Clear, calm, and ccccccold! (At least for NorCal: 32F/0C).

Wow! Caloso we had the same temperature, but we also had a little sleet to sting our eyes, and a lovely grey wash to the whole visible world.

ice,ice baby..-7? @ 3 am. in Victoria- A temperate rain forest-covered in snow-wild.

This morning's ride was a character builder, no coasting allowed!!! (woulda been going backwardsif I stopped pedalling) -2 C, with a 40 kph (25 mph) NE wind (head wind first half of ride, cross wind for the second half) for a -11 C windchill. Got about 3" of snow overnight, so it was slushy and salty, but not too slippery. I think I set a new record for the longest trip yet - 39 minutes for the 12 kilometres (did it in less than 22 in the summer)
The ride home was a little quicker, wind had switched around to WNW, so it wasn't as much of a push as I would have liked.
First trip with new Axiom 40 L panniers on the bike - had the rain covers on to keep the salt off - they're great so far.

Just thought I would report in: haven't been commuting for a while since we went down to Salem, OR to visit my son & grandchildren weekend after Christmas, they got 6-16inches of snow & my car mysteriously died. turned out to be failure of several electronic sensors & systems. Left my car there & got a rental to get back to Olympia, WA. Went back down New Years Day & got caught in another snowstorm, the 2 1/2 hour trip turned into a 5 hour ordeal as traffic was really snarled up. Very wet, slippery snow. We got to see a Toyota Sequoia SUV with chains on all 4 wheels cartwheel down hill (a first for me). Finally got to Salem, paid the bill & picked up my now purring car & headed back home. Since my wife no longer feels the car is trustworthy for trips, I had to do the new car shopping trick. Took 2 days to find something which satisfied us both. I get to keep the BMW, just can't travel in it any more. This morning the weather service had forecast 1f (that's right, 1 degree), so I was pleased it only got down to 21F. Much to cold & icy for my old bones so I drove again. Forecast is for more snow tonight then gradual return to rain so I hope to be back on a bike by Wednesday as all this driving is gettin to me. Don

I have just noticed that if I head out 10 mins earlier than usual thechance of being killed is slightly less than a junior officer in WWI :). Well the idiots are back behind the wheel after a nie break from them over the New Year its a tad depresing to have to deal with them again.
Nice and clear in Tokyo with no wind to speak of. I just came back from the gym and its a crying shame to have to be kooked up in the office :(

My upgrade to road components on my MTB are just starting to skip a few so I guess a trip to the LBS is in order to get them set up again now that the cables have settled in.

back in the saddle today after a two week break - felt great - lovely crisp clear day - will bike again tomorrow and then off to Miami for a few days

did 2,300 miles in 03 so my goal for 04 is 3,000

Just thought I would pipe in. Have been commuting continuously through the holidays, just haven't been on the computer as much. Mornings are getting down in the 20's here. I know that is not cold for most of you but here in the desert that is bone chilling cold! Think I am going to go shopping for a neoprene mask if we get too many more mornings like this. It is amazing how much fitness can be maintained just by commuting. Managed to have my first commute averaging 20 MPH last week. It was the last day of the year and it put a bright finish on the year of commuting (not much wind either!). Anyway, just wanted to sign in and say I was still at it!

Snow Day!
Snowing here at Noon (PST) couple of inches on the ground and very slippery. Based on my biking experience last night (see below) I decided to drive in. Went about a mile and decided that wasn't safe so I went back. Got a mail about an hour later from the Boss advising us to stay home! Sweet! I'm going to at least take a walk in the snow, or maybe drag out my old MTB for some ice biking Remember anything can happen on a snow day.

So last night in temps in the low 20s (F) I had to ride the alternate way home, due to the trail closure, and it was no fun :( The cold and dark was the main problem. I had ridden the route before (in much heavier traffic) but doing it at night made it more difficult and the cold made it extra stressful. There were several points where the entire shoulder was covered in a sheet of ice! (like someone had hosed down their driveway during the day) Being in that precarious situation with 40mph traffic was unpleasant. Also my lights were insufficient for unfamiliar terrain (though perfectly fine for the trail) The temps are supposed to rise and days of rain will end the ice but I don't think I'll be taking the alternate route in these conditions.

[QUOTE=Kodama]Snow Day!
So last night in temps in the low 20s (F) I had to ride the alternate way home, due to the trail closure, and it was no fun :( The cold and dark was the main problem. I had ridden the route before (in much heavier traffic) but doing it at night made it more difficult and the cold made it extra stressful. QUOTE]

Not really bothered by the snow but I would kill for temps in the 20's. It is getting down to -1F (-21 windchill) at night just now. I will ride in almost anything but that is just too damn cold.

..not to take anything away from your experience. That did sound stressful. Chalk it up to a bitter midwesterner facing 2 more months of crummy weather and on off commuting :( .

I hear ya, while we don't have the California/Flordia/etc endless summer ;) I love that in PNW one can ride year round. I like the fact that the seasons change and I like the rain. Snow and cold like this seems to only occur in non el Nino/la Nina years and doesn't last long. I haven't had much trouble riding in sub Freezing weather, as I have adequate gear and such. The problem I was alluding to really was the ice caused by the cold. The combination of the busy road and ice was where the stress came from. No ice and busy roads is fine, ice and the familiar trail is fine. Just the ice and dark and the traffic -no fun.

I sure have a lot of respect for you mid West riders, months and months of extreme weather, it must be almost enough to drive one to a trainer. Almost. ;)

Ice is scary stuff especially black ice covered with a thin layer of snow. I went down last year during my commute, I was on the ground before I knew what happened. I been in the situation your described, cold weather, darkness, lamp fading on a partially cleared street you don''t know well enough with drivers who are nervous and don't see you. They don't use ice on the roads out there do they? They do here, hell on the environment, cars and bikes but it clears the streets. To bad the alternative proucts are so expensive, of course if they were used more they would be cheaper.

It is almost enough to drive one to a trainer, almost but not enough. I don't own a trainer, every winter I consider getting one but always decide I prefer riding outside in the cold more. I commute into the high teens and ride my mtb off road when the streets are a mess. Riding in the snow, what fun.
My wife and I are considering relocating to PNW (Portland, OR) this year. What is the riding like in general out yonder. Will I need fenders on my roadie?
Keep on trucking.

Portland is a great city, bike friendly good size etc. Many Portland members here on this site will give you more insight. A little too much indie attitude perhaps, but Seattle has its share of that as well. As for fenders, I'd say yes, if you are going ride in Spring, fall or winter. I commuted for years without them and once I added them, I no longer skipped the rainy days. Essential in my mind. However as much as it rains here, it is often drizzle, and the summer often brings 3 months of little rain.

Anyway I'm off to do a little snow riding myself :D

You are right no commuter bike is finished without a good set of fenders. I have them on my SS/commuter, I just find it hard to think about putting them on my road bike... ...uggh... ...I must adapt to the new surroundings, if that means more fenders, so be it. Admitting that you have a problem is the first step...

Good rides today, It feels great to be getting rides in every day after the break for the holidays.

I had a nasty moment last night though. Whilst negotiating the level (railroad) crossing, which is on a tight bend, the front wheel slipped on the wet rails. For a split second it felt as if the bike was about to slide out from under me to the right, then it regained grip, dug in, over compensated and nearly did the same to the left. All quicker than you could say..... well you might imagine what I said!

Take it easy out there on these winter roads.

Cheers,

Ed

When conditions are favorable for experiencing what you folks up past the Arctic Circle (Mason-Dixon line) deal with in winter, such as was the case this morning, it's incumbent upon me to hunker down and do it. Temps were about 19 F , chill factor about 10 F. In characteristically true form, I underdressed.

My first sensation was a predictable brain-freeze on descent. Nothing new here, except that that was followed by ear-freeze, cheek freeze and leg freeze.
Still not a problem, since I knew it was only temporary. Again predictably, my first good climb drove all the freeze away. Now I was feeling good.

But my next descent sent me right back into freezer-burn. No problem, I thought, my next climb will set me right. Sure enough, it did. But I soon realized that the numbness accumulating in my ears, face, forearms and toes would be more difficult to get rid of than my mother-in-law (just kidding, Angela! :D ) Finally, I accepted the fact that my best friend on this ride was not going to be the heat I generated, because that wasn't getting to my outer appendiges, but my best friends and companions became my mind's ability to wander and my body's ability to numb itself.

Next time, I'll wear a tad more. Great ride, though!

:beer:

Congratulations, welcome to the "club".

cold one today - 20 degrees and windy - days like this you get the disbelieving glances from people at work

My first sub-20 F (-7 C) ride of the winter. Had a pleasant chat with a motorcycle cop while we were both stopped at the light. Beautiful morning, great ride, and it was particularly nice to hear the studs go silent again as I rode across the ice.

Paul

The last 500m of my commute is on the sidewalk running on the outside of Capitol Park. It's a designated bike path, so no comments to get off the sidewalk! Anyway, it's a nice cool down coasting up to the bike cage.

This morning I was rolling up behind two young women and not wanting to startle them, I said "On your left!"

Which way did they look? To the right of course. So as I went by I said, "Your other left."

Now, to be fair, they might have been part of the new Schwarzennegger administration. Anybody know how to say "on your left" in German?

Hmmm, I don't know the proper short term in German biking lingo, but you could say: Achtung (or Vorsicht), ich ueberhole links... [Attention (or Careful), I'm passing on your left] ;) Good luck.

This morning's ride was not the best - It is pouring rain out there and blowing a gale. I rode with all my lights on because visibility was so poor. The road was so awash with water in places that I was dreading "that" hidden pothole...

Still, that which doesn't kill you etc.

Cheers,

Ed

It warmed up to 26 this morning, calm, no wind. Quite nice, but I still got brain-freeze on my first couple of descents. My homemade geek-light and I are still very much in love...my three-way switch can flash my lights alternating from left, right, then both together with a spin of my fingertips (this helps when approaching intersections,) and the beamage is satisfying.

:love:

26??? 'Dems shorts weather... It was warming this morning than yesterday but that makes it about 19°F today whereas yesterday was about 17°F. Tomorrow it's supposed to get even colder here in NJ!

I think I caused a stampede on the way home yesterday... I ran into a pack of about 15(!) deer behind a farm and nursury not far from my office and they went corraling down the trail and eventually into the woods, but I felt like yelling "Yeehaaaaww" and "ride 'em cowboy".... Weird, cause normally I only see a family of 4/5 but this was insane. Just hope they stay off the main road...

Jay

After nearly a week of rain and cold I was able to hook up with my weather-weenie training partner to get in our standard workout ride before work. What a beautiful morning.

I finally found what it takes to make my PI Amfib lobsters warm enough to wear at 10F/-12C. Rather than my Outlast liner gloves I wore some gardening gloves made of knit supplex and having a long forearm coverage www.foxglovesgardengloves.com . These made a tremendous difference, making the PI's actually useful. I actually had to get off my bike to wait for the 7 turkeys to slowly cross the road this morning. Watching the moon rise through the woods this evening was spectacular. At first it looked like a bonfire on the horizon, then it seemed to leap upward to show the full orb.

The priceless things are free, the only requirement is that we show up, with respect.

Back at it after two days off. The first being the snow day, which I did do some rec riding in, yesterday being so slushy, rainy, etc. that I just didn't think it would be safe. Especially on the detour route- I probably would have ridden the trail. Anyway drizzling today and the temps in the upper 30s (f) seemed warm. The road shoulders are now covered with even more sand and there is still some slush and a lot of water around. It does feel like the worst is over, even though it is still early Jan. The next week is predicated as in the 40s(f) and raining. No problem that :D

A little sleet on the way home but it was a relatively balmy 37F. After having to commute via car for two weeks I was quickly reminded how fast your body can lose it.