tchazzard, nice pics... I love your bike/(trike). You must get some pretty interesting reactions to it.

I've been gone for the past 3 weeks, (Calif.) and hope to begin commuting again starting Tuesday. I love riding in the mornings, my only real problem with the cold weather is trying to keep my feet warm. I have tried the chem pads that are sold in HD, but 2 pair a day can get expensive.
I have the neoprene booties, they help but my feet still get cold. I have clipless peddels, so I guess boots are out of the question. Does anyone have any suggestions that may help?

Thanks in advance, and thanks for the great pics tchazzard.

Frankc

I have gotten frost bite too many times over my 43 years from skiing here in Maine. My feet and hands get quick pretty darn quick. Up until now, I have commuted in the winter time on a mountain bike with Burley trailer in tow. I have a pair of LL Bean insulated hiking boots and Lake gloves. These worked very well for me, other than the wicked cold snap we had last January.

As for my Mango, I have only been wearing a tshirt and shorts so far. The coldest I have dressed this way was 38 F and I was still over heating. I have not worn any gloves and have standard biking sneakers with thin socks on my feet. It will be interesting to see how warm I stay in the next cold snap.

I will keep you all posted.

Thursday and Friday must have been the wettest days I've cycled in. I used the bus part way in on Thursday AM. I cyled to the dentist for my dentist appointment then took the bus to the Skytrain station (Vancouver's version of rapid transit) and cycled the last 4km to the plant. Had a dumb idiot that had to, I mean had to, pass me on a downhill in the midst of a downpour and torrents of water down the street and beyond.

I took my usual route home instead of using the bus to take me home as the only road out to take me back to the Skytrain station was flooded in several places. But then part of a road I took on my route was flooded in a couple of places but not enough to prevent me from going through.

Friday morning on my way to work I came across another cycle commuter. He had run into a steel post at the end of a paved bike trail and I had found him on his hands and knees with his bike off to the side. He knows the route and is aware of the post but it was dark and he did a quick right shoulder check for cars on a road that he would be coming onto at the end of the trail and forgot about the post and then ping.... I stayed with him for several minutes in case he might need emergency assistance. He had the wind knocked out of him and his back was sore. But he only had a couple of more blocks to go and said he would be alright. He stayed a little longer and when he assured me again that he was okay I carried on to work.

Friday's commute home was more eventful. It was raining and I decided to ride home anyways. It was still bright enough being at 4:00 PM and I would have a nice bath to come home to. One would think that with the rain, being heavy at times, and with roads partially under water that drivers in their cars would take it a little easier. But, no, they have to drive even faster and with disregard for other people on the road especially cyclists. I was splashed constantly from passing cars going in both directions. When I was within 3 kms of home I had two cars cut right in front of me. Then (as I had posted in a separate thread) I had a vehicle run into me in a designated cycle lane and push me into the ditch. That's when I lost it. I was so disgusted that I let this driver have it. I even kicked his van. He had stopped and rolled down his window but didn't offer any assistance and then drove off. Stupid idiot. And then I didn't note his license plate. My glasses were too fogged up. I really felt lousy after that, wishing that I had handled it better. But I was so pissed about being run into within a designated cycling lane. Chris L. - how do you deal with this?

Most of my commutes to and from work are without mishap, but Friday was the worst commute I've had. :rolleyes:

Antonius, I think you handled it reasonably well. If we were all perfect he wouldn't have pushed you off the road so a less than perfect response (in the turn the other cheek sense) is OK. The only thing you could be faulted on is that he probably thinks you were kicking his van because he stopped to assist the poor cyclist that lost control of his bike. I'll bet he doesn't think he had a thing to do with it. Unfortunately, even if you hadn't kicked his van, I doubt if you could have made him see his role, so don't beat yourself up over it.

Thanks, Jean. :)

Wow! I have truely been blessed! I haven't had that happen yet. I have no bike lane on my commute. Most of my route doesn't even have a shoulder, just a concrete curb. I suppose the drivers on my route have just gotten used to the crazy cyclist. Great ride in today, a little chilly at 56F but I suppose I can cope! :D (I'm laughing!) Ahhhh Houston, aside from the total disrespect for all mankind (not just bike riders) and the traffic, and the humidity, and the polution ETC... This place is paradise!

antonius, I have been caught in torrential downpours countless times. The rainy season can be ferocious in the Bay Area. My experience is that drivers will tend to splash you as there is, obviously, standing rain on the road. Many times, especially here in Silicon Valley they'll be nowhere for the rain to go, so I expect to get doused.

Given that visibility is reduced in such conditions, I also tend to be extra-alert to drivers who may not see me -- even though I have wildly visible gear, complete with annoying bright blinking lights.

To this day, after more than six straight years of bike-commuting, I have never experienced a situation like you descibe above.

I don't want to provoke an argument but I wonder if you gave the drivers enough of a chance. Were you truly visible? Were you riding safely, especially considering the conditions? Upon reflection, could you have done anything differently to reduce the likelihood of a situation?

Fortunately there aren't too many designated cycle lanes on my current commute. I have no issue riding outside of the cycle lanes that do exist on my commute if I feel the need to give myself some space (which is what it's all about on the road). I believe giving myself that space allowed me to avoid a collision with that dropkick in Surfers last week. Just a question, how wide exactly was that cycle lane?

Unfortunately, kicking his van probably didn't help much, even if it was a perfectly natural reaction under the circumstances. He probably now thinks he got away with it so he can do it again. It's hard to stay calm the whole time, but that really is the only way to deal with it. Write down their number and pay a friendly visit to your local police officer. It helps if you ride a few km to calm down before you get there. The cops could probably inflict more damage than a kick to the van ever could.

Nice cold morning, 29 degrees and no wind, I had a great ride to work, ya know winter is upon us when your water bottle has ice in it when you get to work.

Nice ride in today. It's near freezing with some light ground frost, but my main problem is fallen leaves. They are really slippy.

With a thin fleece, jacket with all vents open, shorts and tights only my toes and the tips of my ears were slightly cold.

I love this time of year!

Ahhh....The ficklness of British weather, Shorts and cycle jersey only on Saturdays road bike ride.
This morning!.All my winter garb on,woolie hat,fleeces,gloves,but still freezing cold,then to top it all about halfway in to work,big black clouds had snuck up behind me then opened the tap (is that Forcet in the states?).Drenched and cold into the office.

Just looking at my weather conditions log and that is the first substantial rainfall since heavy rain endured on 8th of March.. Who says it is always raining in the U.K. :D

Hi Folks,

You're absolutely right willic - I can't remember the last time I got soaked during a ride. We have grey clouds here but still no rain. Thing is, I'm willing it to rain for the sake of my garden. Ride in this morning was chilly and sunny, and is set to be much colder tomorrow.

Cheers,

Ed

Rain in the UK
 

I always thought that steady rain in the UK was just in the movies. I bet it's beautiful there. We've been pretty dry since June here in Minnesota, USA also. I had a great commute in this morning, I took the long way. We are also having unseasonally warm weather and that makes me a happy camper. Now, if we could just go from fall to spring, hmmmm.... hey, it's a nice fantasy! Oh well, I've got my winter bike ready.

A beautiful morning, calm wind, temp was +5 C ( 40 F). I threw on 1 pannier bag today because I need to wear the cold stuff on the way in, but have to carry it home (forecast high of 17 C). Nice to be back in the routine, haven't ridden much in the past 2 weeks, too busy with running around getting my truck on the road, e-test cost $500 to pass, exhaust work was $400, front end work for safety was $300. Started off to be a cheap truck, but certainly isn't now! As a comparison, spent $17 on the Norco commuter getting it ready for winter!

Good ride in this morning. Wore tights over my shorts and a light jacket but
didn't need to wear the headband to cover my ears. I will be carrying the
jacket and tights home because it should be over 70 F by the time I leave.
As a bonus the wind has really kicked up and I should have about a 15mph
tailwind on the ride home. Should be a fun ride home today.

While I didn't actually work, I did my commute yesterday (plus a bonus 5 miles) to grab some stuff from work. I'm off all these week on end of project comp time so just rec rides this week. :)

Just below 30 F when I left this morning. I had to hit the doctors for a physical before work. There are a couple of nasty hills which were not much of a treat for my 70 lb Mango. I mashed my way up them and had a pretty high pulse when they checked me. They called me right into the office, so I did not have any time to cool down or rest. Despite this, by Doc said I was in great shape. 43 years and counting.

Halloween type of ride this morning, 49 degrees, the roads wet from the air temp comming up and a strong gusty head wind all the way in. It didn't rain on me though, I thought it would, that would have just rounded out the whole experiance. The forcast for the afternoon is rain. maybe the wind will let up.

Very nice ride in this morning. The tempature was just perfect, it was about 62F. Light traffic and no headwinds.

Good ride home last night. I explored an alternative route to avoid the oncoming traffic blinding nightmare of the bike-path by our delightful ring road. Success, and a pleasant, well lit and relatively un-interrupted ride. I think I will be switching from now on, whilst it is dark in the evenings.

One sting in the tail though, I picked up a thorn in my rear tire. Unlucky, as it was the first run out on a brand new set of Conti Dura-skins. Nothing short of solid tires could have avoided this sucker though, it must have been 1/2 in long and sharp as a needle!

Ride in this morning was freezing - everywhere was white with frost. Wrapped up warm with an extra jersy layer and really enjoyed the ride.

Cheers,

Ed

Cold up here too Ed, but not so much frost. It is now p*****g down with rain so if that holds up it's going to be a cold ride home.

Great morning for riding. I almost ran into a school bus though, she pulled right out in front of me. I would hope that our school bus drivers would be a little more careful than the average driver.

Of course it happened right in front of our pastor's house so I didn't use the opportunity to "counsel" her.

Dave

ha ha - I ran into an open taxi door last night and enthusiastically and vociferously "counseled" the offender - I was so mad I made great time the rest of the way home and it was only when I got there that I noticed my arm was hurting - have a deep bruise where it must have hit the door

today was a nice ride - unseasonably warm her in DC, not that I'm complaining

Yesterday morning was 28F/-3C, and I finally put on tights. This morning was 50F/10c and I was back in shorts. The wind was ripping enough that I had to shorten my trip in to get there on time. Fortunately it was calmer tonight.

Nice enough ride in this morning. Most of Surfers Paradise is closed off (to everyone except me, that is) because they're running a car race this weekend. Of course, I rode a section of the track that follows my commute. I'm just wondering when these guys are going to come up to Springbrook or Beechmont and get some real chicanes!

Windy commute home again last night. High 60'sF Lite traffic.

The ride in this morning was cooler about 45F. Fresh smell in the air. Supposed to get cooler tomorrow, talking about getting down to 35F in the morning.

Nice ride this morning, 42 degrees and a fairly strong head wind, light traffic and a good amount of wildlife just off the road. I took a small detour this morning and rode down the driveway of a small game farm, I rode past the closed gate and took a ride around an area where there are zebras and small deer, it was quiet and no one was around, the animals all looked at me as if I was an intruder, they just watched as I slowly rode by each pen then out the gate. It was kind of neat in the dark, the only sounds were from the dried leaves under my tires.

Windy and wet this morning, northeast headwind and light rain, temp of +5 c, 40 F. Yesterday was contrary to oridinary, temp of +17C 65F on the ride in (shorts and short sleeve jersey), +9C 48F on the way home (jacket, long pants, long sleeves). Seemed like headwind both ways yesterday!

Cold, raw, cloudy, and windy....classic late fall weather for Maine, chance of snow this afternoon. Took the long way home, coming around the backside of the mountain I live on. Ate too much, much too much, this morning.

Ride home last night was in sleety rain, so the cobbles of old Edinburgh (coupled with all the fallen leaves) meant it was a tad slippy.

Didn't ride in this morning as the rain was lashing down with forecasted gales (I do have to cross a very exposed bridge you know :D)

Wouldn't you know it, it stopped raining when I came in, then rained all day, now stopped and no real wind. I'm going to write to the weather forecaster and complain. I'll never get to 5K for the year at this rate.