No bike commute for me this week, the last week of December. The trains had plenty of free seats in the morning so decided I'll go with that.

I was the only vehicle for a looooong stretch (downtown on the waterfront even!) this morning just after 7:00 am. It was like an early Sunday morning. It was a laugh out loud moment.

Thursday,December 31,2009. 33f I woke up and looked outside the window and the snow was coming down in buckets. A heavy, wet snow. That turned into slush when it came down upon you. I started riding at 3:45am. While I rode the snow was sticking to me and completely covered me up. I stayed warm thanks to the clothes I wear. But as I rode and tried to brush the snow off of me. Every time I did that I got a handful of wet slush. I got to my oasis in the night. The BP in Linworth. And switched gloves from the cotton jersey gloves which were sopping wet by now.To the mittens. They’re much more waterprooof. I watched the News last nite and wasn’t planning on having the snow studs cause I did’nt think it was going to be that bad. But I woke up and decided to switch to the snow studs. Glad I did, cause the side streets were pretty slippery. This aftn. I rode home in mostly wet roads but they were clear to ride on. Still glad I had the studs on because the shoulder was covered in a wet, slushy snow. And I felt better riding in that knowing I had the studs on. We’re in the middle of it now. Supposed to have frigid temps next week. I had the Loki’s on and my fingers were nice and toasty. How about you? Let’s hear others commute. I finished the year off with 5236 miles.

I am beginning to really enjoy my morning rides and not just because I am going home either. Although that has a lot to do with it.
I am starting to get my routine down and even getting faster in my second week on my 12 mi.commute to work. I am now down to a solid 75 mins.
We had a no burn day, but that didn't stop people from lighting fires. Not as bad as X-mas. Where I thought I was in a forest fire, with all the smoke.


A part of it
https://www.vimeo.com/8429162

Today locking my bike up at work, I saw a hot bicycle cop lady. I of course greeted her.


Happy New Year everyone!

on vacation but did my work commute on new years eve day (and into the night). it took twice as long going in due to riding the sidewalks on soft studded MTB tires. got home in close to my regular time by cranking up the tires and using the roadway

Saturday, January 02, 2010. Had to work today. Ugh! So I’m off in 15f temps with a light snow and 12mph wind out of the west at 4am. I’m starting my third winter of riding in this kind of stuff so I pretty much got the cold thing down. The Snow Sneakers were starting to reach their threshold. Meaning at the end of the 45min. commute the toes were feeling just a little cold. Probably another 5 degrees lower and I would’ve started to feel uncomfortable. This was the same problem I had last year with the toes getting cold. Hopefully the new LL Bean Wildcat boots will do the trick. If not then I’ll move on to something else.
Everything else was working good. Except for the goggles. They started fogging up a little bit. When they did I would un-cover my mouth and nose till they cleared up. That will be a problem when the temps continue to drop. I’m still using the Visorgogs that I started with back in 07 and they still don’t measure up in these frigid temps. That will be this years gear-test once I get the “cold toes” problem figured out. Is finding the best cost efficient fog-free goggle that will accommodate eyeglasses. And no I’m not interested in paying over a $100 for prescription goggles that I’ll use for less than a month. I remember last year when I rode in -14 and the ice crystals fogged up so much that I couldn’t see. So I had to drop the goggles and ride with just the eyeglasses protecting my eyes. And my eyeballs didn’t freeze. So I’m sure I’ll come up with something better. But the afternoon ride was OK. Same temperature at 20f or so. But the daylight helps. I was comfortable and my hands and face and feet were warm. The Showers Pass jacket and the Sporthill pants came thru like champs blocking out the cold. When the temps get below 12f I’ll put the insulated snow pants on. The Nokians are doing their job.

I have similar issues and I'm going to use chemical toe warmers and drill holes in my goggles for venting

Decided to take the bike path home tonight- just because I'd reached my limit on dealing with stupid drivers in the snow and I had time on my hands. For those of you who ride into Boston on the Charles River Path- here's my report. Keep in mind plowing on the path is variable and not dependable and if you're in a hurry to get somewhere this may not be the best choice.

Date/Time: 1/2/2010 5:30-6:30 pm

Weather conditions: 25〫F, LIght snow/sleet, NW wind 20 mph

The bike I am riding is set-up specifically for winter riding- A Specialized Rock Hopper with front shocks, triple chain rings, fenders and Nokian 26x1.95 studded snow tires.

This report of conditions covers the Boston side of the Charles River Path from Kenmore Square heading west to Watertown Square.

Overall assessment: The path from Kenmore to Watertown Square was in a rideable condition virtually the whole way for a cyclist on a bike well set-up for winter riding. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being down to bare pavement with no ice and 1 being "get out the ice boat and cross country skis" the path was about a 6.5 for much of the way. Be prepared for some occasional bushwhacking and a considerably slower ride than under ideal conditions but a fun ride and good work out if you want it and a not too bad alternative to the streets on a snowy night.

Saw a black bra in the shoulder going to work. Lots of glass from beer bottles New Years eve?

Just another cold ride in at 10 F ( -12 C). The wild wind from the weekend is gone, with only a slight breeze left. The traffic is back, but just muddling along back to work like the rest of us.

Tied my personal record for coldest bike commute this morning, 17 F. Forecasters were calling for a low in the mid-teens, and I was wavering about riding, but it was "only" 21 F when I got up, so I decided to ride. Apparently some high clouds kept a lid on the temperatures, but then it must have cleared off again because the temperature dropped another 4 degrees during my ride to work. I was very comfortable, and I think wearing a wind vest over my soft-shell jacket did the trick. Ironically, my previous coldest ride also occurred on January 4, in 2008.

23 degrees F
70 minutes for my 13 miles on snowy roads with 26" studded MTB tires at 30 lbs psi
used toe warmers
fingers were a little cold for the first 20 minutes
still getting used to the MTB muscles as opposed to the road bike muscles. I'm sure they're mostly the same but I can tell some subtle differences
no computer on this bike yet but I'm sure my average speed and MAX speed are quite dismal (not worried about it though
wondered on my way in what criteria to use when deciding if I can take my road bike with the 700x35C studded tires and if the MTB was overkill today

Tough going this morning, -11 C, (-20 with the wind chill). I found a fix for my numb toes by using chemical heaters in my boots. Works pretty good but a little pricey for a 30 minute ride.

First commute in after 11 days of holiday. Man, I'm out of shape.

Same here. Between the holidays, house guests, and the snows, I hadn't been in the saddle since before Christmas. I was slow, a little more winded that I had grown accustomed to being, but it felt really good to get back out on the bike.

It was my first ride with some of my new "toys", too. (Thank you, Santa!) I got my first use out of my rack and rack trunk, and I LOVED it! So liberating to not have a backpack on. And kudos to Topeak for their ingenious design of both my rack and my rack trunk w/ fold out panniers.

I'm also travelling with a little more piece of mind now that I have a fully functional mini pump strapped to my frame again. Don't flat often, but it's nice to know I can get back on the road no matter where I am if I flat.

The ride in was quite chilly, and the wind was something else at times. Temps low twenties F with wind chill in the zero degree range. Was adequately clad against the cold, though, and was actually getting hot and nearly sweaty by the end of the ride. Coolest sight was the ice on the Potomac. Not solid or thick, but pretty good coverage nonetheless for around here. It seemed to be disrupting the ducks' and geese's routines a little.

Back on the road after 2 wks of (physical) sloth watching the kids at home. 45F downpour.

My son was complaining mightily about biking in the rain but once he got rolling heard no more, and he parked his bike w/ no whining for help once we got to school. You just need to get moving and then inertia takes over from there...

My first commute on a bike since before 1985. It's relatively short at 3 miles, a couple of small hills thrown in, but it's perfect for this out-of-shape 47 year old man to get his exercise! I feel a little inadequate reading about everyone's coummute on long, lonely roads. My short commute in north San Diego county must seem like a cake walk to you!

Congrats! Keep it up.

Congratulations and welcome, Andy Mail. Keep coming back!

Rode the geared bike for the first time in awhile. Felt weird to coast. But it's also nice to be able to change gears occasionally too.

Cold and foggy.

Soggy..... not so foggy.

First Ride back after 1.5 week vaca... it was kinda tough. Over vaca I was riding stationary bikes at random gyms so my body got used to a different set-up. also my rear cog is super street-gunk/salted up... such that my free wheel seems almost fixed at times. Plus it was like 6* or something and I didn't wear my winter shoes. But the new gloves i got for xmas kicked!!!

My 1st big downhill today I found myself reaching for a shifter that was not there.

Been off the bike for the last week, seems I decided to dry some dishes - and - not looking - reached in and dried a rocks glass - not realizing that a quarter of it had already broken off and sliced my right hand pretty good (knicked a tendon too). Ended up with 4 stitches in it the reach over my little finger knuckle, couple of stitches are quite deep. grr.

But anyway - we've had probably 12-15" snow that has been kind of cleared up, 'cept of course for side streets and once again I've lost a good 1/2 lane from the parked cars snowdrifts that have frozen and even the studs don't like -- so I guess I'll take this week off as well. Plus more snow this week. This is the longest I've had off from the bike in a couple of years!

Stitches out in 2 weeks.

the ride home took a lot longer than expected - 90 minutes. good grief.

gonna leave the MTB home tomorrow and venture forth on the thinner 700c studs! woo hoo!

Today is my birthday and it was my first day back to work from the holidays. I was riding on my new studded Nokians and boy did I feel sloooooooooow.

In addition, on my way home a car load of teens passed me then one of the ****** bags leaned out the of window and screamed at me "what an a$$-hole" That was the first time I got a negative comment while riding... and on my birthday to boot!