Most of my commutes are pretty nice, but this morning was better than average. It was very cold for Seattle, but clear and dry, and I left a little early, so it was a bit quieter and calmer. I have a few fairly big hills, so the cold weather and no rain gear meant no sweat upon my arrival at the job. The ride home was more typical: not that cold, but damp (it's raining again) and full of cars. It's still good, though, and way more pleasant than driving will ever be.

First day back - on vacation since the middle of December. Got to tryout/break in the new bike. All I have to say is I got soft with 3+ weeks off the bike! Nice ride in at a sweltering 28 degrees, but slow, slow, slow

All of my winter rides are slow -- extra layers, etc. Also, the alternate routes that add ride time during the good weather get pretty much abandoned below 40F, so my commutes are 4 miles RT.

I'm off today, so I'll just summarize the past week -- 1 day above freezing, and it was soaking wet. They've all been windy. The average has been 20-25F with windchills about 10F. Since that 1 warm day (and the slightly less warm, but still above freezing, day before it), the snow is gone. Had to pump the tires back up for better roll on dry surfaces.

It's still a ride, every day..... Vowed to stay away from the bus routes as long as possible this winter, with an eye to pedaling through the whole season. (Since I WILL NOT roll on ice, that hasn't happened in the last decade.)

19f Almost a heat wave will be above freezing today some wind but nothing too bad, the temps are going to be getting warmer here supposed to be up in the high 30's by the end of the week

mid 20's I'd guess, no wind thankfully. Today was my second day commuting since I've started a new job. the commute is 15 miles each way on a bike trail. All Flat.

The first day I had a flat on a new tire. Nail. Also my dyno driven headlight didnt work. Luckily I had a backup headlamp. Aside from that the commute was ok, but i felt very slow.

Today i took my long wheel base above seat steering recumbent that I havent ridden since I got back from a long unsupported tour in 2008. I soon remembered that it shifted like crap and I really need to convert to rear mech to friction with some thumb shifters.
Aside from that it worked great, i just feel slow and my feet were cold even though I had two pairs of socks on and wind covers over my shoes. Oh and the cleats in my shoes need to be adjusted for riding a bent. I've always found the cleat needs to be closer to the center of your foot on a bent.

The commute took like an hour 15 minutes to do the 15 miles. So hopefully my speed comes back as bit as I get back in shape. the last 9 months of not commuting really took its toll on me.

First commute of 2011 this morning (I have gotten a few singletrack rides in, since NYD though).

I was worried that I'd overdressed for the mid-30's chill, so I took it pretty slow and wound up almost missing my train. Lost my neck gaiter at home somewhere, I'll want to find that before it gets any chillier.

Beautiful morning ride. It lulled me into a false sense of well-being, as I promptly ended the ride by walking into a mega-poo-storm at work.

First commute of the year today (we've had winds just strong enough in the mornings to drive me back to bed the first two days). Mid-40s, bit of a head wind but very clear and crisp. Definately feeling the effects of limited riding over the holidays.

Great ride in the dark this morning, though a little slippery on the MUP. -8C with a tiny bit of fresh snow. The highly reflective fresh snow meant that even though the MUP is unlit, reflected city light off the clouds made for good visibility. I didn't to cover my face this morning and left my goggle up the whole way in. Its supposed to be near freezing for the ride home, which is a bit warmer than I'd like. I have an early class this semester so I have to leave the house by 6:45. Despite my early start I saw tire tracks on the MUP from someone who started out even earlier.

I've seen a bit of wild life on my last two commutes. A coyote yesterday and several rabbits today.

Pea frickin' soup.

The old thread WAS unwieldy, and I did not join it for that reason. I've been commuting for six months now and I have not once been tempted to drive!

Raining like hell today. I have a polyurethane poncho that I got for $14 on Amazon. Tried it for the 2nd time today. It kind of sucks, but did keep me mostly dry. I still did not wish I was in a car. I could not love that Retrovelo more.

Reposted from the old thread:

I found the limits of my studded tires this morning! Riding the Brunette River trail my rear wheel kept slipping in the curves and it didn't occur to me that I might be riding on ice, I was thinking mud or a flat until the bike washed out in a corner and I tried to stand up. I'd been riding on a sheet of ice with a layer of rain on top! Not the best conditions to be trying to set a personal best... Now I know what ice feels like. I have a few bruises and some road rash, wore a hole in three layers of pants and tore up my bar tape.

About 2C/34F with rain until 2/3rds of the way up the mountain when it turned to snow. I love riding in the start of a snowfall when the roads are still clear.

Now I have an excuse to replace the tape on my bars!

Reposted from old thread -- I think a decision needs to be made whether to replace the old with this or not...

A fine commuting morning, right up until I got to EKW in DC's wind. Fortunately I only had to fight the breeze for the last couple of miles. downloaded a free cyclocomputer app for my phone, to use as a speedometer and so I can watch my time (since I wear my GPS on my wrist), but I need to work on the screen sleep time. Does anyone have an android bike app they find particularly good? Free or cheap preferred of course ;-)

Thanks for the tips on Co-ops. Space and money? My wife would say I have neither, but I couldn't pass this one up -- a nice looking near orphan needing a home. It did motivate me to post my old roadie on CL to see if I got any decent bites, so hopefully it will be a break even on space, at least. And if nothing else, my oldest son can ride it once I fix it up, so it has a purpose (though I'm really planning it to be my backup and 'snow' bike).

you know what sucks about cold weather commuting? there are too many things that can get lost. I have 2 different pairs of gloves, a face mask, a few hats, shoes, shoe covers, so on and so forth. the chances of my misplacing something or dropping it and never seeing it again are pretty high.

This is completely and 100% correct! I seem to misplace stuff on a weekly basis.

At home I use a launching basket to keep from losing items. Everything I need to ride (mittens, gloves, balaclavas, shoe covers, locks, rain gear, helmet etc.) is kept in a basket by the door. Because some of the items in the basket like to reproduce I do need to clean it out once or twice a year.

Gonna give that a try, tonight.

Almost t-boned a car that was making a left turn at an intersection. I saw it coming so I braked early enough to avoid disaster. When I was within about 5 feet the driver finally saw me and freaked out. I love when that happens.

Cold (mid 20's) and clear the last two nights with very little wind. I got an insulated thermos mug from Eleven Gear for Christmas and I love it. It is nice to have a hot sip of coffee or tea on these cold rides. Over the weekend I took it on a longer ride and it was still warm 90 minutes into the ride. I also ordered a "real" cycling winter jacket yesterday, should have it by the end of the week.

So who is the moderator of this forum? Seems like we need to make this thread a sticky and/or lock the 2010 version to avoid confusion.

I'm off to a good start in 2011 with my third day bike commuting this week, despite missing Monday due to an alarm clock malfunction. It rained here overnight and the roads were still wet during my ride but at least we avoided more snow for the time being. Temps were hovering a few degrees above freezing, which felt warm compared to the teens and 20s we've had most mornings since early December. The local forecasters are saying we might get another big snow storm early next week, which could put a real damper on my commuting, but I'll believe it when I see it.

17f nice morning, more frost this morning than we've had in a while almost made me think it was icy, it was a lot cooler than the weather guessers said it would be.

First commute of 2011 this morning. Almost got hooked by a school bus about a mile in, despite my best efforts to be visible. I'll give the bus driver a bit of leeway because he/she did realize as they were passing me that they would hook me if the turn was made, so they slowed before making the turn which allowed me to stop, and them to make the turn.
Other than that, I took "the long way" along a fairly busy 2 lane highway for most of the ride, which was a route I had not previously used.
In other news, it was my first ride my new Novara gear. I was pleased with Headwind gloves and OK with the Headwind (semi) Tights, although the tights got a couple laughs when I got to work... It felt good to ride this morning, and with snow expected tomorrow, this might be the only ride this week. Time will tell.

Made it in everyday so far this week. Its been warmer/less windy than before the break which has made it nice. I didnt ride at all last January so excited to get some early miles in this year.

Try iMapMyRide for the Android

Nice! I just took at a look at it and added it to my iPhone.

Took the bus and dropped my son off at daycare and rode in from there. A little overdressed for the ride, 5C/42F but I needed the extra layers to keep warm while standing around waiting for the bus. We got a lot of rain last night and a lot more in the forecast, all the snow and ice are gone. Last night I ordered my spokes so I'm looking forward to putting together my new rear wheel. I'm also going to take advantage of the slide yesterday and replace my torn bar tape with cloth tape and shellac.