell them something wrong, I get back to them right away. I even make mistakes at the board doing math. As my Calculus professor said, the reason I became a mathematician is because I'm bad at arithmetic.

This morning's ride in...

While the snow ride in to work was a blast, the ride home was
THE SECOND TOUGHEST BIKE COMMUTE IN 33 YEARS!!!!
I did not anticipate the snow accumulation throughout the day. My studded snow tires are good up to 3" of snow, and I've done 4", but forward progress is so slow at that depth I might as well walk.

When I left the office it was 28F. There were a couple of inches on the bike path. A mile later 3 inches of wet, heavy snow. The bike was slipping more than I liked, so I dropped the tire pressure from the snow and ice setting of 32psi to the deep snow setting of 25psi (estimating how much air I let out) Things were better until a mile or so after that when I hit 5 to 6 inches of heavy, wet snow. A fat bike with studs might have let me ride over everything, but my 26x1.65 studded tires just sank. The snow packed up in the treads so they lost grip and the wet compacted slush gave the studs nothing to grip. It was like riding in mud. And while the bike never went out from under me, between the slipping and sliding and forward resistance from the snow I ended up walking a few sections.

Then conditions improved dramatically about a mile from the house with actual pavement for the tires to grip. But after two more blocks it was back to 5-inches of slushy snow.

My toughest commute was eight years ago on the old 9-mile route from the old job. It was bitterly cold after a sunny day melted the snow enough to re-freeze in icy ruts. That commute took 110 minutes to go 9 miles, although I never had to walk. I also rode to work once last winter where there was 4" of wet, heavy snow in the middle 3 miles. I also did not have to walk that time...and it took 55 minutes to go the 6 miles to work.

Tonight's ride saw me walking for quite a few stretches where I could not maintain my balance for more than a dozen yards. And just pushing the bike through the deep snow was difficult, It took me 90 minutes to go 6 miles for an average speed of 4 mph.

One saving grace is that I never put toe clips on this bike as I did on its predecessor. On that bike, when conditions were slick I'd flip the pedals over to ride on the flats in order to quickly put a foot down, but then the toe clips would often drag on snow over an inch. The "new" Rockhopper pedals, when they did encounter snow didn't have the added surface area of the toe clips to drag through it.

Also, the rear wheel of the old Nishiki Blazer would often kick out to the right under power in slick conditions. I now wonder if that is because the frame was flexing on the right chain stay where it eventually snapped at the beginning of last winter. For all the sliding this evening, The rear of the Rockhopper didn't deflect under power. It's the exact same tires and wheelset from the old bike.

Another observation: Despite all the wet, heavy snow building upon the V-brakes and rear derailler, shifting and braking were still excellent. The old Nishiki BLazer had trouble braking in the snow with its original cantilever brakes. When I switched them for V-brakes the old girl did much better in the wet and snow.

Anyways, good, to be home. The sense of accomplishment is great. It was a tough, tough slog but I met the challenge six weeks shy of turning 64 without complete exhaustion or mental anguish.

I will however respect the projected snowfall totals a little more and avoid riding when the accumulation could top 3"...that is unless I buy a fat bike and get some knobby, studded clownshoes for it.

OMG, will I ever grow up?

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2251:

When I woke up Google told me the temp was -8°F. My kitchen thermometer told me it was -1°F. They are often a degree or two apart, but usually not by this much. I'm not sure what the actual temperature was, but probably somewhere between those two readings.

In any event, my first sub-zero bicycle commute for the season is in the books. Outside of my left foot getting a little chilly, it wasn't bad at all.

My commuting story this week has been not adventure or tragedy but farce.

Monday's story about the narcoleptic behavior kid has already been told.

Tuesday, my 7am morning was canceled, so I didn't hurry into the office. I couldn't find my badge anyhow. Looked for like an hour, which took me into the kids' morning routine. Finally got them all out and rode to work where I stopped in the security office to get a new badge printed. They have a new form where you attest under penalty of perjury how and where you lost it. If I knew that, wouldn't I have it? School called at 12:30, SWMBO Junior is barfing and must be picked up.

Wednesday, worked from home. SWMBO Junior was by now fine. Nevertheless the school rules say, we DGAF about anything respiratory, but barf today, stay home tomorrow. I intended to get the truck smogged but every time I remembered about it, I had a meeting in the next hour.

Thursday, today, I rode in to the office early, and my badge didn't work at the door. Lo, it was the old badge! It turned up on its own on the dining room table. Or someone found it and dropped it by my laptop but never mentioned it. I rode home to get the new one. Remembered during the ride back that should have taken the truck anyhow because I still need to get it smogged. Arrived home in the middle of the kids' morning routine, which I never managed to avoid this week. Drove back to the office. Now looking at my clock and my schedule and wondering if I can get it smogged before the double booked meetings at lunch time

I rode in this morning in the dawn twilight. The weather was not exactly a fog, more like a pretty dense mist. It was nice.

The truck passed smog with no drama yesterday, which was a relief, as it's been glitchy.

I was sick with a cold all weekend, achy, and napping a lot. I had serious thoughts about skipping work today, but I decided to go in. Now I feel like I'm on an upswing so it was probably the right choice. But it's colder today than it has been in a very long time. It seemed like a bad day to ride. 20º, 15º with wind chill factor.

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2253:

We got 7" of snow on Saturday, and another 1/2" yesterday. That brings my unofficial snow tally amount to over 18" so far this season. Tomorrow they're predicting 60+ mph winds, so that should kick all the snow up and produce an exciting blizzard.

There is an area I often use on my commutes where there is a crosswalk across a very busy street that connects a neighborhood to the MUP. The city is really good about keeping the MUP clear of snow, but for whatever reason has alway neglected to clear the curb ramps at this crosswalk. That means when I (and others) try to get on/off the MUP we're climbing over a plow drift from the street clearing. By the end of the winter this drift can get pretty high, and very treacherous. More than once I've slipped and found myself sliding into heavy traffic.

About three days after the snow we received on 11/29, I got fed up with the situation, as it looked like we'd have yet another winter where this crosswalk/curb ramp area was neglected. I used the city's online request submission system and politely asked them to follow their own city ordinances and keep this crosswalk clear. Much to my surprise, two days later not only was this crosswalk shoveled out, but every crosswalk on this street had also been cleared. Even more surprising was as I was coming home last night from the theater, I noticed the crosswalks had already been shoveled out from this weekend's snow. I am impressed.

From Friday until last night I had spent 12 hours on stage singing, and only 11 hours in bed sleeping. I was (am) pretty exhausted, but it was completely worth it. Even with Saturday's snow storm we had about 1,500 people attend our shows spread across four performances. As much fun as it was, I am looking forward to a couple days of vocal rest, and hopefully a little more sleep. Then we hit it again with four more shows this comign weekend.

When I got up this morning the temp was 16°F, and there was a light south wind. The plows had come by during the night, so I had to move snow from the end of the driveway so my wife wasn't blocked in later this morning when she would head to work. That made me a little late. Because of the recent snow, I had originally planned to take the fat bike to work. However, because I was running behind I opted for the slightly speedier mountain bike.

Even though the plows had run everywhere on my route, there was still a lot of what I call "mashed potato" snow. This is loose snow that has been driven over and kicked up enough times that it has developed the consistency of mashed potatos. It sits unaffixed on top of the pavement (or other snow), not firmly stuck to the ground like the hard pack. It is extremely slippery to ride over as it's thick enough that the bike tires go over the top of it, but then because it's not stuck down it wants to slip out from underneath you.

One of the things the fat bike excels at is riding over mashed potato snow without sliding. Because of this, there were several places on my commute where that bike would have been a better choice. About a mile from home I was riding down a steep hill that was full of mashed potato snow. Knowing how treacherous this stuff is, I was trying to keep my speed in check. At one point my mountain bike went sideways and I was sure I was going to hit the ground. Somehow the bike stayed upright. That was pucker inducing.

I got to work and received a text from my brother that during the night they had taken his mother-in-law to the hospital, and this morning placed her in pallative care. She's a sweet lady, and was at our house for Thanksgiving dinner. She's 94 years old so while it's not unexpected news, it was still kind of unexpected news. I'm waiting to hear from my brother when they get her settled in, and I will probably leave work and ride to the hospital to be with them.

8:01 "It's go time!" School starts at 8:15 and it takes about five minutes to ride down. Ground is wet from mist.

Dad what about snacks? Oh yeah. Here you go. Two things of Oreos left but I'll give SWMBO Jr a chocolate biscotti. 11yo wants to try the biscotti, makes trade with girl, regrets it, trades back.

Girl leaves. She's a natural on her new 24" bike, has finally started launching by standing in front of the seat and climbing on w the first downstroke. Proud of her!

Formerly cancer kid goes next, pretty quickly. His new coat, way too long, dragging on the tire. Tried to get him to sit on it like a girl skirt, he's not that coordinated. We had a house party for him last Saturday and he gets to ring the bell at the clinic in a week. Victory laps.

11yo says "I need something upstairs."

Comes back out. You need a jacket.

Comes back out. "I felt a raindrop." Yeah but it's obviously not raining. "I need to go potty." NOW?

Comes back out. "I really did feel a rain drop." OK but you're not made of sugar and it's 8:14, leave.

My ride was uneventful. I did not feel a rain drop.

Rode in today. Took the rock hopper with the studded tires just in case. The streets were mostly clear with maybe three instances of gutter to gutter ice. I had pumped the tires up to their dry setting. 65 PSI actually 70 and the bike rode very nicely and very quickly with very little rolling resistance for these tires. I rode over the first two ice sheets which were a little lumpy and the bike slipped a little bit over the lumps. I know that if I had lowered the pressure it would have been flawless and secure, but the rest of the ride would have required more effort. The third ice field was on a steep downhill and I decided to get off and walk for the half block.

There were plenty of ice patches but all were avoidable except for these three.

I have an eye exam tomorrow morning before work and I am considering biking there as it is not too too far off one of the trails. I thought about biking but it is not a secure location for a bike to be locked up in my opinion .I think I might take the small folder which now has a quick release back rack and everything fits inside the carrying bag. I'll see how I feel about it in the morning.

It was right around freezing point this morning, and what made the ride a bit risky is the fact that my route goes up and down, over or around small hills, so I dove into and rose above the sea of fog several times. Not only is the air much colder down there and visibility significantly reduced, but this part of the city (Belgrade, Serbia) usually has wind even when it's calm everywhere else - part of my ride shown in the photo is along a ridge that kind of protects the city from (south)eastern winds that blow along the shores of Danube river.



There was a much better view of the surrounding hills and fog about ten minutes after this picture was taken, but it was on a ~2km (1.5mi) descent with hairpin curves and I really wanted to get to my office as soon as possible. So I didn't stop and there is no picture, but you will be glad to know that I loved the view.

No bike commuting for me since last Wednesday. I had errands where I needed to leave from work that needed the car Thursday and Friday. My daughter gave me COVID Thursday, it started to show Saturday. Now I'm working from home probably all this week.

I did get out for a 17 mile ride last night on the eFatty; it felt good.

No ride today, echocardiogram. 24 min drive from work down to the hospital in southeast Sac.

I feel like I could do this on a bike. It's 37 miles RT from the house, nearly all on Folsom Rd. But it would add an hour in each direction and I know I'd be beat. I did chart it out and Google Maps puts it on the ARBT for the entire distance, which is scenic and all, but adds seven miles RT

Feel better, Jeremy.

Thumbs up to the 17 mile ride...thumbs down to COVID.

I took another Google street view look at the eye doctor's office and decided it would be safe to lock up there, so I took the '84 Nishiki International 12-speed. It felt so light after riding the twice-as-heavy RockHopper. It was the same 6-mile distance as riding to work, and I was able to take the trails all the way there. Three times ice completely covered the pavement, but it was just a few yards each time. It was the warmest morning in a while...around 40F, but the wind was stiff and seemed to come at me head-on from every direction, and yet, compared to Rockhopper, I felt like I was flying.

I had locked the bike outside on a sturdy security fence and it was unmolested when I returned. Then it was another 6 miles to the office, downhill, but against the wind.

Yet again there was another late afternoon emergency with frustrating complications that kept me late...but then the bike ride! The wind had subsided somewhat, but stayed at my back which made the uphills easier and the downhills as fast as was prudent. There were still a few icy patches all but two which could be circumvented. I even rode over 10 yards of icy sidewalk under a street lamp on 700x28 smoothies at 85psi and lived to tell the tale.

As I crossed "my" old little green bridge, the ice had retreated to reveal one of the wood planks suffered a loss, leaving a 3-ft by 28mm gap. I will have to be careful of this, expecially on the 700x25 Felt. I should report it to the city, but I'm afraid they'll condemn the bridge on the whole, since there are obvious signs of rot. Without the bridge I will have to go a couple of blocks out of my way on that route.

I'm driving tomorrow so I can hightail it to pizza and beer with my grandson after work. (!)