HardyWeinberg

30sF, quiet, no wind, cloudy.

neil_@40

-27C OUT.
Lady driver in a truck rolled into my back tire at a set of lights(laughing). Then clipped my shoulder with her passenger side mirror going through the lights and drove away.

Happy Friday!

caloso

36F and foggy this morning. I was super-fredalicious in my chinos, dork straps, and hi-viz jacket.

LeTourEngineer

Bad morning yesterday. Was headed out 5 minutes late already, made it two blocks on my 70's Schwinn Le Tour Single Speed. The rear axle and rear right dropout bent. I usually leave my bikes on the back porch over night and it was about 18 degrees that night. Maybe a combination of that and the old frame just couldn't hold up.

But my story isn't over....I walked back the two blocks and got on my 60's Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed and started out of the driveway but while pedaling I kept skipping cog teeth. My chain was frozen, or it was rusted and needed lube.

Still not over...so with two bikes down and my Fuji Sagres conversion still in pieces I was forced to drive my wife's car. I get in, start the car, try to shut the door...but wait, it's not latching. The clasp mechanism in the door was frozen! So here I go, one hand on the wheel, one hand holding the door handle shut, taking right turns very slowly....

Almost done...So I make it to work a half hour late. I go home at lunch to give my wife her car back and take mine out of the garage. I turn the key and hear this huuuuuunnnnnn, huuuunnnnn, huuunnn, hun. Won't turn over. Probably because it sits in the garage all the time because I ride my bike to work everyday except that day.

Lesson learned...cold weather and old steel bikes don't mix well. About the point the car door wouldn't shut I quit getting frustrated and just came to the conclusion that the day was just going to be one of those days.

Eric

Doohickie

Way too late for the first commute of the year. I've been shuttling between different offices this week so I haven't had time to ride. Today, though, I only had to go to one site. It wasn't my normal office, though, it was the main office which is twice as far as my normal commute- 15 miles each way today. It was very, very, very nice riding in- high 50s and the wind at my back. The ride home was in the 70s and the wind had kicked up to 20 mph with gusts to 30. And I had to ride twice the distance.

It was great to be back in the saddle again.

metalchef87

17 degrees F on the way in, no wind though, was plenty warm arriving to work. 47 degrees F on the way home, spent an hour extra in the saddle...it was really nice. Up to 60 miles for the year...

Doohickie

Same here, give or take. I did a breakfast ride last Saturday, and the commute today. I figure I total out at somewhere between 60 and 70 miles between those two. No breakfast ride tomorrow. A cooling fan motor seized up in my gas-powered fleet and I need to get that fixed before I can do anything fun. Oh well.

buzzman

did the shorty commute again. 12 miles. Temp was about 19〫F with a little breeze.

My chain is jumping like crazy. My front chainring (my bike's a 9 speed) desperately needs replacement the teeth look like needles. I've got a whole replacement drive train on order but it hasn't arrived yet. Man, it's frustrating. I should have changed the chain, cassette and chainring at the start of the winter season but thought I could get through to the spring- boy I was I wrong and should have known better.

It's been slowly getting worse and worse and the last time I ride it after a freezing rain that turned ice cold later exacerbated the situation.

I'm using it as basically a one speed right now, which is fine except when I get into some thick snow or slush and as soon as I push hard the chain is off the front ring!!! GRRRRRRR!

LesterOfPuppets

I slept at work last night. After work tonight, I took a box of 45 T-shirts down to the UPS on my trailer... (not a pic of actual load. it was a smaller box)


Rolled back to work with an empty trailer, then decided to ride my snow bike back home. Dry and cold on the way home tonight. It did quite well on the dry pavement. Snow spikes in the front tire only. I took a sharp right at 20mph and didn't even slide out!

buzzman

nice little round trip commute again today and tonight. Chain still a jumping grinding mess. BUT got home and all the new stuff was there! I'm going to go put it on now!

metalchef87

Rainy, but warm...52 degrees.

beatnik0422

The ride to work today was existential, especially since I got my new panniers. Sometimes when I ride I just get lost in the moment.

buzzman

completely new drive train installed last night! New chain ring, new cassette, new chain and oh does the bike ride sweet.

Snow, slush, ice today. But managed quite nicely.

trombone

I've been sick for a week or so, so no riding. But today I was back at work.

Hot day - 21C (70F) at 8am.

Took it easy as I'm still coughing. Just pootled along on the Peugeot.

Nice to be riding, though.

MIKEnDC

26F/-3C fairly clear with a nice bright moon. Seemed like the motorists were in an awful hurry this morning--a couple of SUVs drag-racing over the bridge left me very thankful that the arterial there is three lanes! That stretch of my ride can easily be the most hair-raising portion of my afternoon ride, but at 5:15-5:30 AM is usually pretty mellow...

kegoguinness

Great commute! When the closest call is with an attractive pedestrian in the Metro parking lot, things are just going to be alright. New jacket tested out today, a North Face Apex bought massively on sale. It's as good as advertised for wind-stopping, and medium weight. Got a little warm today, so will remove layer for the ride home.

MikeinDC, yeah, it was busy on the roads today! What bridge is that you refer to? Sounds scary; glad you are okay.

MIKEnDC

Greenbelt Road/University Blvd where it goes up and over the railroad tracks. The ROW carries the Metro Green Line, as well as MARC, Amtrak and freight traffic. There are a few alternatives to the no-shoulder bridge for me, but they are much less direct and slower.

So long as you don't mind rubbing elbows with traffic that can get up to 50mph or more, it's not really that bad--though it does have its moments...

tarwheel 

Tough week ahead weatherwise. Today was supposed to be the warmest day of the week, and it was about 32F riding to work with high in the upper 40s. Some cold fronts during the week are supposed to bring the coldest weather of winter so far -- low teens -- and probably colder than any we had last year as well. Oh well, it felt riding in to work this morning and moon was still huge in the sky.

sumguy

11F with light wind making it 2F. I get .5mi from home and realize my wallet and keys are still at work. Little piggys were pretty cold by the time I got home but I but I did ~13mi instead of 4.5mi. I think a fresh pair of socks would have been helpful.

jyossarian

Ah, so this is what 4 weeks off my bike feels like. It feels like dragging a boat through mud. Still, felt good to ride.

fletchh

It is still dark at 5:30 in the morning. The temp was about 21 upon leaving. No wind, and a pleasant
ride. Well, at least until I got to the bike rack, pulled my lef foot out of the clipless pedal as always,
slowed down, but my bike started to lean to the right, because of a heavy panier on the back, and
I couldn't get my right foot out in time, so I went down. I must have looked like a fish bucking in the
parking lot. I recovered and was able to get out of the clipless pedal, while laying on my side.

T-Hussy

Lots of snow in Denver, good to see some fellow bikers on the South Platte trail this morning. Nice peacefull ride for the most part.

mikepop

Cold (10F) plus an unexpected pretty snowfall. Managed to squeeze by some traffic. Good ride overall.

HardyWeinberg

~48F, somewhere between muggy and clammy

77midget

Haven't been able to commute yet this year, or for a while in fact, but my new lights come this week, then it is back on the road! It has been below freezing for a while here, but I went for a good ride on Sat and survived. The main concern that I have is the condition of the sides of the road, as we really do not have bike paths per se. We'll see later this week though.