The commute home last night was actually colder than the commute in. Still, -11C/12F (wind chill of -18C) didn't stop one guy I saw from riding in shorts. I felt like I wasn't dressed quite warm enough.

This morning was -12C/10F, just a slight breeze from the east, and a few flurries which will turn into light snow this afternoon and evening. There was a thin layer of snow over everything already this morning.

It rained much of yesterday with big storms overnight, so the roads were wet and covered with leaves this morning. I took it easy so my tires wouldn't slip on any wet leaves but made good time because my legs were rested from a day off and the temperatures were very mild (50s). Another cool-down is expected tomorrow, so the temps should be back in the 30s for the rest of my morning commutes this week.

had to get to work fast, to actually do some work, so i took the short way

45F and raining (and windy)

Forgot and left key at work. Car going back got turned into cycling up and ended up cycling 34 miles yesterday. (I do one way each day with train in between)
Feeling a little sour but otherwise all right. If I feel all right at the end of week, I suppose I will add another 28 miles on my weekly distance few weeks earlier than I originally planned. (currently 76 miles a week to 104 miles) Looking forward to being able to do 160 miles a week on commuting eventually before next summer.

Definitely. My problem, honestly, is the hills. I know enough (usually) to slow for corners, or avoid the leaves and turn in the clear spaces. But some of my hills are literally covered with them, and my concern is safely controlling my speed downhill and pedaling uphill. I've already had the experience of having my rear wheel slip as I was pedaling up the hill (in my lowest possible gear, going very slowly). I'm honestly considering walking the bike on the worst parts, depending on how things look tonight. My other choice involves riding some roads that don't make me too happy, so I suppose I'd rather walk than do that. I guess I can't expect it to get much better for a few more weeks.

Winds were fierce today, gusting up to 45mph. The ride in was fine, but on the way home I was battling the winds (heading due west, winds out of the west) the whole way. My knees are killing me, ugh. At one point I was cranking as hard as I could on a flat portion of my route, and still barely moving!

-8C for the ride in and -10C for the ride home. I think I was dressed perfectly on the way in, as I was nether cold nor sweaty. On the way home I needed to stop several times for wardrobe adjustments. I started off with my polyester baselayer, Canondale heavy weight jersey & nylon rain jacket and was sweating 1.5km into the ride, so I ditched the jacket. At 6km my ears started getting cold, so I put a headband over my stretch balaclava. At 12km torso started getting cold so the jacket went back on. My face mask had my glasses fogging up so I kept adjusting it along the way.

I still haven't settled on a jacket for colder weather. I think I'll want something quite breathable..

Snow and high winds for tomorrow, so likely won't be riding. The two times this year I was out in fresh, deep, car rutted snow it was a little more adventure than I was looking for on 700x35 tires and drop bars.

Pretty windy today, and it seemed to never be in my favor. Temp was around 45, so not too bad there, though I was slightly under dressed for it.

yesterday's commute was pretty tough. although the rain held up, we had heavy winds that wreaked havoc in some of the burbs. definitely riding into a 50kmh+ wind takes a lot of extra energy out of you. my normal commute, by the mid-way point i was actually getting tired. the tuck position helped a lot to reduce frontal area, but with a 25 pound backpack on, the tuck position put strain on the back and arms as well. so, it was tim hortons to get a short respite and a dose of java, and completed the morning commute a half hour later.

Great commute home in the dusk/dark at 52F and winds from the WSW @ 14mph. I once again had the fastest commute I've ever had for this trip home, averaging 14.5mph. I know the tailwinds definitely helped with that. Had to stop by the convience store to pick up a pack of AA batteries, because mine were doing dead in my headlight. They were good enough so others could see me, but I couldn't see the road. I had spare batts, but they were bad as well. I checked them a few days ago and they were fine on the batt tester. I guess them being out in the cold drained them out. Charging them right now so they'll be ready for next time.

My 10.2 mile commute home this afternoon took 40:31 minutes @ 14.9 mph (530 kcal) weather was cloudy & low 40's with head winds 12mph, ideal riding conditions. I've noticed a stream flowing under a bike path bridge rising the last couple of months so I stop to investigate and discovered a beaver dam & lodge.

Just ran errands this afternoon... looks like it will keep snowing until next week, temp was -12C, and it was actually pretty pleasant as we went from cold and dry to cold and snowy so there should be less ice to deal with.

you guys who ride in the snow amaze me

small part in the sky on the way home, snapped a pic



edit: still think its moranic to have TWO stadiums right next to each other, instead of sharing just one.

^^^
Ooo, pretty sky.

First cold snap of the year! 15F this afternoon leaving the house, 10F this evening coming home. Ok, it's not that impressive, but it was definitely enough to thin the herd down to a half dozen other icecylists. And enough to manifest the first icebeard of the year.



At least yesterday's windstorm is over. Steady 20-30mph, with 45mph gusts, and I don't think that I've ever descended the Hillcrest hill in that low of a gear. I was afraid that if I tried to coast, I'd get blown back up the hill.

The MUP is in awesome shape: solid, smooth, shiny ice. Right before the windstorm we had a melt/freeze event, and now the streets and paths are solid ice, as fast a surface as you can bike on with studs.

It was -11/-12C today 22km/h E-wind made it feel like -17C. I shoveled the powder of snow from my driveway & broke into a sweat.

That motivated me to pedal my usual route of less than 16km (10mi) to work. Just my long sleeve coolmax shirt & windbreaker, reflector vest, fleece gloves, fleece hat and helmet.

Wore my usual dress socks & lace-up chucks. On the way I had to stop at 2 Mac's Stores (like 7-11) to warm up my numb & freezing toes.

The rest of my body was just fine. I need to figure out what works best to keep my feet warm without getting sweaty (at any given time, I have very active sweat glands in my feet). I guess I should inquire about this in the Winter Cycling section of the forum.

Glad I rode my first official winter commute. Yey!

I used to be that guy, faithfully rocking baggy skater shorts all the way down to 0F, below which I would don XC ski tights under the shorts. My shins were often raw, red, and seriously chapped by the time I got to work.

If you're gonna be dumb...

Congrats on the first winter commute! And welcome to the land of frozen toes. Given the temps that you're riding in, wool socks would be a good investment, as would a pair of shoes that don't breath (leather, or Gore-Tex. No running shoes or anything else vented). Personally, I find warm feet to be the greatest challenge to winter cycling, and more so than in winter running or XC skiing.

Where in both skiing and running your feet are kept warm through the physical motion of the activity, in cycling it feels like your feet are biomechanically ignored and left to freeze. This despite the amount of heat generated by the calves and thighs. For me, I start with a sock/shoe combo that is comfortable for walking an equivalent amount of time in the cold, and adjust from there.

As an emergency measure I carry a pair of Gore-Tex socks in my pannier, since they don't breath (marketing aside, Gore-Tex doesn't breath, or does so little so as to be negligible) they lock in moisture and heat. Back when I rode on the cheap, I used plastic bags instead of Gore-Tex. If you've got a newspaper subscription, save the bags that the paper comes in, they're narrow enough to not bunch up terribly in your shoes.

It was chilly, but a decent ride in at 43 F ( 6 C). I saw one other rider all lit up in the dark, going in the opposite direction. I get the feeling he is a later rider, and I must have gotten out late, as he had good lights, back and front in the morning darkness. Always good to cross paths.

Griddlecakes - that is an interesting signature. I don't know who he is, but he obviously has some sort of issues going on there.

Keeping my feet warm has been the biggest challenge for me so far. I think a big part of problem is reduced circulation when I'm cycling, I've even noticed it while cycling in the summer. Yesterday I was wearing a very thin wicking jogging sock and a heavy weight polypro sock which worked well. You definitely want to avoid having things too tight on your feet. If you can't get multiple pairs of socks in your footwear with room to spare, you'll want to try something bigger. The socks themselves shouldn't be constrictive either.

I got a pair of battery operated socks from Mark's but haven't tried them yet. The heating element is just under the toe which is where my feet typically get cold. They take D-Cells which are expensive. I was researching rechargable D-Cells on the weekend and they are about $40 for a pair good ones (one's you'd find at walmart are essentially 2400mah AA's with thicker packaging). Also unless you spend $100 on a good charger like a Powerex it would take up to 40 hours to charge the 11,000mah D-cells.

A little chilly, around 35f. Not too bad, less sweat. Switched out the clipless for flat pedals today, sticking with them, dont like clipless commute

Im not sure whats going on but 56f and breezy this morning, these warm temps are really starting to mess with my head. The weather guessers are forecasting lows around 0f for next week so if i use the opposite idea its gonna be lows in the 60's highs in the 80's?? Boise's fall is really messed up this year

Nice ride home last night. A healthy wind st times helped and at others hindered my progress. Miss the longer days sometimes, but I like to cooler weather and have always enjoyed a good ride in the dark, which I get on my commute home now.

Two miles into my 7.5-ish mile commue this AM and my chain broke. First time that's happened to me. Anyway, took a few minutes to remove the offending link and replace it with an extra I had from when I first installed the chain and had to shorten it a bit. Props to my ever handy Topeak multi-tool for having a good chain tool on it.

If you knees are bothering you, you may consider raising your seat. Your knees should never hurt from cycling.

Lousy, I drove.

Yesterday was a bad commute as the police closed Gaglardi and diverted me around Burnaby Lake to get home when I was in a rush to get home early. The great part was that I was zooming down the hill at 80 while all the cars were stuck in a parking lot because of a head on collision at the bottom of the hill. One of the drivers died too.