Not me. The "warm" weather continues here in Texas. It's hard to believe that we are in November and the temps are in the mid-50s before sunrise. Since putting the wider tires on the bike, it's a lot more comfortable to ride. Before I could feel every crack in the road, now I just hum along. I suppose the rolling resistance isa little higher but the smoothness more than makes up for it.

Chilly 26f I put pants on today:eek:, first freeze for boise so i guess fall is here after all

Nice ride in today, about 6C (44F) and the ride home will be close to the same. I chose to leave the rain jacket at home and just wear my fleece jacket, the rain held off, so it was a good choice.

Ride in this morning started around 39° F, but to about 50° F by the time I got to work 30 minutes later. I dressed for the former, and was stripping off layers as soon as I got off my bike.

The ride home is supposed to be around 70°. I might have to take a detour just to enjoy the sun... that is, if I can leave before it ducks behind the horizon now that we've ditched DST.

Started out in long pants and short sleeves under the highviz vest, and stopped to unzip the legs to the pants. Who would have expected that in Chicago now?

40F, raining. Continuing to love the 35mm marathon extremes for plowing through the ever deepening leaf pulp.

Could you ride a fatbike that wouldn't rut the groomed trail? Or do the skiers just take up too much side-to-side space for anyone else to coexist with them at all?

if you think that's strange for texas, imagine how we feel up here in chicago. it was 58 degrees when i left home this morning. riding in shorts and a t-shirt in chicago in november is a blessing to enjoy the hell out of because it sure won't last too much longer.

That is hard to believe! I grew up in Buffalo so I know what it's like up north.

Gorgeous weather today -- high 40s/ low 50s when I started. Shorts, long sleeve T and wind layer, plenty comfortable. Ride home tonight after dark, though, may require tights, though it look like it is going to be warm all day. The whole week is supposed to be beautiful.

A fellow cyclist asked about adjusting her brakes at a stoplight, but I'm afraid I wasn't as helpful as she wanted -- I professed some ignorance, but was about to offer to whip out the multi-tool and see what we could do, when she rode off. I followed and offered a suggestion, but she didn't seem too interested in exploring the problem. I went on my way.

Nice zippy ride in just before the onset of rain. Covered up my legs and didn't feel excessively hot. Brought running gear so I can leave the bike at the office and run home in the rain - then run back in tomorrow and ride home. Sounds like a plan for the winter.

I do carry a pump in my pannier. But ever try a Zefal hand pump to 95 psi? Not too much fun :(

sounds like you need to go the CO2 route. i made the switch from frame pump to CO2 this past spring and it's simply marvelous to be able to inflate a road tire to over 100 PSI in mere seconds without any work what-so-ever.

The leaves have changed color here in Lincoln, but it doesn't feel like fall. Was getting sweaty in regular work clothes no jacket on the commute late in the morning. I decided to flip my stem to lower my handlebars half way through my commute. I liked the lower position, but I was also thinkng some wider sweeping bars (North road or moustache bar) were in order too. I also was happy I didn't have the issue of the left crank bolt coming out yesterday a mile from work. That will teach me to check everything is tight on my bike periodically and always carry my multitool. =P Its pretty fun pedaling uphill with basically one leg. LOL

Been there, makes it feel funny when you get off and try to walk:)

Yeah. Once you go CO2, you never go back. I would advise anyone who might do that to sacrifce a cartridge and try it at home at least once. If you've never done it before, it can be a little tricky out on the road. I was lucky in that I saw someone use one on a group ride before I needed to do it myself, so I had some idea what I was doing.

I use the kind where the nozzle screws onto the cartridge to break the cartridge seal. Screw on the nozzle to break the seal (but the pressure holds becuase the little sharp tip is plugging the hole), line it up with the tube valve, unscrew the cartridge a little at a time until it starts to inflate the tire, then when the tire is full screw the cartridge back in to stop the air flow. You can top it off a little more if needed by repeating. Also... on my commuter I cannot get the tire on around the fender if it is fully inflated, so the most I want to do is just a little bit of air before putting it back on the bike, then do the full inflation after the rear wheel is mounted.

^ my CO2 pump is even easier to use. i just place a fresh cartridge in the pump, screw it tight, and then there's a little button on the front that allows me to release as much air as fast or as slow as i want. also, because the cartridge is enclosed inside the pump, i don't freeze the skin on my hands with the wicked pressure release from the cartridge. and because the cartridge is enclosed, it can take both threaded and unthreaded cartridges. there's also a lock on the back to save a half-used cartridge for next time.

here's the one i use, an "Ultraflate Plus". i highly recommend it.

http://nmpdiscountstore.co.uk/images...flate-plus.jpg

LOL My right hip was sore (my right hip is always tighter fo some reason) even before this instance from playing basketball Sunday morning for 2.5 hours straight. It was kinda amusing I had to keep stopping every once in a while and tighten the bolt so the crank arm wouldn't just fall off. Fortunately the ride home is mostly downhill so I didn't have to stop too often to tighten my bike. I was just happy I didn't damage the crank arm.

The other thing that slowed me down yesterday was a hawk captured a snake and then proceeded to sit with it on the railing of the bridge I needed to cross which is pretty narrow. I wasn't sure I wanted to go across in case the hawk was threated that I might want his snake brunch and attack me or some other odd scenario. Anyway, after waiting a bit to see what he was going to do and watching the snake contemplate its next move writhing around, I started to take another route. I looked back after not getting very far and noticed he was gone. It was a good thing I got to go that way since the other route is a mile longer. Another mile of funky pedaling would have made me annoyed at mr hawk.

you ppl who ride in the snow blow my mind :)

commute was cool and wet... took my fenders off as it hasn't rained for a week or so. guess its time to put them back on.

first time back on the bike in a while. it was friggin' cold (for here) like 50 degrees and a 10 mph wind blowing against me the whole way. Not pleasant. BUT it was good to be back on the bike. going home should be much better.

+2C for the ride in with a nice tail wind. +1 for the ride home with a not so nice head wind. I managed to avoid the rain on both trips. It was cloudy and gray so I rode with the blinkies on for the trip home. Snow for tomorrow.

@#$%%@$#%@#$%@#$%@%#$% was the very long curse word i used when i broke my chain on the way home only to discover i didn't have my chain tool in my seat bag, hoofed it the next 2 or so miles home very angry. As soon as i got home and put the new chain i had bought last week on, i ran to LBS to buy a second chain tool so this wont happen again. The good ole SRAM chain lasted about a year and a bit over 3k miles not to bad this was only the third time i broke a link.

EDIT: Was very glad i was running clipless other wise i think i woulda slipped the pedal and things would have went differently

Fizzaly, it is good to hear that things didn't go a different way. I have had the same thing happen and it is quite a jolt, when it feels like the whole bike
is falling apart.


A decent ride in at 46 F ( 7 C) and a cool breeze. Maybe a couple more days of mild temps, and no rain this week. It is nice to have a break from that.

Excellent commute this morning at 46F and mostly cloudy with winds from the NNE @ 14mph. Bought some new spd shoes last night and used them today. I really like them so far and they should be great for colder temps.

Things are somewhat back on track after a difficult few months. I injured both knees back in July while (attempting) to get back into tennis and subsequent rides became increasingly painful and worrisome. While both knees hurt and were clicking loudly, it was the right knee that was the worst. I had an increasingly difficult time walking and had shooting/tearing pains in the back of my knees. I took it easier and easier, with frequent stops on a relatively easy commute, until I, finally, had to take some time off. I rode the Metro for about 2 weeks and sulked and worried about the potential for surgery and/or a long layoff from riding. Fortunately the time off did wonders and I've been able to get back on the bike. While some clicking is still evident, both knees feel strong and stable again-not 100% but, strong enough that I think I'm out of the woods. I had to back out of a couple of centuries and some mountain biking but, I think it was better to take the time off and "live to ride another day" than push it and do serious damage. I also kinda lost interest in the forums as I worried about my cycling future but am re-engaged. I also had a string of mechanical bad luck: bad light/battery, an unusual amount of flats, a defective rr. hub that had to be serviced repeatedly, broken saddle (which was just replaced with a San Marco Regal to the tune of $50 compliments of Craigslist) and other stuff. So, it's been a rough few months but, I'm, once again, optimistic about my riding future (although I seem to have tweeked my hams due to who knows what) and am planning a new, ultimate commuter build as my upcoming 10 year commuting anniversery reward. I'm also back on the mtb and am planning a (short) ride for tomorrow. I've also been keeping busy with restoring, re-building, and selling some vintage bikes as well as restoring a classic Fuji for my wife. So, I'm back and am eager to monitor the forums again and make regular contributions.

Pleasant ride this AM, mid 40s, wind out of the north and a spritz of rain. With this wind out of the north if feels like the last couple days have been slower rides, but I'm OK with that, trying to keep my heart rate moderate without the use of a monitor, so slower speed is OK with me. Saw an SUV blow a STOP sign just ahead of me. Then chuckled as a cop pulled out behind him. Also saw 2 other cyclists this AM, one a roadie who looked like a mummy all wrapped up and certainly not enjoying himself (I waved, he ignored me), and another older guy who was obviously commuting, not sure from where to where based on his direction of travel, but he was nice, he apologized for his brakes squeaking, I did the same, we each went our different directions. I gotta order new brake pads.

A little warmer today, so I dropped a layer and was almost, but not quite, too cold. The problem was that I dropped the wrong layer and kept my nylon shell which kept the moisture trapped and chilled me when I wasn't movig or when I was coasting downhill. Still, once I warmed up it was pretty good.

34f Rain, was glad it was rain this morning and not snow:) Even with a new full length chain on the kuwie it's still too short i guess im gonna have to find another one to use.

Very slow ride this morning in the snow, 13.7km/h average speed. The 15.5km took 1h 8min, about 26mins longer than yesterday on dry pavement.

Riding through undisturbed snow went well. I took the MUP part of the way in the dark, I could have gone faster on that part if I was able to better see where the path actually was. However riding in the unavoidable car tracks was the most challenging part of the ride in. The snow was sort of a firm slush, but not quite ice. The bike tires couldn't punch through it to the pavement, yet it wasn't hard enough for me to stay on top. It would frequently partially give way making me wobble (enough to unclip a foot a few times), so I couldn't get going very fast. I was running my marathon winters at about 65psi, I'll probably lower it a bit for the ride home.

Today car drivers were the worst I've yet encountered. Despite the poor road conditions many gave me very little room when passing. They blindly followed the tire ruts regardless of how close it would take them to me. At least this made them somewhat predictable so I could get up on the sidewalk when the tracks ahead dictated.

I'll take the MUP for the entire way home. Riding through fresh snow is preferable to the rutted mess the streets will be by this afternoon. No class tomorrow, so by Friday the ploughs should clear my entire commute route.

--- Ride Home ---
Part of the MUP was ploughed (Bobcat driver was as wide as the path and didn't have a headlight on, nor slow down when I encountered him), parts not and some parts I couldn't even find. I ended up having to ride in driving lanes and on sidewalks most of the way home because the slush spray rendered the parking lane an unusable mess. I was able to ride faster but the ride home was still 1:08 because I hit a few impassable spots and had to back track.

A side of one of my clipless pedals was acting up and I whacked the other one into my shin pretty hard when I slipped while starting off. Still not a bad ride. Since I was going so slow, the 35km/h wind wasn't a problem. Other than my feet I was plenty warm.

Hot! Don't know why I thought I'd need long sleeves in 60 degrees.