Doohickie

^^^ My new computer desktop ^^^

Standalone 

Stash= Cheech & Chong. 'Stache= Magnum P.I.

Just thought I'd check which one you meant. Especially with that spliff in your avatar. Icicles on your stash would be a very cold day indeed.

liverpool pete

really bad cagers today thank god for the air zound horn made the stupid/ignorant woman stop squashing me into the gutter

rdubbz

:-D lol, thanks for the correction, yes my stache! however I may find out about the stash on the way home from work! ;-)

bil4sail

Evane, I am impressed. You inspired me to ride tomorrow.

LeftinFlint

-1 with a -19 windchill, but the sun was shining (a rarity here). It was amazingly nice. I was overdressed. I stopped to pull my balaklava over my face and accidentally fogged my glasses, which promptly froze. I rode without them, and it was fine.

This is my first winter commuting, and I've wanted to see how cold it could get before I was too cold to commute. At first I wondered about 30 degrees. Then 20. Now I'm not sure there is a bottom for mid-Michigan.

envane

Just be careful. I'm in the city proper which has clear roads and some shelter from the wind but I dunno how it is out there in the burbs. I'm not riding tommorrow because my gloves are not adequate for these temperatures. I might have even gotten some mild frostbite on the tips of my fingers on the ride home. But other than that, it was pretty enjoyable.

downtube42

Coldest commute ever for me - around 0F plus/minus a couple. My glasses frosted over - found I could temporarily defrost them by directing my exhale stream up. Nice mini-adventure to start my day.

CjBad

I have to give it to you guys who commuted in this weather today. It was -10 all day today here in Chicago and thankfully, I didn't have to go anywhere. I instead cleaned my bike Later on in the evening when it was -7, I went to the grocery store less than a mile away. I was bundled up and comfortable but I can only imagine riding several miles in that. I start my new job in a week and a half so I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow either. I'll probably have to run some errand, we'll see.

JoeyBike

Good God!

You Yanks are a hardy breed. I love reading this thread in January. True inspiration for when I look out of my window at rain and +40 and wonder if I am sure I want to ride.

We are due for two sub freezing mornings in a row (+29-30) in New Orleans which is rare. I have the week off, so I will just come here and read about riding in cold.

ROCK ON YANKS! Put me to shame.

buzzman

c-c-c-c-c-c-c-o-o-o-o-o-l-l-l-l-d-d-d-d-d-d-

so cold the plastic holder for my pump snapped right off when I bumped it parking my bike- I couldn't believe it!

-2〫F...

MIKEnDC

12F/-11C which is fairly cold for these parts. That 15-20mph headwind was certainly no bargain, though. I'm not much on calculating wind-chill, so I will invoke that old expression, "You do the math."

And surprisingly, my fingers weren't suing me for divorce (although they were wimpering for their mommies...).

mjw16

Set a personal record this morning, 11F/-8F, my previous coldest commute was in the 12F/-1 range. I was wrapped up in 6 layers, balaclava/skullcap, wool socks, gloves and, glasses. The headwind wasn't pleasant but, the real problem was trying to get my legs to loosen up-I couldn't get up to speed like I wanted. Also, had to take my glasses off, my breath was routed up, through the eye slits in the balaclava and get fogging them up. Saw 2 joggers and 0 cyclists. Hopefully we'll gain a few degrees through the day. The wind chill advisory will be lifted at noon. Can't wait to get home and start our 4 day weekend.

kegoguinness

HAHA! Too funny. Commute today was my coldest ever (okay, that's 3 months of commuting, but hey...). 10f / -12c. Didn't mind it one bit. Toes were a little cold. I had ZERO energy today, so I biked slow, and the Metro was slow due to a bad train car somewhere down the line. Added up to probably about 1:15 commute time. Oh well, still awesome to be riding.

For the locals, 355 sucks. I think I am heading back to the sidewalk for my 5-block portion of this hellway. Got passed within a foot several times. Now that the holidays are over, the real grinches come out

TimothyF

COLDEST COMMUTE EVER!!

For me, anyway. 19F here in Montgomery, Alabama. Our coldest night of the year. My 6 mile ride was a little slower than usual, and I could not get my balaclava to cooperate with my cycling glasses. But I did it.

Still working on the right balance of clothing. I wore a performance top, a polo/pro top, and a cannondale jacket. The jacket was pretty wet.

I had some winter tights and Nashbar's Cargo/commuter/knickers pants over that. The cargo pants are awesome --very wind resistant.

dclaryjr

Abort! Abort!

Today was supposed to be the maiden voyage of my new bike (Jamis Commuter 3.0). I prepared last night by charging up the batteries for the lights, pumping up the tires (hadn't used a presta adapter in decades), figured out I could hang my trunk bag on the side so I could use the seat post for a tail light, and laid out my clothes. I rolled the bike out the front door and after I closed it, I realized I had forgotten my keys. So I pulled out the cell phone and woke up my granddaugter to let me back in. Then as I was rolling the bike down the walkway towards the street, I could feel something rubbing. I brought it back inside to do some troubleshooting and found that the front fender was rubbing the tire. I had to loosen the brake nut and reposition the fender, and then readjust the front brake. By the time that was done, there was not enough time for me ride and get to work on time. So it looks like the initial commute will have to wait until next Tuesday. The silver lining? I get the weekend to work on my tailbox construction, and I avoided a 22 mph headwind this morning! Of course, that sounds pitiful after reading about folks braving single-digit temps. I second Joey's props for you hearty souls!

vtjim

Didn't ride today. Too warm. It was -8F at our house. I was going to ride if it was -10 or below, because my current record is -12. The MUP just isn't in a condition to make it worth riding unless I could break that cold record.

I did my 2.5 mile hike to the bus. 40 minutes after I got to work, I opened the can of Monster I carried with me on my hike, and there were ice crystals in it. I don't know why, but I love the cold.

dwilbur3

This was my first 5 day bike commute week. I must be getting in shape, it was faster and easier than any of my previous weeks. If I take the long way home it will be my longest week so far too.

I've already commuted half as many miles as I commuted last year!

ItsJustMe

Decent ride in this morning. The thermometer on the house read -15.9 when I left. The thermometer on the bike comp (PB Protege 9) is supposed to read to -20*F, but it just said "--". I suspect that means "you gotta be kidding."

I was totally fine, it was a nice ride, but I need to get a decent face mask, probably a neoprene one. I got some very mild frostbite on one cheek; it's puffy and red, but I still have feeling in it. Everything that I was able to actually cover was fine.

timothyday

15 degrees and breezy in Philadelphia this morning. I was warm in long underwear and tights. my eyebrows were horribly cold in the wind though. Never had that happen before. Tomorrow I'll rock the karate kid headband.

apricissimus 

This surprises me. When my glasses fog up, it's the moisture from my breath that does it. This is exacerbated when I wear a face mask since it tends to direct my breath under my face and right up to my glasses.

The worst is when the fog freezes on the lens. Then the wind won't blow it away. All the more reason to avoid stopping except when you absolutely must!

Doohickie

Congratulations are in order! A 5-day commute week is a rite of passage in my book. I haven't done it lately myself. The first week or so after the holiday break was hectic and I drove much more than rode. Starting Wednesday, though, I decided to ride (even though I had off-site meetings) and got away with it. I have intentions of riding every day for the next month but I have no earthly idea if I'll follow through or not. But it would be neat to celebrate the first anniversary of my first bicycle commute (Feb 11) with a solid month of no car for work.

As for this morning.... 22F; balmy for you upper-midwesterners but people around here think I'm absolutely nuts for riding in weather like this. It was calm this morning so frankly it was no big deal. It was the maiden voyage with the balaclava I got for Christmas. I learned that every time I stop I have to pull it down under my mouth so I don't steam up my glasses. Luckily at 22F you don't really need full skin coverage.

Itsjustb

I was going to post about my 15F ride but made the mistake of reading about everyone else's (except you Aussies) first. I will now slink away in shame.

dwilbur3

Thanks for the encouragement.

I'd have to say it's a lot easier doing 5 days a week here in Northern California than the frozen zones so many of you are riding in. Mornings are only 30-40F and afternoons are very pleasant. My hat's off to those conquering the elements!

Doohickie

Yeah, same here... Texas is not exactly the Great White North. I think 22 is the coldest morning I've seen in a year.