Was out the door at 7:15 and it was about 34F and my hands were frozen about 2mi later, wearing light gloves with poly liners. (When I got home again, I found my wool liners to go over my poly liners.) On my commute home, tho, my rear wheel locked up, I couldn't pedal, and I skidded across a freeway offramp merge but didn't spill. I looked at my rear wheel and the rear fender was two inches bent to the left. I rolled it back and found a HUGE nail all the way thru both sides of the tire. It had hit the brake post and seized. When I went to pull it out, the tire still had at least 50psi of pressure and it wasn't hissing.

I had just flipped the bike onto the handlebars to change the tube, when my neighbor pulls up in his car and offers me a ride. I'm not too proud. That was mighty nice of him, it saved a lot of time. Good thing I have a second bike so I don't have to rush to fix that tire tonight.

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Another chilly ride in at 28 F ( -2 C). Looking forward to rain on the way home. Yesterday was the only day commuting in the last 10 days that it hasn't rained at least one way. I came out, the sun was shining and in the upper 40s F ( upper single digits C). I ditched my outerwear and had fun riding home in the sun.

Nice morning. Brisk, and I had one layer too many. Had to stop about 4 miles into the ride and peel a layer. Was fine after that. This evening is supposed to bring rain, we'll see. Can't trust the weathermen around these parts as far as you can throw them.

Low 30sF with a headwind. I saw two big formations of geese heading south, and one guy on a bicycle heading north. We exchanged greetings as we passed. I stretched my hamstrings and quads before I left home. Didn't feel as pathetic as I did yesterday.

High 30's with rain turning into big, fat snowflakes. In 4 years of commuting by bike I never got to ride in in snow, because it always turns to sheets of ice later, but today, it's not going to freeze. I gotta get new shoes - everything else was comfortable.

Fun ride in today. 3" of snow of fresh snow and about 15F. I road my winter beater with studded tires and did just fine. The roads were mostly plowed with just a few unplowed spots.

Paul

29F, sunny, frosty, but no black ice. Rode 32mm tires w/ no event.

39F again for the 3d day in a row. I've got the clothing mix down just about perfect. Now watch, it'll rain or warm up or freeze and I'll be all messed up.

I need to post this in the Electronics Forum but I have mixed reviews on my new 900 lumen tactical flashlight set up. The light is bright, the mount is secure, but the switch sucks: everytime I go over a bump it switches modes. Annoying.

Left the house a bit early to beat the huge chunk of rain crawling up the radar. Remembered that my back tire was filled with CO2 from last night's little adventure, so I topped it off from the pump. A few seconds later, loud bang, tire had blown off the rim. Tire was fine, but there was a nice, ragged hole in the tube. Patched it up, pumped it up, and headed out the door.

0.81 miles later... same damn thing again, and the hole is right in the middle of the patch I just put on! All I had left in my patch kit was a larger rectangular patch, which seemed well suited to the task at hand. But I only had enough CO2 to get up to around 60psi, so I rode very gingerly back home. And just as I got there, the rain began. Pumped my tire up, considered just taking the day off and getting drunk, but then headed to work anyway... as much hassle as those fenders were to install (with more work still to come), I'll be damned if I was gonna miss a chance to use 'em!

So now I need to investigate whether Gatorskins just don't work well with the bead on that particular rim, or if it was just a matter of folded tires being very difficult to seat properly. But hey, at least it's twenty degrees warmer today!

Slow and a bit sweaty ride in the snow today. Took the old Klein out with the studded tires so it took a while to get used to - hadn't ridden for about five years - but only a little slippery in a few spots. Temps in the low 20's , froze my toes off cuz I was too lazy to put on booties. Still trying to figure out the right air pressure for the tires.

Last night's commute was good. I've realized the last couple nights more than ever before that while I used to be dog-tired by the end of my 7 mile commute route, I now feel kind of sluggish until around mile 5. By the time I get home, I just feel warmed up and ready to ride for MUCH longer, though my schedule doesn't allow it right now. Need to start getting some longer weekend rides in again!

Other experience from last night's commute - got a "Dim it!" remark from a commuter going the other way on the MUP. First I've gotten that in the month or so I've been riding with my Terralux flashlight. I've actually looked at my light from head on and it's not nearly as obnoxious as many other lights I see when I'm riding. Being somewhat sympathetic to complaints about poorly aimed/overpowering lights, I keep mine pointed down so that the "hot spot" is about 10-15 feet in front of me. Personally, I thought his light was quite bright and seemed to be pointed much more level than mine, but I just kept from looking directly at it. Guess he couldn't do the same, or he just felt like complaining about something. If nothing else, it's confirmation that my little flashlight is BRIGHT!

No commute for me today, since I have a date here downtown with my wife after work, so I took metro. Back on the bike tomorrow for sure, though. I am very excited about my commute nonetheless today. I have almost exclusively bike/commuting-related items on my Amazon wish list, and a few have apparently been purchased for Xmas. I'm tempted to reveal the items to see what has been purchased, but I'm trying to hold out for the surprise of it. Exciting! Fenders? Rear rack and trunk rack? That Topeak Mini Morph pump? Who knows?!

LifeOfBryan (like the name and the avatar, BTW, as a fan of both Family Guy and the venerable Monty Python): I've been meaning to ask you what your commute is like in Wilmington. Before departing for Peace Corps in 2000 and for several months after getting back in 2003-2004, I lived in Wilmington with my parents, who lived there for well over ten years before retiring last year to Elizabeth City. Just curious what your route is, how cycling-friendly it is, etc.

Most excellent dry weather two days in a row...wait, it's now three! And the sun is out so I get about 10 minutes of daylight once I leave the office. Amazing stuff. It was about 32 when I left the house, very cold, but happy about my new winter gloves. Encountered some ice on remaining water on a bridge (flat/straight) but no biggie. So glad to be riding in this weather a nice change from last month.

I got to ride home this aftn in a steady light rain. 43f. And I was totally comfortable. Spending the $$ on good rain gear will go a long way. They’re calling for temps in the 30’s tom’rw morning with more rain and wind.

Tomorrow will be my first below-freezing commute of the season. 33 degrees when I leave to work around 4:50PM, then 30 when I get off around 9:15PM. Luckily it's just 2.4 miles.

A very nice warm morning at 48 F ( 8 C ). I felt like just dancing in the dark. Riding through one neighborhood where usually no one is out between 5 and 5:45, I saw many people walking dogs, walking, smoking and just plain standing outside. People must have gotten a wiff of the warm weather. 5 of the last 7 commuting days have been in the rain, so this is an oasis in the weather. Now the big question, why am I at work?

First bike commute this week as I had a cold for several days and it rained buckets yesterday. Felt great riding again this morning, although the heavy rains had washed piles of leaves and sticks all over the roads. Had to ride carefully to avoid sucking a stick up into my derailleur. Stiff headwind the whole way to work, which was OK because that means it was also warm with wind out of the SW. I piled up a lot of miles (600+) in November, so I'm about due for an off week.

c'mon Boston riders where are you? I need a little support here ... It was a bit wet and windy this morning. Of course now the sun is coming out. new light was great. amazed that in such conditions young males driving jeeps; mustangs and pickups insist on trying to teach me a lesson by buzzing me. do they think whimps ride bikes in storms like this? if they had 1/2 a brain they be sure I never caught up to them.

now I have to listen to how everyoine's "drive" to work was so horrible and why they are late ... LOL!

In the last two miles of my 18 mile commute, I have a one mile stretch of narrow two laned road, with curbs on each side, but it has a 25 MPH speed limit, so I just pedal full out for that one mile and do my best to get through it. This morning, about three cars stacked up behind me, and they started honking their horns at me. How irritating. I got caught by the red light at that very last light two blocks before it widens into a four line highway. The lady in the SUV (Ford Expedition, no less, Ugh!) that was behind me honking her horn, pulls up along side me as I’m waiting at the red light (she had to go over the center line to do that, and was only inches off my elbow). She rolls down her window and starts telling me I’m going to get killed riding in the road like that.

“Oh, I don’t think so”, I said, “I’ve been doing this for years.”

“Really? Well I don’t know if you realize it, but you were riding way out in the middle of the road. You could get killed riding like that.”

“Oh no, according to bicycle safety rules, when you have a narrow street like this, with curbs on the side, you are supposed to ride out in the lane. It’s called ‘claiming the lane’. It leaves room for me to maneuver, and it discourages cars from unsafe passing”. I should have added something like “And you honking your horn behind me was just plain rude and impatient” but I couldn’t think that fast – I was too busy countering her you-are-an-idiot-and-I-am-right-and-you-are-wrong attitude, which was so apparent in the smug look on her face.

Her response was “And you can’t just use a side road?”

Now she was really being a d-ck, and I realized there was no use arguing with her, so I just said “Nope.” Then I walked my bike forward and put it back squarely in front of her front bumper, clearly pointing out that was my spot and I was damn sure going to keep it and not let her scoot past me at the red light. The light turned green and of course she was stopped again two blocks later, where the road finally widens, so I pulled up beside her this time and tapped the window. She rolled it down and I said “One more thing: the speed limit on this road is 25, and I was going 22, so it’s not like I was obstructing traffic, you know what I mean?”

“Oh I know, and there’s a school zone back there too and people just blow right through it.”

So there was that same smug attitude. Like most motorists, her attitude is: we drivers do not drive safely, so therefore you cyclists should just stay off the road. It’s the first thing I get from every motorist about cycling. And I always counter it with this simple statistic: 36,000 people died on the road last year, all in their cars. Not 36,000 cyclists, but 36,000 MOTORISTS. Yet everyone just climbs into their car and drives off without a care in the world, thinking they are so safe.

I hope all the Sacramento ninjas stayed at home today. I'm sure I've seen fog this bad a few times in my life but I can't remember when. You couldn't see the edge of the road or the next street light.

I was greeted by a sunny, warm morning with a stiff breeze today. A storm rolled through last night and the roads were wet, but I can't complain about sunny and mid 60s in December! There was a car accident along my normal route, so I detoured around it, but that only took a couple seconds as there is a short walking path between the road and a church parking lot that accesses the road just beyond the accident scene. When I got to the subsequent traffic light, I positioned myself in the middle of the straight through traffic lane. The cop who had closed the road asked where I was headed.
Me: "Straight across the intersection."
Her: "OK, be careful."
Me: "I always am."
Her: "Well then, head over and use the crosswalk."
Me (not really wanting to get in a fight with a cop this AM): "Yes ma'am."
I glided over to the traffic signal, dismounted, pressed the ped. cross button and did a ped. crossing (which I hate doing and will only do in the most extreme of circumstances). On the other side of the intersection, I remounted and went about my ride, secretly hating myself for caving into the cop and feeding her misconception that bicycles should be treated as pedestrians. I would have preferred to be treated as a vehicle, given the same opportunity to travel across the intersection as an automobile, but, like I said, I didn't want to get in a fight with a cop this AM.

Got caught with snow showers on my way in but riding through the woods, a herd of deer crossed in front of me and stood among the trees off to the side of the trail. When I shined my helmet light on them, they looked like ghosts in a ghost forest....
Going home should be interesting, just enough snow on the ground for the cars to burnish into slick spots and me without my studs!!!

I love you, man!

Total flood. It's raining about 1" per hour with high winds and several of the puddles went over the pedals. High headwinds, pouring rain, flooded roads...ahhh it's great to be car-free!

Absolutely f-ing incredible, in the best way possible. I saw this morning's forecast last night and set my alarm for earlier than usual so I could add some miles onto my commute. I'm NOT a morning person, and I still hopped right up out of bed since I was so excited! I managed to make my 7 miler a 12, and I soaked in all the sun, the nice breeze, the balmy 50 degree temps. Even managed to get in to work a bit early. Maybe I should have just kept riding...