tchazzard

Rode yesterday with lots of 'snow fog' in the morning and rain on the way home. Despite all this, it is nice to see all the holiday lights. Life is good.

Zin

Nice ride this morning. A little more cloud cover than yesterday which made for a rather gray atmosphere. The temperature was 17F/-8C. Winds were light at 15MPH/27KMH. The forcast all the way through Christmas is calling for continued dry and above normal temps. The drought continues!

PaulH

Took advantage of some large, frozen areas to explore the response of my Nokian W106 on the front tire. Found that I could slide the rear wheel out about 30 degrees and easily recover. It really is amazing how much the studs have expanded my envelope. Fun!

Paul

caloso

A fox crossed in front of me on the American River bike trail this morning. That's never happened before.

Kodama

Beautiful sunny day today, and not super cold either which is kinda weird for clear days this time of year. Anyway I took the detour route to avoid the closed section of the trail which added a mere mile to my commute. However it was a nicely hilly mile, especially compared to the trails near absolute flatness. Pretty fun actually, warm in the sun and with the extra effort with the pure blue skies it almost felt like summer.

cyclezealot

Since It was business related, guess yesterday's ride was considered a commute. My day off. I took bike and self on bus to my Phy.Therapists appointment..Afterwards was to ride the 25 miles from Vista to Solana Beach for Christmas shopping..Coming back my panniers were full...Still few more gifts to get for Christmas. About half done.
Beautiful ride. Sunny, Pacific coast was about 65 degrees F., not a trace of fog. Fair amount of cylcists out. All needed was arm warmers.
But the story begins when I got back to Carlsbad about 2 PM. Felt a long enough ride. Better take bus back to home.
First bus at transit center was late. Bus bike carrier had no space for extra bike. Took slower second bus to where I was to change buses. Got there. That bus had no extra space for bikes. Waited.one hour. Next bus same.Too many bikes upon arrival at my transit center to get last bus home.
Now almost 5 PM.
Well, I had enough of that. Rode home with a small, dim light. Opti Cube Cateye. In rough spots I walked since I was worried about makeup of bike lane. About 14 miles.
I did have a rear flashers on back bike, along with reflective ankle braclets.... Tried calling home to come and get retrieved. No answer.. A cyclist friend, I called was not home. Did get sworn at on way home along with a plastic cup thrown at me. It was very cold. Only had a light weight jacket in panniers along with arm warmers.
I have always been supportive of public transit..Each time I saw a public bus, I had a need to swear at it... One bus that passed me on way to Fallbrook had space for passengers but no bike space. Once a public bus let me board a bus with bike on(since he had empty seats) as long as I took my front wheel off, and place it between seats. No such luck.
So wonder if Santa has such an aggravating time, with his bags full on the sleigh. Today I have a sore throat. Such is life. Will get over it. Merry Christmas..My gift giving for my wife is about half done.. She wanted some stuff from a Provencal speciality store 25 miles away..
If had to drive a car to that location- just, that I rarely drive in that direction... It is my intention to do as much Christmas gift buying on a bike, same as last year.
Maybe we should all be more prepared and carry extra accessories in case of events such as this. Heavier jacket and better lights, I might have enjoyed it and gave a thumbs down to the bus driver, instead of a steady load of cursing. This bus could have accomdated a bike in the hadicap area, instead of making me wait out in the cold a whole hour.
ps- Moral of the story,Had I just rode back from Carlsbad mall, about 22 miles, I would have made it , probably just about dark and saved over two hours and had far less time in the dark.. Can't predict the future. Gets dark about 5 pm.

ollo_ollo

It was clear & 28F in Olympia this morning with frost on everything & a skim of ice on the lake. I had to drive in so I could attend an office holiday dinner in the afternoon. To bad as it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, I think it hit 50F.
Don

Ed Holland

More foggy weather today, and kind of a slow ride in, or so I thought - last night was the works christmas party... However, looking at the computer I had managed 10.5 miles at 17.4 mph average. Not bad for the time of year!

Cheers,

Ed

franklen

The last two days I have had some bike issues during the commute. Day one, my seat post bolt snaps and I lose the bottom bracket to it as it falls through the grated pedestrian bridge I ride over the Susquehanna River. Day two, my left pedal arm (with pedal) falls off as I am pedaling an uphill, I felt a wobble just a little late. That one may have been my fault for not doing a routine check recently.

Caloso, I have come across a big red fox twice in my riding, along a utility road that runs behing the Harrisburg Area Community College. The road is actually part of the city's Greenbelt (or as much of a belt as there is at this time), so its nice to see the green doing some good habitat wise.

mtessmer

Ahhh, yet another great winter ride in this morning, 17F/-8C, clear skies, I saw a beautiful sunrise (we haven't seen the sun much this month, which is normal), the snow glisened (I feel a song coming on), the crunch/sqeek of the snow... it was like a sleigh ride only without the bells.

caloso

Had to take the car into the dealer this morning. The service guy said, "And will you be needing to take our complimentary shuttle into downtown?"

"No thanks, got my own ride." And pointed to my bike on the rack with a big smile.

caloso

Oh, and I should mention that on the ride back out to the dealer, I should roll over 5000 miles for 2003, with a week and a half to spare!

ET_SoCal

Wow cyclezealot, quite a story; I keyed on your words:
"Sunny, Pacific coast was about 65 degrees"
"get sworn at on way home along with a plastic cup thrown at me"
"wonder if Santa has such an aggravating time"

Bummer mechanical for you franklen...

I too had a great sunrise this morning mtessmer.
But it was a warm 49 degrees, you crazy mid-western winter rider.

Caloso, don't you love saying that to people !
I too have often brought the bike in the back returning rentals & dropping off vehicles.

Gotta love riding.

cyclezealot

ET; the moral of my Christmas shopping mission: Always appreciate the reliability of the bike over other forms of transportation...2- Be preparred for the unusual.. By the time I waited about for bus connections, I could have almost have been home. At about the time of sunset. Maybe a few minutes after instead of almost two hours.... Just have never had this problem with the bus bike rack and now I have learned a lesson, I hope..
Guess traffic is worse with Christmas shopping and all...
If only I had a scarf for my neck, I would have fared a lot better... Well, tonight I had to call in sick and missed my Thursday group ride...Yesterday was like mid 70's...I stayed home nursing a sore throat...
If you are not lite up like a Christmas tree on a night ride expect the worst from motorists..Well, that made for like 4 night rides all year...... Still, had I not done part of my Christmas shopping on the bike; I would have broken my self imposed tradition..Hate traffic and parking hassles at the malls..
Yes, the Pacific was somewhat cool, but it still sparkled in the 60 degree plus sun....But, then I prefer temperatures somewhat cooler...

Kodama

Sweet day today. Partially sunny, but more partially than sunny if you know what I mean. Anyway the sun glowed weakly through the fairly thin clouds and backlit Mt. Rainer in a spectacular fashion. Rainer is real fluffy with snow, with clouds and fog rolling off it, it looked just fantastic. I took the detour route again as I wasn't sure if the trail was subject to closures again. Plus I wanted the extra hills and mile as today will be the last riding for a week since I am going to my parents in Arizona for the holidays.

ollo_ollo

Friday morning & Noon was dry & good riding, unfortunately a heavy rain began about 3:30PM when I left for home. 43F, rain but no wind is not to bad though.

Kodama: shame on you if you go to Arizona & don't ride! The last time I was in Tucson, visiting my inlaws, I bought a new condition Schwinn World Tourist from one of their neighbors. Try to borrow a bike from a relative or check out the bulletin boards & garage sales in the retirement communities, you may find something cheap enough to ride around & then give away before you leave!
Don

ollo_ollo

Cyclezealot: In the 50s-70s several of my relatives raised avocados & citrus there. Many happy memories visiting there. It was a beautiful area but mostly 2 lane country roads with little or no shoulder. Must be much more populated & developed now if there is a transit system? Don

cyclezealot

Ollo...Fallbrook still raises avocados..Think this immediate area raises something like 20% of the US crop.Other products are citrus and macadamian nuts. The main roads coming into Fallbrook are still two lane, but we have fairly wide bike paths, on both the east and south roads into town.
It is still unincorporated, but for how long? Have lived here like 11 years. In that time, the town has gained like 10.000 people....Don't realize it, because town is so spread out with 3 acre parcels being the norm- once you get away from the city center. Tract housing is more common close to the town center. I would say the area is being ruined and being unincorporated we have no control over growth.
Traffic can be awful entering town. Riverside county to the north is growing exponentially.Temecula in particular has been at times America's fastest growing city..The valley that runs between Temecula to the Hemet area is said to possibly contain 1,000.000 people by 2025. Then congestion is moving in from the south..Fallbrook has no chance. But it still is and has been beautiful...Great biking. Particular you head east into the hills between Fallbrook and Valley Center..
Ollo..Take it you never did any biking here...?

Kodama

I hear ya man, I had planned to investigate the state of my dads old 15 speed steel Univega while I was there(I've become a big fan of lugged steel recently and wanted to check it out). I enquired with my Mom and she informed me that they rid themselves of all the old bikes I will try to see what I can find, but it's always so crazy this time of year. Also they live in Casa Grande (about 1.5 hours by car from Tuscon) which is almost totality flat. With a MTB there is some fun desert riding by the road riding is pretty easy.

BTW I lived in Olympia for a good ten years, I went to Evergreen and then stayed in Oly for a few more years. I really loved the town and area and miss it now that I live in the "greater" Seattle area. Good to hear your reports from there.

Ed Holland

Cold north wind on the ride today, and there were patches of ice on the road. It felt like riding in the Arctic, although it can't even be close!

This is my last commute day until after the festivities, so here's wishing you all seasons greetings

Cheers,

Ed

billwatson58

Unlike yesterday when I found some ice on a corner and went down, today the streets were just a bit wet and temps in Chicago were around 40 - downright balmy for Dec. 22nd. So the warm temps and a tailwind made for a most enjoyable commute this morning. Looking forward to fighting the wind on the way home tonight.

Safe and happy holidays to everyone.

mtessmer

I had another great ride in this morning, it's been pretty "balmy" here also (for Dec 22). It was 31F/0C this morning and we might see 40F/4C! We still have snow cover but it is melting, but we'll have a white Christmas... hmmm, feel a song coming on? I'm working today and tomorrow and then I'm off until January 5th. I'm hoping to do some riding when I'm off. I wish everyone a happy holidays!

PaulH

Balmy here in DC. Temperatures were already at 35 F / 2 C as i rode in, and are set to go higher -- up to 50 F. I didn't wear my gloves and felt fine after a few miles. Made great time -- my fastest trip in weeks. I'm looking forward to coming home to my Christmas lights tonight. Alas, the hoped-for snow will not materialize.

Paul

Zin

Hi all. No commute to work today as I am off until after the 1st of the year. However, I did ride up to get my blood work done this morning at the clinic. Temp was around 22F/-5.5C. No wind! I'll be riding back up to the clinic for my doctor appointment this afternoon. Forcast is calling for wind and 49F/9.4C. Should be a nice afternoon. Happy Holidays!

Bryan T

Nashville, TN here...
Was able to omit a couple of the warmth items this morning,
thanks to a front from the south.

However, SW wind 15-20 mph...
going home will be like pedaling through molasses