Well, us and your imperial overlords, isn't it? Either way, we're not holding out at this point, that ship has sailed and we didn't get on, for ... worse or worser I guess.

40F and brisk today, clammy but not actually raining.

Im versatile in both, temp is my one weak spot. But then again im one of those weirdo's that uses the 24hr system for time.

We're not metric up here in Canada, we're fully sitting on the fence. We package our butter by the pound, but label it in grams. Lumber is still purchased by the foot and pants are measured in inches. Shoes sized by whatever base unit the imperial system uses... Only our government is metric and then just to give us another thing to complain about as we sip on our 10 oz double double at Timmys.

Part way witnessed an accident in my rear view mirror on this afternoon's commute. 43F and sunny with winds from the WNW @ 13mph. It happened a little over 100 feet behind me and the vehicle was going in the opposite direction as me. Not exactly sure what happened, but I know there was also a bus behind me at the time, who I believe was turning. Don't know if the bus had anything to do with it but I know the bus was never actually hit. I heard the tires skidding and looked in the mirror to see the car that passed me seconds ago slam into the car in front of him. I saw another vehicle stop, put on hazards, and the people jumped out to see if everyone was all right. It was kinda nerve racking to witness (and hear) something like that happen just right behind me. Later down the road, I saw the responding police car go flying by with flashers and all. Besides that, it was a good commute home.

Almost got hit by a car yesterday. Rough ride overall.

It's from an op-ed in the Philadelphia Star, circa 1980. You can read the entire piece here. When I first read it, I thought that it was satire, it was so over the top ridiculous. But after reading more about the author, I realized that he was actually sincere. Conservative nutcase, that one (not to say that all conservatives are nutcases, just this one, and his political affiliation is only relevant because his nuttiness manifests itself politically). Even if the author did not mean it as satire, I find it so hilarious that I can't read it as anything but.

Still icy and cold up here. No class today, but I did head out to the bike shop to pick up a replacement cassette. Thought it might be interesting to post a pic of the final tiny hill on my way home. We call this Bridge Troll's Shortcut, in honor of the crazy, rambling homeless guy who hangs out underneath the pedestrian overpass that this trail is leading up to.



It's about 40ft long and a 25% grade, and that grey stripe down the middle is a trough of polished ice. The only way that I've made it up this thing all week long is in the absolute bottom gear (36x32). And this is why I won't attempt to commute with just one gear. Also, Nokian Extreme 296 tires rock!

I really hate saying this, but get used to it. Oh, and congrats on making it home alive; close calls suck, almost as much as actual collisions.

Fahrenheit scale is a little more accurate.
0C +32f the point where fresh water freezes at sea level.

0F is the point where sea water freezes and it is less effected by elevation.

Ever hear the story of how the system came to exist? Supposedly it all dates back to I believe King Henry settling a dispute between a tailor and a cloth maker. The tailor was tall and the cloth maker was short. It was typical that cloth be measured by the tip of the thump on an out streached arm to the tip of the nose. That happens to be half the hight of the person doing the measurment. That length also was what most peoples Sash (Belt) was that was often made by the tailor.
The dispute came when the tailor (tall) felt he was being swindled by the cloth maker (short) because their Yard from the word gird ( circumference of the waist).
They broke it down by finding that the Yard was three lengths of Henry's foot. A foot was 12 "inches" ,the width of Henry's thumb. Also the approximate distance front the first knuckle to the send knuckle on the index finger that the caprenter would use rocking back and forth like and "inch worm" when measuring lengths of wood.

So the whole system was standardized by the girth (waist measurement) of a chubby king Henry.

I still remember when Canada introduced the Metric System... I was twelve years old. Old enough to have spent the previous 7 years learning the Imperial System of measurement in the classroom. Very frustrating to have to unlearn what I had learned and to learn a new system. That being said it was nice not to have to remember how many feet are in a mile, ounces are in a pound, pints are in a gallon, and other imperialistic idiosyncrasies. What the hell is a rod anyway? Five and a half yards? Does anyone actually use that? There's a good reason why the Metric System is considered the "Système Internationale."

Another balmy morning at 44 F ( 6 C). I overdressed, but I just can't keep up with the temps anymore.

Yes, the metric system makes so much more sense, and it is easier to use whether weights, measurments or weather.

Wish I had my camera, the U.S. Capitol dome shrouded in fog...next time. Beautiful ride in and I look forward to breaking in my fancy new fenders when rain comes.

First day back from two weeks of vacation. I was thrashed by mother nature with a howling 30MPH headwind blowing off Lake Champlain. I hope it's still there when I ride home or I'm going to be a tad put out. In some places I was barely pushing 10MPH.

Not too cold though. 42F/6C. Just coming back from Germany & Austria, this talk about the metric system amuses me. Americans can't even figure out how to make (or use) a proper dollar coin.

And try being a pilot. Wind is in knots. Temperature is in C. Distance is nautical miles. If you fly an old airplane your airspeed is indicated in MPH but the GPS ground speed says knots. Direction can be either magnetic or true depending on how its delivered.

Had a decent ride today. Though it was foggy, it was 65 degrees. I brought coffee with me on the bike today, that was nice.

Steadily racking up the miles. I'm 4 months into it, loving every day.

28f Felt colder than that this morning though, first snow of the year didn't get much about 1/2" on most places, was a mix of wet slush and frozen slush under it, not a bad ride in though i over dressed and halfway had to pull off some clothing. Got to ride the new giant into work and it rides pretty nice, still getting used to not only the bar shifters but the fact that their friction as well. I had forgotten how much these knobbies hum at higher speeds in my head i was adding words the music they were playing

YAY white stuff!!!!

Great commute this morning at 43F and overcast with winds from the NNW @ 3mph. Ran my front PB light on strobe for the first time, and it seemed to work out well. No one pulled out in front of me or anything like that.

Got ready to leave for work this morning, and a thick fog had settled in since the time I got up. So I did some work from home on my computer and left after the sun had come up and the fog had cleared a bit. I detest riding in the fog because I need my eye glasses to see and they get all misted over. Unfortunately we are supposed to have the sort of weather tomorrow morning, so it looks like another late start. I've only got a 2 day workweek, so that will be it for my commuting this week. Hopefully I'll get in some long rec rides over the long holiday weekend.

Snowed about 5cm yesterday, the knobs on my 700x35 Marathon Winters just can't handle it so I took the bus. A shame because the snow was perfect for riding on the day before. Its supposed to snow about the same amount tomorrow so probably no riding until Wed / Thurs. I'm looking for a tire that can handle a little bit of loose snow, but the LBS won't have any in until after classes end for the semester.

Low 60's this morning. Uneventful ride, but enjoyable. I hope the commute home is just as nice. I may take the local hike and bike trail instead of the paved road home. Variety is always nice.

no bike commute for me this morning, it was 60 degrees when i woke up, which is insanely warm for a november morning in chicago, but the downside was that it was pouring cats and dogs with lightning and thunder in the area.

needless to say, i rode the train. the truly frustrating part: 3 hours later and the sun is now shining bright outside. i hate bad timing.

My first winter commute is over and I made it in one piece. -5C/22F today and the roads were pretty nice despite the first snow of the season on Friday. I was impressed that even the bike paths were plowed! I spent the weekend installing screws in a set of 27" Tioga Bloodhounds for todays ride. It was interesting, cornering at speed is a bit of a challenge but I didn't slip on any ice, even when I got cocky and intentionally rode over the ice. My rear fender has some clearance issues that I need to take care of today. The brake bridge is a little too close and a couple of screws rub the fender mount.

I kicked my front fender while trackstanding at a light today too... I'm glad I built that front fender out of an old tire, a plastic one would have shattered. I straightened out the wire beads and put the fender stays back together and kept riding.

My clothing choices were great, the Costco base layer top fit a little loose, even after I took my friends advice and went down one size to a medium, but it was nice and warm. I could have used a face mask, but I couldn't find the one I used to take snowboarding. It's probably packed with my snowboard.

1st commute w/ marathon winters, very happy so far

I guess I can't complain. Low 50's F, damp but my new Pearl iZumi windbreaker made the ride pleasant.

About 50F, which is nice but not as nice as the fact that it was not raining. You can count the number of days the last month without rain on one hand. So a dry day is a good day.

Went on my first commute since July. I moved to Marysville, CA and my new commute is 12.1 miles. I was beat like an old rug when I arrived an hour and fifteen minutes after starting. I was expecting much better time and was really disappointed that Googlemaps claimed a faster time than I did. The wind relentlessly slowed me down.

First commute in a month. Was away on a business trip, home for two days, and then a week on vacation with the family. This is a good week to get back into as there's not much traffic on the road.