37F heavy fog

Kudos to you guys who rode the last couple of days -- I took metro. Back on the bike today.

I forgot to check, but I'm guessing temps were in the low 30s by the time I hit the road, and my ride was fine. No ice on the bridge, fairly uncrowded on the Capital Crescent Trail, and managed to hit most of the lights well as I got into the city. Another rider told me we had a bit of a tailwind on the mall, though I think it was mostly offset by the occasional crosswind. I felt a bit lazy, but managed to keep my average speed up where I expect it to be.

Took the longer (15 1/2 miles) ride home on Monday night, and it went well, so I think I'll do the same tonight.

About 40f when I left at 7:10 this morning. Didn't pick the right gloves, so I had to stop about half-way and swap them for something a little warmer. Probably could have used some shoe/toe covers, too, as my toes were pretty numb when I got to work @ 8:00.

the fog was heavy.. but i had to do the quick route in due to work emergancies (along the worst maintained road in seattle (jackson st))

Mid 30's but sunny. It's been raining and dreary and I've been driving, so it was nice to get back to it. Got some new winter gloves and a wind shell from REI last night that should be a big improvement.

This morning I bike commuted for the first time to my new job. 4.5 miles, flat. My bf works from home but decided he wanted a "commute" also so he rode with me to my work and then rode home before he started his work. He will try to do this often, or meet me at 5 to ride home with me.

I left at 7:15am, to be there at 8am. I wasn't sure how long it would take to get there. It only took 1/2 hr to ride. It was in the 20s, no wind. I bundled up and was pretty warm. I had my panniers loaded but I will leave some things at work (shoes, mug, extra can of soup for a lunch, etc.)

I'm planning on riding every day the weather is ok. Otherwise with a 9-5 sched I wouldn't get any other exercise.

congrats on the new job and manageable commute!

Got a flat that made the air exit the tube real quick. Probably due to the hole in the tire that's been worn through. Stupid Conti Gatorskins only good for 4 years of day in/day out commuting, errands, charity rides, weekend rides, fun rides, all other riding. I'd have replaced them, but probikekit stopped carrying 28's and I've been to cheap to buy them elsewhere while hoping pbk would stock the 28's again.

Time for a new bike.

Today was only my second commute this week. Its the last week of class but I might commute to the university all next week anyway to study. The 16km mountain bike ride on a snow covered MUP can be very exhausting, especially with any sort of head wind. Most of the rides this week have been over an hour. I'll probably switch back to riding my Touring bike tomorrow.

Tuesday when I rode, my glasses were fogging up again. So after scanning the Winter forum, I decided to go Wilbur Bud's route and get a half-mask respirator. Yesterday I turned back shortly into my ride because there were a few spots on my face not covered. Last night I cut a hole in a Polartec fleece gaiter to cover the lower part of my face, while allowing the respirator to stick out.

It worked great for today's ride. The gaiter overlaps with the mask and goggles keeping my entire face covered. My head was a bit warm, so I may need to get a beanie and not wear the balaclava. Riding at about 20km/h or into a wind I had no fogging. While going with the wind or stopped there was minor fogging, so I just needed to raise the goggles which weren't needed in those situations. A face shield type visor plus the mask might be good enough that goggles wouldn't be needed.

The 3M mask I bought redirects the exhaust downward, so I may not need to add a snorkel. The mask also has a drop down feature so I can undo the bottom straps and the mask can be slid down.

The down side is having to stop whenever I need to clear my nose. Which means raising the goggles, lowering the gaiter, then lowering the mask.

Picture of me in my Specialized helmet, and Cannondale jersey I wear while riding my Trek bike.

From one winter commuter to another:


(this was taken a couple of years ago)

Well its official the nearly 9inches of snow we got is turning into 9 inches of crappy slush, it was almost 40f on my ride home, it was raining and halfway i was so hot i had to ditch the beanie and rain jacket and gloves. i finally gave up trying to ride through the slush and took a lane which didnt make the car so happy, but at that point i didn't really care what the hell they had to think. Man i wish it was in the teens, ice is so much easier to ride over.

Cool this morning in the mid-30's... But low 70's for the return trip. Sunny both ways - so I have nothing to complain about.

Had a fun fast ride home, 4.5 flat miles.

But the commute giveth and the commute taketh away: on the way in this morning I stopped to pick up a dollar bill I saw. On the way home saw a black garment bag piece of luggage on the side of the road. Strapped it on to the pannier to take home. Got home and noticed that my second red blinky taillight that I had clipped onto the back pocket of my pannier had popped off and was gone. I had found that blinky on the ground when I was walking through the college campus one day. Easy come, easy go. I think I know where I lost it where I hopped off a curb. I'll stop there and see if it's lying around in the gutter when I ride in to work tomorrow morning.

Studs were put to the test today and performed flawlessly. Awesome week for commuting, except for one day of milder temps and day-long pouring rain. I got a ride on that particular day, and today I couldn't help but notice how much more energy I seem to have at work when I commute by bike vs. car or public transit.

-1 Celsius , breezy, overcast and cold. It felt a few degrees colder when I rode home in the dark. BUT at least it was dry and there was not a snow flake in sight. Great ride!

-7C and a little bit of snow... it was a nice night to be riding.

18F/-8C, very cold this morning, the previous night, the traffic was gridlocked for about 3 miles, glad i was cycling, took me 30 minutes to travel 5 1/2 miles home. I heard some girls who were walking say "Thats the way to do it!" I agree, It is no fun being stuck on a bus for ages in traffic.

10F/-12C at home, 2F/-17C on campus. Took the road route again, but after XC skiing out at Service tonight and seeing how hard-packed those trails had become, I'm pretty sure that I could've biked the MUP without doing any damage to the snowpack. It seems like every winter I have to re-learn (by doing it wrong, at least once) stuff that I already knew, like at what temp to change to boots or mittens or a shell, and how long it takes after fresh snow for the MUP to become ridable again.

Still, at least the road route is a few degrees warmer, as it isn't tucked down in the Chester Creek drainage like the MUP is. On the downside, some asshat in a Tacoma gave me the ol' get-off-the-road honk today. My skin must still be thin from an entire Fall's worth of MUP miles, because I tried to flip him off. Except I was wearing mittens. :/

Cold ride in at 26 F (-3). I think we are finally hitting consistent cold weather to and from, which is a good thing.

33F / ~1C for me, with a light tailwind and some snow flurries. Passed a regular commuter. I see her a few times every month. She was the only cyclist I saw.

28f a little foggy, we got a light dusting of snow that turned into nothing but a light slush, most of the roads were pretty clear, stuck to the lanes this morning and had a quick ride in.

...Cold ride this morning.. 18f.. sun directly lined up with Gilmer road. Looking foraward to the promised 30f this afternoon.

I feel like such a wimp when I read about all you northern commuters! Temps this morning were in the low 30s when I started riding, and I think I was just a tad overdressed; probably need a beanie instead of a balaclava, and I need to work on better glove options; my thin gloves are not quite warm enough, but my thicker gloves are both too warm, and don't offer ideal freedom of movement/control feel. I guess I'll be searching for that happy medium.

The good news is that the weather should be about the same going home- perhaps a couple of degrees warmer, but dark, so I can try some minor adjustments and see how it goes. The other good news is that it shouldn't get a whole lot colder here very often, so once I get this right, I should be pretty set.

dear Charlestown crossing guards: don't wave people across the street as you step off the curb into the crosswalk--especially when there is a big van parked, creating a blind-spot for cyclists who are in the bike lane--cyclists who don't see you b/c you are ON THE CURB ACROSS THE STREET. Instead, why don't you try walking into the middle of the road, assessing first that it is safe and clear of ALL traffic before ushering non-plussed pedestrians into harms way. I came very, very close to taking out a woman at 25MPH this morning. Scared the crap out of me (probably her too).

Oh and it was dry and a tad chilly 30F (-1C) until I warmed up.