Recently upgraded my fg commuter drivetrain for winter. Sugino 103mm bb, Sugino Messenger track cranks w/a 48t chainring, heavy-duty KMC chain and a 15t cog. Increased my GI from 79.1 to 84.4. Ouch. Been riding on it since Monday and while I can feel my strength/cadence improving by the day every ckimb is magnified. Tomorrrow I'm going to use the multi-geared 'mule' as a friend is coming out on Friday and we're doing a 100k fg ride. Need a break before the big one. Other that the increase in effort the commute was non-eventful...and that's a good thing!

Just put the Gatorskins back on, couldn't stand the heavy, clumsy Forte Gotham tires I had-that lasted for about 2 days. Not only were they slow and poor handling, they made for such a rough ride that my hands/wrists were sore-like riding on wood tires. So, the Conti Gators went on, we'll see if the flat situation improves; I'm changing my route to avoid Maine Ave-I've never had as many flats as I have these last 16 months so, something has to change. I think the construction and increased debris by the waterfront has been the problem. Besides, while preventing flats on a commuter bike (especially during the Fall/Winter months) is paramount, so is riding pleasure, besides, I can change a flat on the Contis in under 5 minutes, they go on/off so easily. Other than that, I'm loving the Minewt 250, it's proving to be a really effective, durable light. Rain is expected for the morning commute, oh well, no biggie.

So I ran to work (I do that one day a week, 12 miles round trip including public transit) and as I was running through an intersection a kid on a bike wizzed passed me. He it a slight bump and his cell phone flew outa his pocket. If Ida been any closer it would have bounced off my head. I picked it up and though I would catch him at the next light cause it was red but he blew through it. Once I got to work and all my meetings were done with I sent a txt message to what looked like the dude's girlfriend letting her know that I had found the phone and was dropping it off at the nearest carrier store. They called back and thanked me profusely for it. Guess he had a pretty rough day and getting his phone back pretty was the best thing that had happened to him.

Gatorskins suck IMO. Feels like they are moving through mud and their flat protection is mediocre. If you want to make them work better put one of those No Flat strips in them. I run them in all my tires; commuter, race and roadie. I get maybe 1 flat a year and usually my own fault.

Aren't those No Flat strips really heavy? Any advice for rainproofing myself. I'm on a tight budget as I've been buying all this stuff to get me ready for the cold, but now it won't stop raining....didn't think of that.

I'll never run anything but Gatorskins on my commuter again. I never think about flats anymore and the Gatorskins are 5grams lighter than the junk Kendra OEMs that came on my bike.

Cold, wet, windy, dark. It should improve in about 6 months. :D

unfortunately,my bike was broken yesterday,so i need to take the bus to go to work today!

Commutes in the past few days have all been fine in the mornings, with a cool tailwind - the only problem is when I approach the office I get shortness of breath and a feeling like my shoes are lined with lead. No such problem on the way home despite strong headwinds and the occasional bout of rain. I just don't like my job much.

Rainy, dark, wet leaves en masse, and +5C. Not very crowded on the MUP today.

Rain all the way, but it is warm at 57F (14C). Most of the street lamps were on this morning, and I am sure it because of rain. It is nice, especially with the leaves on the ground, as in the dark the leaves cover up things like broken glass, metal or even curbs.

Day 3 riding my new 30-mile commute route. We have had incredible weather all week and it is pure pleasure riding. I would be happy with this kind of weather year round -- sunny, low humidity, morning lows in the 40s-50s and highs in the 70s. Rode one of my faster, lighter bikes today but didn't make much better time due to a steady headwind the whole way. Actually, my pace was pretty good considering the wind because I made it to work 2-3 minutes faster than the past couple of days, but I was also riding a bike that is several pounds lighter.

Weather channel app on my phone said, "dry but cloudy".

I step outside.

Rain.

Quickly put on my new Pearl Izumi elite barrier, slapped on the raincover for my backpack, and I was already wearing my new Bogs boots as I knew it would at least rain on my ride home.

After about a mile, I wanted to roll up my sleeves.... no dice.

This rainjacket is a XXL and my forearms aren't overly large, but there is no way I can comfortably roll, push, or slide these sleeves up. Oh well.

The boots felt a bit odd on the pedals but there was absolutely 0 slippage. The combo of MKS Lambda pedals and the industrial grade non slip boot made for very trusty footing.

The trip was uneventful, and a nice pace even with the rain.

Still far too many ninja bike riders and drowzy peds.

I feel like my next accident will likely be with a pedestrian. I just hope I can compose myself enough to not kick the crap outta them on the side of the road after.

Dark and around 39 degrees out. Coldest so far but no rain for a change. Woop woop! Polartec and short cycling shorts on the bottom and palortec, fleece, and shell on top. Waaaay too hot on my upper body, but good on the lower. Guess I'll drop either the fleece or the polartec. Beautiful morning, awesome ride!!

It sucked. Started out ok but about a mile in I felt like my legs were lead couldn't get up any speed just plodded along. Monday and Tuesday were great both directions good speed and I felt like a million bucks. Oh yeah I dropped my chain about 3 miles into the ride and its 4:15 a.m. good thing I have detachable bright headlights to see what I'm doing. Finally got that squared but just did plod along till I got to work. It wasn't all bad though it was a crisp morning and the stars were out and I was alive to ride so I guess it didn't really suck so bad. I'm hoping for a nice tailwind this afternoon though

36F/2C with a headwind. I wore gloves today because I was chilly before I even got on the bike. Hands started to over-heat just as I arrived, so I guess it was okay.

I saw more "non-green" stuff on the weather radar. :D

I found another perk to bike commuting this morning (as if I needed another one). I take one of the major arterials into downtown, and there's an intersection where there's a wreck at least every couple weeks - I always have to navigate it carefully because they never seem to get all the broken glass up. Anyway, this morning all inbound lanes were blocked due to yet another car accident (no apparent injuries, fyi, but cars are probably totaled) and the cops waved me to come on through. I was stopped about 2 minutes versus probably 20+ if I'd been driving. When I got to work I had a frantic voicemail from a friend who lives in my neighborhood and takes the same road to work - one of the cars involved was the same make/model/color/approximate year as mine.

Otherwise - around 48F, no real wind but plenty of rain, which I'm actually starting to sort of enjoy. I got my minewt 350 in last week, and it makes me feel SO much better about riding in the dark (former lights weren't really 'see' lights). Leaving work yesterday I had it in flash mode and stopped at a stop sign behind a coworker. This morning he politely suggested that maybe I could angle it down a little more (oops).

I (barely) saw a ninja ped on my way in! Black pants, black coat, crossing at not-a-crosswalk in the dark. Normally would have irritated me quite a bit, but it seemed pretty tame after actually running into peds yesterday.

cold, windy, and wet. it drizzled for all 15 miles, at times building into proper rain. it was the first cold rain ride i've had since last spring.

not a lot of people out bike commuting in chicago today. i only counted 44 other riders this morning, compared to the typical hundreds.

cold rain is not fun; i prefer snow.

I am into vintage steel. With that said, yesterday, I added another sweet vintage bike to my stable. An 89 Centurion Master Ironman. After I picked it up, I adjusted the stem, seat, oiled the chain, put air to right pressure. Oh boy, couldn't wait for the morning to come take it on my regular commute to workl.

Low and behold, come morning it is raining like cats and dogs.:cry: No matter, I grabbed one of my two beater bikes, a 86 Schwinn Prelude, grabbed rain gear, make sure lights are on my helmet, bike and leg, and off into the rain. I was disappointed that I couldn't take my newly aquired vintage bike, but the Prelude has a ride that is super sweet. All doing the 7 miles to the subway, I am smiling. Also, this morning all the cages were SUPER FRIENDLY too. All the cars were giving me breaks!!! I always wave a thank you when cages give me their right-a-way too. It shows appreciation. Got to work, did a wipe down of the bike. Changed into work clothes and I am no doing work, we sort of!! ;)

BTW, riding in the rain is adventure! ;)

Potomac Ave between Crystal City and Monroe Ave is open for real now... That means cars on what had been a blissfully car free stretch of road for a few months. I only go that way a couple times a week to mix things up, but I guess I'll have to share it now. :-/

Liked the weather this AM. Light rain off and on (mostly off), temps upper 50s, helpful, but not massive, tailwind.

Front brakes squealing badly. Salmon Kool Stop wet pads on Avid SD7v-brakes. I've cleaned rims and pads and tried adjusting the toe a few times. I'll keep tinkering I guess...

Nearly hit a chicken. It was picking up either the fruit or seeds of some tree - chinaberry, maybe - in the bike lane, but scampered out of the way just in time. Well, I would have swerved around it anyway, since there was no traffic at the time. Handsome bird, too - tall glossy, red-brown; possibly a rooster. First for me; must have gotten out of someone's backyard.

Haven't ridden since Friday due to a wicked cold. Oddly enough, Friday's commute was great. PR times to/from work. Got home Friday, took off my helmet, and thought that my throat felt a little scratchy. It's now Thursday, and I still feel like crud. Keeping my fingers crossed for being well enough to ride on Monday.

Warmer with a nice tailwind which meant a quick ride despite my legs being a bit stiff. Its supposed to be +8C for the ride home, which is about my cutoff point for shorts. Since the headwind will be 30+ km/h I'll probably wear my tights.

Heavy is relative :) Ive been stranded by gatorskins and even those armadillos due to them letting in the tiny little wires that car tires sometimes let off. Absolutely no issues with the No Flat strips and the slight weight addition just makes ya stronger :)


Gorgeous morning today. Downtown was hazy but once I crested West Hills I got above the low clouds and there was nothing but blue sky and bright sun. If I wasn't running a little behind I would have stopped and just soaked up some of the rays.

Had a nice ride in this morning. It was the coldest ride of fall so far for me, at or maybe 1 degree above freezing. It's pitch black for the first several km now, gradually lightening through the first 30 minutes of the ride.

I'm nicely past my 2011 goal of 2000+ kms, currently at 2096km or ~1300 miles this year. Now I need to set some bigger goals for next year while every ride left in this one is a bonus.

Cheers,
Scott

Sorry you had a close call, but that's hilarious! I've never really considered chickens a danger for cyclists :)