First commute of February, thanks to all-time record-breaking snow storms and such. I had some snow-related route issues to resolve (look here in case you're interested). But I did figure out a route which seems to work for the time being until some more of the snow is gone.

What has me most excited is that today was my first ride w/ the new Dyad rear wheel and SRAM cassette I got. I'm quite pleased. Need to do some tweaking to derailleurs and such, but the ride feels great, and I am quite pleased with my gear selections.

My fenders also got to see their first substanial use. A few good stretches of slushy snow melt that kicked up off the road by my tires gave them a good test, and they were up to the challenge.

Curious about my alternate route heading home tonight. But I think it'll work out well.

Horses are not terribly uncommon on the roads around here. I don't see them every day, but I do at least once a month.

I always assume that at a 4 way stop, all modes of transportation are equal.

50 F at 6:30 am - clear and sunny afterward. Rode door to door from home to work at the University of Southern California today - 26.3 miles in 2:05. My utmost admiration and respect to all you hardy commuters outside the sun belt. Take heart, spring is right around the corner!!

Beautiful sunny day and 27 degrees when I rode in. First ride of the winter. Hope to go through the rest of the school year now. The only minor blip was that I didn't seat the back tire correctly this morning when switching to studded. One spot is high, so "humped" my way in. Hump day joke not intended originally. Lol! Will fix that before going home.

Took 40 minutes to change the blasted gatorskin tire this morning (actually, the inner tube) only to find the tube had no puncture in it. Problem was the valve wasn't closed tight enough. Should have taken the backup cx bike but i was determined to use the rb today. Was an enjoyable blast into work. Today seemed to be the first warmish day where I didn't feel compelled to wear a hat.

Was a crispy -5C this morning and we had a really heavy frost so things were pretty slick when I took the girls to catch the bus and then after coffee I headed out.

Didn't bother to wear my helmet or even gear up beyond my boots and some light mitts... took a picture of my new commute which is all of 30 steps from my back door.



Spent the day getting things unpacked...



I even worked on one of my favourite customer's bikes for a little bit...



And then I enjoyed a leisurely walk back home.

Sixty Fiver, I don't envy your commute at all. Not far enough to ride? No thanks. Your job itself, on the other hand...

And the bell on that very pretty white bike is hilariously large! Does it go "ding", or does it go "GONG!"?

To contribute: it's too warm, the roads are sloppy, and the trail is softening. 34 F on the ride home, and the Nordic Association had just dragged almost a third of the commute. Sorry about the ruts, fellas! Plus, I had to stop twice to kick fresh dog crap off the trail. At least the Coastal Trail is still solid, so I thought I'd tack on a few more miles on the firm trail to help forget the soft, but got turned around by a moose within a mile of Earthquake Park and had to cut the detour short.

Sigh, another gray Anchorage day. At least it didn't rain. I suppose I'll smear some warm wax on the skis head out. I already spun and cursed through the softness, might as well go back and kick through it and have some fun.

It goes BA DIIIIIIING !

Dude you should totally helmet up for that commute, that stuff is slippery.

Great bike commute today, it was sunny and got up to 37F. It's nice to make it all the way home and still have daylight.

A bus followed me for three blocks in the right lane. The driver didn't tailgate, didn't honk, didn't flash the headlights, but simply followed me at a safe distance. A Newark bus. Weird, but nice.

I just finished shovelling so my walk should be risk free...

I prefer having the hardpack over clear concrete as since we are heading into spring the clear walks tend to be the ones that build up the ice as the snow melts.

I walk with a cane and have found some "clear" walks to be pretty treacherous and will have to go and get a load of sand... that should be a good trip for the extrabike.

rode my MTB yesterday. wish there had been more snow. MTBs work different muscles an go much slower. I had to keep backing off the gas before I exploded trying to go my usual speed - it just wasn't gonna happen. it was fun to go fast on a few stretches. guess I'll wipe it down and it back in the corner for now

IT Band is a real PIA so I'm swimming this morning. 1 ride a week is all I can manage for now.

I don't think there has been *much* change in Switzerland since 1973 Zermatt and Saas-Fee are still the most highly regarded spots !

Will do !

It's getting warmer - and wet ! Not much water falling from the sky, but wet roads. As I was using a fully-fendered commuter, I could ride with jeans and Converse shoes, and no additional protection against rain.

Nice surprise : the full commute https://www.openrunner.com/index.php?id=427521 (from the moment I say good-bye to the wife and kids, until I sit at my desk with a cup of coffee) took less than one hour (45 minutes riding, 59 minutes total). I need to cut this down, to be on par with other means of transportation, but I'm sure there's room for improvement ! I guess I could gain a few minutes on peripheral issues such as clothes management/packing/bike locking... *and* I could probably average more than 14.58 mph, but this is a long-term objective.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

That being said, I did ride over about 1/4 inch of snow this morning. I saw one other bicycle track for the last couple of miles of my ride.
Overcast, temperature about 30F, with a light headwind.

Tough commute this morning as it was very windy. Felt much colder than it was (28 F) with head or cross winds most of the way. At the final traffic light on my route, some dude in a pickup truck totally blew through a red light, but fortunately I had my eyes open and saw him coming. There is a red-light camera at that signal, so he should be getting a ticket in the mail very soon.

Finally got to ride my bike to work today. Yes first time this year. The wind, snow, and wind cooperated enough that I thought I would chance it. I've been riding the stationary bike and using a rowing machine but still not the same. My hands were a little cranky this morning and I think I need to wear goggles. My eyes teared up all the way to work. Anyone else have this problem?

Beutiful day, upper 20's F sunny and a tail wind. Riding on a new Bontrager wheel. Hopefully it will last longer then the Mavic (Spring 08) Bike path still bone shaking brutal.

As temps warmed up the Cateye speedometer started working again.

I'm glad I've found a workable alterntive route for the time being. It's so much fun to be riding again, and it sure beats metro, but, man, I want my regular commute route back from the snow gods who stole it from me!

<RANT>I just want to say, too, that it's really is an outrage to me the way that cycling and pedestrian infrastructure continue to play second fiddle to cars over a week after the snow storms. No efforts whatsoever have been made to clear anything beyond the urban sidewalks. The trails and paths usually used by pedestrians and cyclists have been plowed under to make room for all the cagers, making them even more impassible than they must have been right after the snow. I'm glad my tax dollars are used by the National Park Service to clear roads to help polluting automobiles get to work (through what is technically supposed to be a park, BTW, not just a limited-access highway), but they can't be bothered to clear a 10 foot wide MUP. Come on NPS! I know I'm preaching to the choir, so I'll stop wasting your time. </RANT>

26F and sunny.

Foggy. Hound of the Baskervilles foggy.

Great ride home yesterday and ride in today. Low 40s, sun was UP before I got to work and it was light out already by the time I hit Pike Place Market. Supposed to be in the upper 50s today
and there are lots of cyclists out because of it. Lots of newbies too.

This morning I pulled up to a red light - a bad one to run because it's near a Port entrance and 18-wheelers frequently pull through it - a car pulled up next to me. We waited and watched (and I yelled bloody murder) as a driver on the opposite side of the intersection decided he didn't want to wait any longer and just drove on through his red light. Seen that often at this intersection. Then a cyclist blew through it at full speed. I threw up my hands. As the driver next to me pulled away after we got the green, he rolled down his window and said, "Man, people must have a death wish today or something!" Well said.

The sun was actually out this morning in SE MI. Chilly, but no snow on the pavement = fast commute. Looks like it'll be almost 40 for the ride home.

Weather was sunny and warm... upped my footage to 84 steps for the return.