Double digit temperatures this morning, yay! (12 °F when I left) I extended the ride in by 1/4 mile in celebration. I recommend bundling up and riding on the COLDEST days. Firstly, you'll find that it's not too bad. Secondly, it moves your bar down, so that suddenly, 20 seems like quite a reasonable temperature in which to ride a bike.

Balaclava was a bit too much this morning; fogged the goggles.

I think I will take a long route home tonight. Then meet with our tax accountant for the good news.

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2064:

Air temp of -2°F with a 10 mph tailwind made for the easiest morning commute all week. I rode the whole way to work.

Set a new personal snotcicle record. Perhaps even a world record. It was nearly 2" long!

Snowed 1-2 Inches at the house. Shoveled the walks and driveway. It was 23F, but felt warm compared to the 0-5F of the last few mornings so I biked in.

The snow looked dense and wet, but it was lighter than it looked and speeds were almost normal. Coasting was even possible. So the first 4 miles were amazing. There were a few gusts of wind, but they seemed to be in my favor.

Then on the other side of the river, about 2 miles from work the snow was 3-4 inches and heavier. I had to work the last 3/4 mile. But it was almost 30F by then.

Due to some remodeling to the rear outside lower level door which is 12 feet from my office, I've had to use the main entrance and roll my bike past a lot of my younger co-workers (which is almost all of them). I was greeted by one young gal who filled the front work area with an "Oh my G-d! You biked today!!!" Made my morning.

I felt like I was dragging the last three weeks, and there's been a lot of illness running through the office, but today I feel strong and right, and the ride was pure joy.

Consecutive bicycle commute number 2065:

Every morning (and most evenings) last week was below zero. This morning it was 37°F with a light wind. What a stark difference!

No extra layer under my jacket. No long underwear. No balaclava. No goggles. Clipless shoes. I felt like a wild man!

I took the hybrid bike. There were lots of patches of ice that I had to be careful riding over/around without studded tires. It's supposed to get into the low 50s this afternoon so I'll enjoy not having a winter bike for the ride home.

Yesterday, I rode a 50 mile gravel ride with a friend, the Frostbite 30-40-50.
Here are the event details: https://allevents.in/pecatonica/fros...oogle_vignette
I did the 50 miles with a friend: Here's my ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/13708717182
I don't know how Strava events display for those who aren't on it, so here are the numbers, in case you're curious and don't want to click into that last link:
Total miles: 50
Total moving time: 4 hours, 27 minutes
Elevation climbed: 3327' (my 2nd highest ever)
Avg. heart rate: 159
Avg. speed: 11.1 mph
Calories burnt: 3008

My legs are like rubber today, so I took the eFatty on the commute this morning. Like Tundra Man, it was warmer today, low 40s, and should be high 40s by the time I head home. It felt great to not be so bundled up, just a vented riding jacket on top of my nice flannel I'm wearing to work today. Regular pants with an ankle cuff. eBike helmet instead of the ski helmet. No balaclava. Insulated work gloves instead of ski mittens. No ski goggles. (the eBike helmet has a flip-down face shield)

I got an email from this one recipes lady full of stew recipes. I think I'll pick one and stop by the grocer on the way home to get the ingredients. ...or maybe (with the warm weather) something for the grill is more the thing...

Here's my eFatty, a Reid Tracker 2. It's my foul weather commuter as well as trail bike:

Trying the local MTB trails this past fall

Rode today.

Kids did great this morning, which I was not expecting for the first day back from Presidents-week stayacation.

First ride of the year with no gloves needed. But got a reminder yesterday that there's still pinky damage healing from my bollard incident. Every time I put weight on my fist gorilla style, especially on a bed, it hurts and it's sore for a few days. Maybe I'll think again about some vented, summer-weight, armored moto gloves.

I need a helmet. My 8yo shown back in post 81 wears the same size helmets as me. Really! He lost the last one I passed down, which was a roadie helmet. We did a big ride Friday and I gave him my current one. So I'm without a helmet for a few days. REI member rewards post soon and I'll get a new one. The other kids could also use one. Last time SWMBO bought the girl child a unicorn helmet that lit up briefly, is heavy asf, and doesn't fit. The one before that was a pug dog thing. Appealing to style on the shelf but just... terrible for actual fit and safety. The older one somehow lost his own and is using his mom's same-model helmet. The old one had a Fidlock from my old Nutcase and he misses it. SWMBO meanwhile is wearing a very old one that I can't even remember what the deal is but it's messed up.

My commute was nice today. Sunny with the temperature around 50 degrees and rising as the day progresses. I'll take it!

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2066:

Ice, ice baby.

Most of February here was colder than normal. We had a couple of inches of snow over a week ago, then a little melting, then several days of below-freezing temperatures. In the rural areas, there was a hard crust of ice everywhere. Suddenly this weekend, it became warmer than normal. The sun is out, and we hear birds signaling the arrival of spring. My commute is late in the day, and I am looking forward to it!

Tried to get some arty photos today of the tule fog burning off at sunrise

After rediscovering the recumbent exercise bike in the basement which was a good thing during the unusually cold cold snap in Colorado Springs last month I have used it three times in the last two weeks when my schedule didn't permit me to bike to work. I'm actually voice typing this right now on the recumbent bike. I do 40 minutes minimum and possibly 50 which really cuts into my time in the morning and reminds me how bike commuting to and from work gives me 80 minutes of bike time a day for only 30 more minutes than it would take me to drive.

Rode today.

The last three mornings have gone amazingly smoothly with the kids. Waiting for the other shoe to drop

Yesterday was six years since my open heart surgery

I had to adapt my pedaling style when I used a recumbent, which I bought before the surgery and used for a few months after. I put my arch on the spindles and made the boom shorter. If I put my ball on the spindle and make my legs go as long as on a DF then I'd drop my ankles and get knee pain.

Happy anniversary!

My six year OHS anniversary is in eight weeks.

Well, I thought yesterday's commutes would be nice, and I was right. There was nothing special about them except for the improved weather.

I did a couple of errands by bike today, four miles in total. I went to the specialty food store and the barber. Same thing. Traffic was annoying and inconsiderate as usual and a bit hair raising. But that's life in the City. Today I didn't wear my winter coat! I've forgotten how to dress for this weather, so I brought extra clothing in case I needed to put them on, and I didn't need to. It's about 55ºF right now in Manhattan.

Darth Lefty I'm happy for you. You've been through so much, and look at how well you're doing.

It's been an unusually cold and snowy winter. But we're expecting a sunny day in the low 60s and it was already 23 and bright this morning. So after months of neglect I decided to take the 2006 Felt F65 this morning.

There is a known issue with the grease that Felt used in the Shimano Ultegra integrated shifters. After so many years it tends to gum up in cold weather. I found this out the first winter I had the bike. I found some graphite infused spray lubricant from 3 in 1 that is made specifically not the harm plastic parts. That seemed to do the trick and for the last couple of winters if the bike was reluctant to shift it would clear up after 5 minutes.

However, as I said it's been unusually cold this winter and the bike has sat for at least 3 months. The bike did not shift for the first 4 miles of my 6 mile commute. I was stuck in the lowest gear of high range and was spinning out at 12 miles an hour. But the first half of my commute is generally downhill and this being my lightest most free rolling bike I was generally coasting at 14 or 15 miles an hour with a couple of stretches at 19.

Finally 2 miles from work the rear derailer let me click up a couple of gears just in time for the generally uphill portion of my ride. Rather than down shift I just left it where it was.

When I arrived in my office I used 3 in 1 oil and immediately I could hear the springs in the integrated shifters snap to attention. The bike then shifted perfectly up-and-down though the gears front and back.

So I am really looking forward to the ride home.

But because the bike had behaved so badly I made it stand in the corner.

Working backwards for the last few days:

• Today, rode the commuter eBike in. (Aventon Level.2) I can still feel some lingering soreness from the 50 mile gravel ride Sunday. Plus, I was running a bit late, so was going 17+ mph the whole way.
• Yesterday, it rained all day, so I took the cage. Saved me a trip home after work, as I left for work to attend Stanzi's volleyball game.
• Tuesday I also took my commuter eBike, and went over to the lake for a 7 mile picnic ride. I zapped my goulash super-hot in the microwave, so that by the time I got to the park bench, it was just warm. The trunk bag provided a bit of insulation. I'll post a couple pix below from that ride.
• Monday, I took my eFatty, as I couldn't remember if it needed some discharging to get it around 50% state of charge, and I expect it may sit awhile if this warm weather holds. It did, and could probably use another trip or two, but I think I'll wait until the next snow. That bike needs some attention; the bottom bracket squeaks when I'm pedaling hard and the crank hardly back-spins at all when I try to free-spin it backwards.

Overlooking Lake Michigan from Kenosha, WI



Thanks for the nice spot, Coop! Goulash & a mango were for lunch



Hello!

I'm disappointed at how few people bike commute to work. I think we will see more of it as the middle class continues to shrink.

I think often of whether my wife and I could get by with two cars. (one being the old Miata) It would mean foul weather bike commuting and it will have to wait until my daughter is older. I guess it's better for now just to not immediately buy a new car as soon as the daily driver is paid off...

Biked today, forgetting I have a dentist appointment at 2:30 until I got to work. I was going to bike home during my lunch and swap to the motorcycle but thinking about it, the dentist office is only 3.5 miles away from work. I can clear that easily in 15 minutes riding at a very modest pace so I'm going to just bike to my appointment and back to work.

I agree although I've found it really depends on where you live as to how many people get around by bike. In my city, it's a very small number. Go up to Healdsburg or down to Rohnert Park, similar story. Go down south to San Francisco though, a lot of people commute by bike and otherwise just get around the city the same way. Many of my friends in SF don't even own a car. Public transit is solid and these days, there's bike lanes everywhere.
I used to spend a lot of time in Davis and large majority of college students get around by bike, both to classes and work and I was one of those people. But, that city has long been known for being very bike friendly and when you have a bunch of broke college students, they're going to use the cheapest method of getting around. Also, Davis is pancake flat. no hills to bike over.

Glorious ride home on the Felt. fast and at times almost effortless. Shifted like clock work.

Rode today. Very early in and very late out, for me. I might get a full week in if I ride tomorrow which would be a real coup

23C and glorious sunshine today. Took the long way (40km) home. Finished the week with 230km commuting, which is great.

Yesterday's commuting was just the usual 2 miles each way on the urban commuter eBike, but I was feeling restless and went for a 10.6 mile ride during lunch, the mission of which was scouting for a location for our family reunion this year, so 14.6 miles yesterday. I keep telling myself I need to start taking a muggle bike, but the wind has been so high lately I'm just not feeling it. 20 mph yesterday, 25 mph today.

I ran the battery down on that bike yesterday and forgot to charge it last night. So I set it to charge for 4 hours as I left on the eFatty this morning.

Here are a few shots from yesterday's scouting ride:

A Mosaic commemorating Kenosha's sesquicentennial (150th) birthday in 2018.



This is the New Kenosha Lighthouse, from 1906. In the background to the right, you can see the Simmons Island Beach and Bath House in later pix. It is privately-owned now, and the owners rent it out for parties.



Simmons Island Bath House turns 91 this year. It was just remodeled last year and there is a nice concession stand and gift shop in it now.



Looking back on the lighthouse from Simmons Island Beach. I'll feature the Old Kenosha Light in another lunchtime ride.



Ride stats from Strava

I grew up in Chicago in the 60s and 70s and used to drive to Kenosha on the weekends just to drive.

It was even warmer this morning... Right at 32° but the Felt shifters weren't 'catching'.. So I took the 84 nishiki international. Not quite as light but more comfortable with its pliant skinny steel frame and relatively large 28 mm tires. I took my light, minimal commute bag. Beautiful sunny crisp fast ride.