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I think I'm done for the season.

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I think I'm done for the season.

Old 12-06-11, 06:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Peasy
I also carry a small hand broom and clean up broken bottles on my route.
I, for one, would like to thank you for doing that.
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Old 12-06-11, 07:26 PM
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Originally Posted by mbryant52
I, for one, would like to thank you for doing that.
Thanks for your comment. Fortunately delinquents breaking bottles doesn't happen very often around here, so it's worth my time to clear the glass. Otherwise I'd ride through it twice a day usually in the dark.
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Old 12-06-11, 07:34 PM
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Psst go with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. I use 700 x 28's and in a little over two and a half years (12,000 miles) on the same tires, I've had no flats in Seattle commuting rain or sun.
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Old 12-06-11, 08:33 PM
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Me, too.

I was about to start a thread by the very same name.

Last year I did 5,000 miles including commuting the entire year round. I just don't know if I can do it again.

I have all the gear (magicshine, showerspass, lobster mitts, balaclava, studded tires) and four different bikes to choose from (including a belt drive IGH w/drum brakes); that's not the problem. And i don't feel particularly unsafe, even at night when it's raining.

It just takes too long.

what is normally a 45-50 minute commute in is at least an hour and can take 1:15 by the time the snow has piled up and blocks me from filing past traffic at an intersection. The ride home, normally 1:10 can take an hour and a half for the same reasons PLUS it's dark on the way home.

Worse, whereas in summertime I just grab a helmet and go, winter riding requires more time to suit up with all the layers. Given the huge temperature swings in Boston, I often take extra jackets or two types of gloves just in case.

And yes, the OP is right that changing a flat in subfreezing temperatures completely sucks.

I'm thinking it's just not worth it this winter.
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Old 12-06-11, 09:38 PM
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Originally Posted by mbryant52
Slow down there. You do have to be more determined than that to ride a bike, but there's no reason to discourage him to the point of driving a car. Rather, we should encourage him to be a bit tougher, get some rain gear, accept the weather for what it is, and keep pedaling.
And buy some armadillos.
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Old 12-06-11, 09:45 PM
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Originally Posted by mtalinm
I was about to start a thread by the very same name.

Last year I did 5,000 miles including commuting the entire year round. I just don't know if I can do it again.

I have all the gear (magicshine, showerspass, lobster mitts, balaclava, studded tires) and four different bikes to choose from (including a belt drive IGH w/drum brakes); that's not the problem. And i don't feel particularly unsafe, even at night when it's raining.

It just takes too long.

what is normally a 45-50 minute commute in is at least an hour and can take 1:15 by the time the snow has piled up and blocks me from filing past traffic at an intersection. The ride home, normally 1:10 can take an hour and a half for the same reasons PLUS it's dark on the way home.

Worse, whereas in summertime I just grab a helmet and go, winter riding requires more time to suit up with all the layers. Given the huge temperature swings in Boston, I often take extra jackets or two types of gloves just in case.

And yes, the OP is right that changing a flat in subfreezing temperatures completely sucks.

I'm thinking it's just not worth it this winter.
If it isn`t fun, then maybe you shouldn`t do it in the winter.
As for the `lost time` because of challenging conditions, I`ve never seen it that way, because I rarely don`t have fun riding (or anything physical, outdoors FTM).

Ehhh... I like to sweat. And I like to sit back after I`ve done it, and bask in the glow.
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Old 12-06-11, 09:49 PM
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Originally Posted by mtalinm
I was about to start a thread by the very same name.

Last year I did 5,000 miles including commuting the entire year round. I just don't know if I can do it again.

I have all the gear (magicshine, showerspass, lobster mitts, balaclava, studded tires) and four different bikes to choose from (including a belt drive IGH w/drum brakes); that's not the problem. And i don't feel particularly unsafe, even at night when it's raining.

It just takes too long.

what is normally a 45-50 minute commute in is at least an hour and can take 1:15 by the time the snow has piled up and blocks me from filing past traffic at an intersection. The ride home, normally 1:10 can take an hour and a half for the same reasons PLUS it's dark on the way home.

Worse, whereas in summertime I just grab a helmet and go, winter riding requires more time to suit up with all the layers. Given the huge temperature swings in Boston, I often take extra jackets or two types of gloves just in case.

And yes, the OP is right that changing a flat in subfreezing temperatures completely sucks.

I'm thinking it's just not worth it this winter.
For me bike commuting has to be fun, and so far, riding in rain, wind and cold weather has been fun, but I also don't think trudging through deep snow and riding on ice will be fun. So when that comes (hopefully not too soon), I'm stowing my bikes til Spring and taking the 4WD.
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Old 12-06-11, 09:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Bikepacker67
And buy some armadillos.
How do the Schwalbe Marathon plus tires compare?
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Old 12-06-11, 09:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Peasy
For me bike commuting has to be fun, and so far, riding in rain, wind and cold weather has been fun, but I also don't think trudging through deep snow and riding on ice will be fun. So when that comes (hopefully not too soon), I'm stowing my bikes til Spring and taking the 4WD.
Trudging through deep snow IS fruitless - even a nut like I will agree. And if the roads get rutty with hard-packed cager tracks you can just about give up... but 3 inches of snow and ice, with a good set of studded tires, is not just easy to navigate, but downright FUN!
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Old 12-06-11, 10:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Peasy
How do the Schwalbe Marathon plus tires compare?
Dunno.
Always stuck with specialized armadillos in three seasons, and Nokian studs in the 4th.
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Old 12-06-11, 10:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Peasy
Good lights help avoid debris of course. I also carry a small hand broom and clean up broken bottles on my route.
I swept 2 miles of my MUP Sunday. Parks and Rec are not going to do it obviously and I'm the only one who uses it. Oh well, it was a great day to maintain my MUP. LOL
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Old 12-06-11, 10:29 PM
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Originally Posted by tjspiel
I saw a guy who had a special mount attached to his bike just for carrying a broom. He gave the same reason for it as Easy Peasy. I think it's a great form of public service.
I use a mapping GPS on my handlebars and waypoint glass going in and coming home a couple days a week once week ever 6 weeks or so. Then on a weekend I mount my GPS in the car and track back via waypoints and clean up the glass with broom and leaf blower. We don't have goatheads around here.
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Old 12-06-11, 10:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Bikepacker67
And buy some armadillos.
Gatorskins. Zero flats.
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Old 12-06-11, 11:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Peasy
I also carry a small hand broom and clean up broken bottles on my route.
One of our local MUP's

https://www.interurbantrail.us/Newsle...2011Winter.pdf
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Old 12-06-11, 11:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Bikepacker67
Trudging through deep snow IS fruitless - even a nut like I will agree.
Need one of these
https://bfw.org/2011/11/28/northpaw-in-the-northwoods/
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Old 12-07-11, 12:10 AM
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Originally Posted by no motor?
I had a flat after the dishwasher sprung a leak and I found out the new better(?) computer purchased to replace my old computer when the power supply died wont run a program I need for work. I'm also looking to find a new bank for my condo owners association funds, and wasn't planning on riding after it got below freezing anyway.

Methinks it's not just the tire that's gone flat.

The bike rides are the thing that keep my mojo working when everything else is heading south for the winter. But if that ain't workin' for ya' best to give it a rest. Enjoy the time off the bike but I suggest you stay physically active in other ways or it will be a long, cold winter and harder to get motivated come spring.
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Old 12-07-11, 01:09 AM
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This isn't the 41 forum; lighten up! Sometimes you need a break. Some days, you just meet the straw that breaks the camel's back. Drive for a week until you are feeling the itch to ride again. Of course I'm battling winter weather: sub 40ºF. Anyone who commutes in sub freezing weather with wind and snow has already HTFU in my book.
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Old 12-07-11, 06:30 AM
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Originally Posted by cehowardGS
Come on man, it don't get any better than that. Getting stranding on the road, GF comes picks you, that is freakin heaven.. ...
Exactly my thought. What's wrong with kids these days?
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Old 12-07-11, 07:51 AM
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If you buy some better tyres you can reduce the occurance of flats to almost zero. I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I have had 2 punctures in 4000 km, one was a pinch flat when I hit a sunken manhole lid which I didnt see due to some traffic. The other was a small piece of what I think was the steel from a steel belted radial tyre.

z
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Old 12-07-11, 07:59 AM
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Nearly hung the bike up for the year when I discovered a front flat late Monday night...Turned out to be very slow leaking tube that had gone flat since I hadn't ridden since last Thursday. Replaced the tube and continued my quest Today...should turn 5000 miles for 2010 on the way in tomorrow. Not sure if I will continue after that....I guess if the snow holds off there is no reason not to continue biking. My 17 mile road commute still seems too far & risky for riding along side cars contending with the snow...But...on the other hand...I do enjoy riding my bike to work.
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Old 12-07-11, 08:33 AM
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Originally Posted by no motor?
I had a flat after the dishwasher sprung a leak and I found out the new better(?) computer purchased to replace my old computer when the power supply died wont run a program I need for work. I'm also looking to find a new bank for my condo owners association funds, and wasn't planning on riding after it got below freezing anyway.
f banks, find a credit union.
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Old 12-07-11, 08:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Bikepacker67
If it isn`t fun, then maybe you shouldn`t do it in the winter.
As for the `lost time` because of challenging conditions, I`ve never seen it that way, because I rarely don`t have fun riding (or anything physical, outdoors FTM).

Ehhh... I like to sweat. And I like to sit back after I`ve done it, and bask in the glow.
The extra time it takes to ride in the winter is huge downside for me. I still do it because I end up burning a ton of calories on my winter rides and also because I'm on sort of a quest to find better winter gear/equipment.

I've used 4 different bikes in the last 8 years. Even on years when I don't have a different bike I've typically made some significant changes.
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Old 12-07-11, 09:42 AM
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I enjoy the challenges and solitude of winter bike commuting. And car traffic never lets up around here except around the holidays, but I'll be somewhere warm then.
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Old 12-07-11, 10:07 AM
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I love riding in the cold, but I don't do frozen water.
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Old 12-07-11, 11:14 AM
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Originally Posted by no motor?
I'm thinking I'm done riding outside for the winter, I'll be riding the trainer and looking out the window until it warms up again.
Yesterday evening I cleaned up my CX race bike from the season's grit and grime, and swapped out the knobbies for the all-red Vittoria trainer tires. Much of my winter riding is done inside on my rollers in the warm gym. Sure, there's a lot to be said for being a hardman and riding through the wind/sleet/snow/rain/slush/freezing cold/dark all winter, but if you're not enjoying yourself then why do it? I'm restarting my randonneuring P-12 attempt this month (one 100k/month for 12 consecutive) and I commute to work (32mi r/t) a couple times a week instead of every day like during the summer. That's about it for my winter outside riding.
I wholeheartedly stand behind your indoor riding efforts for the winter.
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