Heavy fog in NC this morning. I hate riding in the fog, but rode because I had cabin fever from staying inside all weekend due to cold temps and rain. My biggest problem riding in the fog is keeping my eyeglasses clear, so I kept a bandanna in my back pocket to use as an occasional "windshield wiper." That worked reasonably well. I would have just driven today, but the weather is supposed to clear up and become sunny and warm by this afternoon. We'll see.

[Quote: Sixty Fiver, Rode down to the bike co-op today (10km) and was pretty impressed to see 3 people working on their bikes... it has warmed up to -29 C and there's a wind chill advisory and the low tonight is supposed to be -38C.

I was actually a little too warm on my ride today... Quote].

I was also a little warm on my way in this morning because the temperature was a balmy 0 degrees C. Just for my own curiosity I checked online the temperature at the Edmonton airport and it was - 32 degrees C at 6:00 am. Yikes! I think you may want to dress a little warmer today.

went out to try things out.

crashed as soon as I tried to take a corner at any speed (like 8 mph). I couldn't even stop myself with my shoe, which went out from under me. walked back.

how am I going to true my wheel when my elbow is killing me like this? (don't think about he arm, don't think about the arm...)

note to self: atmospheric temp don't mean much when the rain's been falling on cold ground.

Mid 30's, fog, and drizzle. First ride on the snow tires, felt like riding with the breaks on (no they weren't). I had expected it to be colder so was overdressed.

Neither Libertyville, Mundelein, or the County plowed their respective portions of the bike path. Libertyville made a meager effort, but obviously stopped well before the snow did. Very tough rideing the last mile or so. Hopefully the drizzel will soften things up for the ride back.

After the Snow last Wednesday and the 20-something temps last Thursday and Friday, 39 degrees today felt tropical. Since it's supposed to stay above freezing all day, I left the MTB with the studded tires home and enjoyed a nice skinny tire commute.

Get yourself a pair of studded tires. $100 is a cheap price to pay to go from cycling in fear to having a big permanent grin as you aim never to miss a patch of ice. Until you try it, you can't imagine how much fun it is to ride confidently on surfaces can't walk safely on. One pair of Nokians will easily last you at least 3 seasons.

My own philosophy on safety equipment: "If it saves your life just once, it's worth it."

34F, 2" of STEAMING slush on the ground, and some drizzle. Nice ride! Took it slow. Might could gear down the fixie for these kinds of days. My son did great on the 1st leg, to his school. Actually, round trip to/from his school and then back again. Y-Care has the same 2 hr delay as school proper, this year, we found out when we got there.

ps-> I can tell it's a lot warmer than last week 'cause I did the same double-shirt double-sock thing and as soon as I got to the office, outer shirt and both socks come off. Last week, only the outer socks came off for like half an hour.

Realised I'd forgotten my bag about a mile in, started to go back for it and flatted 3/4 mile from home. I'm not that quick at changing tubes, especially when it's cold, so I jogged home, got my bag, changed my shoes and got on the MTB, which was an unexpected pleasure to ride.

Super Fred today. I couldn't find my cuff bands, so a couple of lengths of duct tape around my ankles. And I wanted to protect my pants from my newly oiled saddle, so I wrapped it in a plastic grocery bag and secured that with more duct tape.

Looking good, Winthorpe!

Love the Yehuda Moon reference!

Ride in was good. Very comfortable in the mid-30s. Very cool low fog, too, in spots. All along the river, and along the Mall, too. Crossing the Potomac into downtown, I could see the top of the Washington Monument but not the bottom. It looked like it was floating on a cloud. And, yes, I do realize I'm spoiled to have the scenery I do every morning on the way in to work!

Had yet ANOTHER *pop* spoke issue last Friday one block from home (Fourth since Labor Day, third since Halloween). Time to kick the search for an affordable rear wheel replacement into high gear...

Installed a pair of studded tires this weekend (Kenda Klondikes 40c, 100 studs) and rode on asphalt because the snow and ice have melted. Now I really want it to snow ... forecast says maybe Thursday. The semi-beefy tires look pretty cool on my road bike (see pics in winter cycling thread). I plan to keep them on into March. The ride is slightly rough but nothing compared to a set of knobby mtn. bike tires. It felt kind of slow and the commute seemed five minutes longer than usual (40 min.) but I'll have to do it a few more times to be sure about that.

Today was brisk and sunny this morning in NYC. Everything was great till I get ready to go change and noticed i forgot the pants at home. So i guess a button down shirt and cycling tights is business casual, lol?

sooo ... tempted to get studded tires. one work colleague just discouraged me. I told him I would wait 1 more week. I'm wondering what the shoulders will be like tomorrow - black ice again?

40F, lotta rain coming home. The flipside of single digit sunshine I guess.

Already done.

The moment I got home to a computer that doesn't block shopping (I teach high school).

Only I got the Schwalbes. 4-10 days....

why did he discourage you? I would gladly pay for four studded tires is I could take back the dumb fall I had today.

Came REALLY close to getting hit tonight. I know some here will be happy to hear that.

Boss let two of us (cyclists) go home 30 minutes early to beat a major rain event that was fast approaching on radar. As I am rolling down a soaking wet road under light rain a cop turns on his lights and bumps his siren about a block behind me (and a row of cars). Of course all of the cars ahead of me freeze up and I made the sorry mistake of passing a car on the right just when we got to a huge gap in cars parked curbside. The car I am in the process of illegally passing decides, sans turn signal, to ditch into the parking area to our right. I braced for impact figuring I would bail to the right side of my bike, sacrificing my LHT to the underside of the car so I could live to scoff at the law another day.

The impact never came. Millimeters at most. Puckered me up pretty good tho.

I stopped at my local outfitter and picked up my Marmot PreCip full side zip pants (I had them on order) just minutes after the downpour started. The clerk brought them to me as I stand dripping on their Welcome mat. Perfect fit! My old rain pants gave it up a couple of days ago and the weather has been all about flash floods here in NOLA the past week.

So...a happy ending after all. I will probably refrain from passing on the right after dark during rainfall for a while too.

First nasty commute in a while. 42 degrees and the radar showed no break in the rain anytime soon, so I had to ride home in it. I'd rather have the 13 degree morning and 30 degree evening commutes back.

It was a decent ride in at 38 F ( 3 C). Always thankful for warmer temps this time of year, but it is back to cold tomorrow, as another front moves in. Hopefully, I get out before it starts blowing cold air. Yesterday on my way home, as I was pulling up to a left hand turn behind a truck, I noticed a US mail truck parked in the opposite direction. Behind the truck on the road was a bicycle and a woman sitting up, braced on her arms from behind. As I got to the red light, an ambulance rounded the corner, so I stayed in the left turn lane. There were a few people already speaking with her. I noticed a bloody nose, but nothing else. It was difficult to tell what happened. I take that right turn every morning, and it can be hairy in heavy traffic. It shakes you up when you see incidences like that. Last week was bad news in Barbados, a place I like to frequent. Two cyclists were killed in a span of 4 days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyBike

Came REALLY close to getting hit tonight. I know some here will be happy to hear that.

Boss let two of us (cyclists) go home 30 minutes early to beat a major rain event that was fast approaching on radar. As I am rolling down a soaking wet road under light rain a cop turns on his lights and bumps his siren about a block behind me (and a row of cars). Of course all of the cars ahead of me freeze up and I made the sorry mistake of passing a car on the right just when we got to a huge gap in cars parked curbside. The car I am in the process of illegally passing decides, sans turn signal, to ditch into the parking area to our right. I braced for impact figuring I would bail to the right side of my bike, sacrificing my LHT to the underside of the car so I could live to scoff at the law another day.

The impact never came. Millimeters at most. Puckered me up pretty good tho.

Hey Joey, after that close call, what exactly was dripping on the mat?

Upper 30s, light rain.

I was cruising down a short hill, ~20MPH, approaching a side street that I know has no stop sign. Very residential area. A car is approaching the intersection on the side street. (You can see where this is going.)

It's not dark, but dusky. I've got my 13W halogen pointed right at her, and it doesn't affect her. She just rolls on out in front of me. Now, I knew she was going to do this, so I was already coasting to drop speed and covering my brakes. I vectored myself to keep my light focused right in her face and so I could ride within inches of her car to freak her out. She looks at me, goes deer-in-headlight(s), then gasses the car to get out of my way.

I guess that's it for winter; a week of frosty mornings, a week of single digits, a day of slush, and now back to 45F and raining.

45 or 48F and overcast here in NYC today. Really pushed myself on the commute today, came in sweaty feeling good.

Steady rain, but warmer than yesterday. I quite like rain, as long as it's not so heavy I can't see. Took a detour around Stanley Park - the road unlit - the trees pallid in my front light.