This is the trick: if the snow or slush to the pavement is soft and shallow enough, punching through it is the way. (and having a bit of knobbiness helps too) but if you can't punch through, then a larger contact patch is preferred, with aggressive knobbiness. Keeping on top of the snow with slick tires is about the worst.

What is "schmootz"?

Since you made it with those slick tires on top of the snow with the CitiBike, I think you would have been good with any others too.

Titanium schmutz made in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Schmutz is like dirt or goo or something not pleasant

Fortunate to have some warm weather here in the SF Bay Area this week. I'm about to head home in shorts and a t-shirt. I took this photo a few days ago--a nice sunset view of the bay with fog starting to roll in under the Golden Gate Bridge as I left work (an elementary school in the Berkeley Hills) and headed home.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fa777bac7.jpeg

And here is a photo from yesterday. There’s a nice trail that leads to the back of the school.. It provides a nice alternate route home when I have a little extra time.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...56725c472.jpeg

Yeah, I’m a bit spoiled with my commute.

Took the 20" Dahon Boardwalk folder today for variety. Sunny, 38-42F. Pleasant uneventful ride to work, surface streets through downtown until the last underpass.

The last underpass before the office has been accumulating the unhoused and their belongings. Last night it was blocked and the "residents" had to clear a path for me. This morning I considered riding the extra three quarters of a mile it takes to circumvent this stretch, but I decided to just grin and bear it. As soon as the underpass was visible I could see a congregation milling about. I tooted my horn politely and as they dispersed I saw a guy holding two pit-bull looking dogs on the end of some ridiculously long ropes. They looked docile and the guy started leading them away from the path. But as I got closer to where they had been the dogs broke loose and ran towards me. The underpass was dark and based on the bikes, trailers, grills, beds and other crap the night before I decided to not sprint into it blindly and just stopped.

The dogs jumped up and stood with their paws on my arms and tried to lick me. They were good natured, thank goodness. Their keeper pulled them off and apologized profusely. I feel badly when homeless people start calling me "sir" like I'm some sort of barron, but I guess it's better than getting cussed at, which seems to happen a lot also. Although I am really frustrated and annoyed about the homeless situation (and angry at myself for getting annoyed) I stayed polite. "They seem like nice dogs" I said, because I was relieved they weren't aggressive.

Thirty years ago my wife and I took in my step-daughter's ****zu when she went to Germany with her husband who was stationed there in the army. I spent a lot of time sizing up the demeanor of other dogs while I walked our dog twice a day at Middle Shooks Run Park across the street...the park with the little green bridge.

And speaking of the little green bridge, I took a route home that would take me over the bridge. Finally after six weeks, there was a narrow strip of dry pavement through what was one a massive ice field, but was now a loose confederation of ice.

The ride home was a little more frustrating. I left a half hour late again. I lay the bike down on its side over the induction switch, but it didn't trigger the security gate. Because the lot next to ours was bought and is being developed, the other gate and the walk-through door that led out that way are no longer an option. So I had to wheel the bike through the office to the front door. The underpass had been cleared out, but then began a series of cars pulling random U-Turns in front of me. Five to be exact. Three for no apparent reason, but two due to unexplained police street closures by Colorado College. The wireless speedometer stopped reading the transmitter at the wheel. It's a Planet Bike Protege 9.0 and it worked this morning. It's the third wireless speedometer I've had, and they all seem to temporarily stop working after being parked in my office. There's a lit of wiring in the walls and an AM transmitter 50 feet away (and 450 feet up).

There was also a lot of traffic...a lot more than usual for this route of usually quiet residential streets. So it wasn't as pleasant a ride as I have been having lately.

Anyway, I'm already looking forward to Monday's commute, and possibly a longer weekend ride before then.

This week was the first week this year I could commute to work by bike! January was a washout in Ireland almost constant rain! Great to be back on the bike! Wet roads this morning but no wind and not too cold....7C.

On Thursday, I kinda commuted on bike. I invited a colleague for tea after school. We had met on Facebook through a teaching group, and I wanted to meet in person for the first time. He was in my position two years ago, so I wanted to hear his perspective about the experience. It was a really nice meeting. I went through some neighborhoods in Brooklyn I've been through only a few times so I had google maps dictate turn by turn directions through my headphones. There is still a lot of snow on the ground, and the clearing effort has been good overall but still leaves some areas badly blocked. I didn't have my good gloves so my hands started hurting but didn't bother me badly.

I had to climb a hill which turned out to be a 3% grade which is tough on a 50-pound bike with a Nuvinci hub.

This is the Citi Bike station near my workplace in Downtown Brooklyn. There is a snowbank blocking the bike lane and another surrounding the station so I had to roll the bike over the snow to get going.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...39d65ca31f.jpg

Going home from our meeting, I took the subway.

On Friday I was walking near home on E 12 St in Greenwich Village (a neighborhood in Manhattan) and saw a deliverista riding in this bike lane, dealing with the hazards as well as possible. Those folks don't quit because of weather. This is what he was dealing with. I can deal with this, but it's a challenge, and I won't seek it out.

By the way, since we have so many one-way streets in NYC, they put the bike lanes on the left side wherever possible. It reduces the risk of getting doored, and drivers are used to seeing cyclists on the left.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ca7ec1daec.jpg

The forecast for tomorrow (Monday) morning in Manhattan is 12ºF (-11ºC) so no, I won't try riding. I'm happy enough that walking in 20º is not painful anymore because I'm so acclimated to the cold weather. The news reports that in this cold snap, at least 17 people have died from the temperature.

Why would that reduce the likelihood of being doored? The driver's doors open right into the bike lane. If they had put the bike lane on the other side of the street, only the passenger doors would open into the bike lane.

This morning's commute was nice. No wind. Still a bit cold, (lower 20s) but it's supposed to get to mid-30s by this afternoon.
The ZiZZO Forte is holding up well, despite being covered in salt spray. The springs for the magnetic bumper catches are really rusty; they'll need some attention soon.
I was going to wash it yesterday in the basement, but my wife parked too close to the door and I couldn't get in without risking scratching her car. It'll have to wait until tomorrow, when I'll get home before her.

40F, drizzle. A couple of my bike shortcuts across industrial/college campuses seem to be getting used by more cars also cutting corners, so that's not so great for staying away from cars anyway.

You're right. I was unclear, describing one situation and showing a picture of another. If the space in the street is adequate for a car lane and a bike lane AND the bike lane is on the left of that space AND there is parking to the left of the bike lane, then people are riding bikes near the right sides of the cars. Not that they should, but they will.

Thanks for the reminder that city riding in the northeast is so different than suburb riding in California's elbow. I'm always impressed w you guys

I'm tempted to say it's not for the faint of heart. But increasingly, I've been seeing frail, old people, well over 75 years old, riding in the streets. I guess it makes sense for them increasingly. Also, people are braving tough weather increasingly. The numbers will always go down in the winter, but they go down less steeply now.

37F this morning which was tolerable, balmy 62F upon the return and super windy, burned a few extra calories…

Yesterday, 69F and sunny for the ride home! I left 45 minutes early and wore just a t-shirt and shorts! Lots of people were out.

In the morning (38F) the ice field by the little green bridge was reduced to one, footprint-sized patch of ice. On the ride home everything was clear.

Consecutive bicycle commute number 2287:

It happened. I made it 10 years riding my bicycle to work every single day without missing.

And it was an easy ride for my commutaversery. 29°F with an 11 mph headwind. Humidity was up in the 90% area so there was a bit of a chill, but overall it didn't even move the needle compared to typical February commutes in South Dakota. I took the road bike.

Coming through an area on the MUP I was greeted with 12 dump trucks driving the opposite direction on the trail, in some sort of weird heavy equipment parade. The park department is trimming out all the ash trees along the river, and I believe the trucks are hauling away the debris today. The drivers seemed surprised to meet a bicycle in the dark. I'm sure my lights just blended in with all the lights from the other trucks. There was another guy riding his bike about 100 yards behind me in the same area.

I arrived to work with little fanfare. I was hoping for confetti, but alas, there was none.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...be4618e4e0.jpg

Edit: After I wrote all this, my company surprised me by bringing in breakfast pizza for everyone to celebrate. Still no confetti, but a bit of fanfare. :)

Was the pizza specifically for your commutaversary? If so, that's awesome.

It's awesome anyway. I commute most days, but to commute EVERY day, even for just a month is a big deal and takes quite a lot of commitment. Especially so in S.D.

Nice job.

:speedy:

We're gonna see 40 ° today! Feels like spring! Unseasonably warm is often accompanied by unseasonably high winds, which we don't have today, just the usual ~10 mph.

Looking at the 10-day forecast, it seems like we've got another week and a half of weather in the mid-upper 30s.

I'm going to get to try out the 2 gallon pump sprayer and wash some bikes in the gutter this evening. I remember when my grandpa got one of these in the 80s, my brother and I thought it was the BEST toy! We got a chance to bring it into a squirt gun fight before he started using it for pesticide...


I'm testing a Cyclami BR-1000T bike headlight for Amazon Vine. So far, it's very close to perfect. It's a screamin' deal for $25. I reckon the price will increase sharply, once it has more positive reviews. Consider this your insider trading tip. ;)

First impressions:
+ They did a really nice job of focusing the beam. It is useful even on low output. It has a sharp cutoff. The LED fires downward onto the multi-faceted reflector; no direct light.
+ It's not too big or heavy (I have their BR-2000, also through Vine, which is borderline too heavy, as it has a bigger battery, two LEDs) This has the effect of allowing a simple rubber strap.
+ It hasn't got too many modes: High, Medium, Low, and SOS strobe.
+ It uses the 1/4 twist bayonet mount that Garmin GPS' use; very convenient, compared to the proprietary mounts that headlights usually use
+ It is charged with USB-C. It includes a short charge cable. (no communications)
+ It included both a strap-on handlebar mount and a GoPro-type finger jointed mount.
- The instruction sheet says it also has a regular strobe mode, but if it does, I can't figure out how to get it to work. Following their ChEnglish instructions didn't work. Too bad, as that is generally more useful than an SOS strobe.
- The battery isn't user-interchangeable (thus it won't comply with the new EU battery regulation)

Thanks!

Yes, the pizza was specifically in celebration of my commutaversery. They sent out an email to the whole company, and the receptionist came over when the pizza arrived and told me I was to get the first slice before anyone else could have any. :)

The first month is the hardest. :D

Tundra_Man 🎉🎉🎉

Amazing and inspirational! Congratulations!

I've been in default mode lately, just grabbing my big, heavy everything's-in-it commute bag, and going with my main racked and fendered main commuter then sticking with the usual commute routes with no alternates...and that's just fine. :Less thinking, less prep, yet, still enjoyable.

I spent so many years building up a commute routine and system (and routes) that would be quick, easy and trouble-free, and yet, I feel lazy for defaulting to it.

well done sir!!!

Default for me as well, which is the ZiZZO Forte folder.

It was 26 when I left, but it's sunny and should be another warm day today. It's supposed to hit 35. I may ride home for lunch to soak up some sunlight. I'll stop at the grocery store to recycle some plastic bags, which I crammed into my rack bag this morning, and also pick up snacks for the bike club board meeting tonight, which I'm hosting.

I hear that the robins are back, waiting for it to warm up another 20 ° before they get serious. Now, they're just making noise in the trees, eating the invasive Buckthorn berries and re-planting them everywhere. :rolleyes:

I wound up not washing my bikes yesterday. I reasoned that with it being above freezing every day this week, they will just get sprayed again with the snow melt.

35F & cloudy this morning, should get into the 50s and sunny later. Pretty amazing, tundra_man!

We don't have many robins or crows here in the concrete jungle, but I've already seen robins, and I heard a crow outside my office window a few minutes ago.

Our bodies acclimated to temperatures in the 20s which is not that common, especially in recent years. And now it's in the 30s, and it feels warm.