Warm (55°F) and very foggy. One more day of warm weather and then back to winter. Happy trails!

foggy but warm!! feels like spring but the weekend is packing some cold temps

My commute was rough. Literally. Packed snow that had partially thawed yesterday, and re-froze over night. I got lucky for a little while because someone (an electric company truck I think) with a dual rear axle truck had driven on the trail so I had 4 relatively smooth (but narrow) tracks to pick from.

They didn't last the length of my ride though. I averaged around 6MPH. Slow going. I need a full suspension bike. :)

20F degrees.

My ride home tonight will mark mile 1000 exactly 6 months since I started commuting! Not as many miles as I had hoped/anticipated but it’s a milestone none the less.

I took the short cut across the lake last night! It was an experience that I won’t do again… at least this year. The little snow that we have had has blown into hard 6” tall drifts every 10 – 20 feet. It was like driving through a parking lot littered with speed bumps. One of those speed bumps knocked my rear blinky apart and I lost the face plate and 2 rechargeable batteries.

This morning’s commute attracted a lot of attention from co-workers as it is sleeting/raining/snowing. I figured I had better traction and a shorter stopping distance than any of them. I was surprised when I came across another set of bike tracks through the snow. Someone in town evidently bikes to work as well. I’m assuming they have less than a mile to work since they live next to the ½ mile long industrial park… but they are riding!

I took my clipless off and tried toe clips and cross country ski boots in an attempt to keep my feet warmer. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fit my neoprene booties under the clips/straps so I gave up booties for an insulated boot that I can fit 2 pairs of socks in. It ended up being an even swap for warmth and I lost out because the soles of the boots are very slippery on the pedals. I’m going to zip-tie a pair of toesties over the pedal/cage and see if that will help with the warmth aspect.

I love the fog! I saw two Great Blue Herons sleeping in a tree on the Potmac, and about four or five smaller herons also sleeping in a tree. I'll have to look up those smaller herons in my bird book. Nice ride.

-25C (wind chill = -40C) and temps are supposed to drop during the day. The 15K commute in took about 45 mins and I was nice and toasty in all my winter gear. Even my toes were warm in my new over-booties from MEC. This is the exact temp where the performance of gears and brakes starts to fail. Lots of packed snow and ice on the roads and paths, but traction was pretty good. The ride was quite nice actually. The cagers I work with don't understand and are just shaking their heads. Their loss.

Wow. I feel like I have it rough when it is -1c here in portland. You guys are crazy! How long is your commute when it is -23c out?

nate

My commute is about the same distance at -23c as it is in warmer temps :) (sorry, couldn't resist)

My commute is 11.4 to 12.5km (~7 - 8 miles) each way. I'm pathetically slow in these conditions - typically takes me about 45 minutes each way. The temp really isn't a problem - If anything I sometimes get a bit to warm (toes excepted, soon to be fixed)

Very impressive.

Velo girl, probably Green Herons. Did you happen to see them near the Mirant power plant? I tend to see them there frequently. I think they're beautiful birds.

Running late this foggy morning so I took the direct route in. Just last night I said to myself, "Self, I promise not to draft motor vehicles any more."

Well, that pledge lasted about 14 hours. On 21st Street through Midtown I found myself a meter off the bumper of an Excursion doing 29mph. Really, I swear, it was just a slip and I feel terrible about it.

On the other hand, I did make it to work on time.

Incredibly, it is January in St Louis and I had to strip down to a cotton T-shirt this morning, high 50's. Felt great. Supposed to hit high 60's this afternoon! Then 20's again this weekend. Go figure.

Yes, right there near Mirant. I love that part of the ride.

My wife met me on the road near our house on my evening commute. It was raining, and right around 32 degrees.

She said, "Are you okay?"
I said, "Yeah. Why?"
She said, "The road is a sheet of ice."

So I put one boot down and sure enough it was glazed over. I said, "I love studded tires!" :)

Dammit... I'm over in Williston, VT and this was my first winter commute to my new job.

The freezing rain caught me on the way home. I have pretty beefy tires, but they're not studded.

I ended up falling on the ice at a low speed in a housing development as my bike slid out sideways from under me.

"Mom, Dad, could I borrow some money to buy studded bike tires? It's a safety issue!"

39F with light rain at 6AM, by Noon it was clearing up and 41F. Had a nice ride in & didn't see any other bike commuters (unusual). When I was ready to leave for lunch, I discovered my front tire was flat, #1 of 2005. Think I'll keep track this year. Don

its getting downright cold!

its going to be a tough commute in tommorow!



http://www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/fo...ity_e.html?YYC

Rain today ,High in the 60f . But the weatherman said 20f and snow for the weekend . But still a good commute today
. Have a good nite .

4c and clear on my last day here in Copenhagen. i sent my bike back to SF already and dropped off the bike i rented in its place. it's going to be sad to leave. i'm going to miss my commute here, but i know i'll be back.

-33c with an 18km/h headwind, bike paths finally completely cleared! Very few cars on the road. :)
The new boots made a big difference... toes started to get a bit cold by the end of the ride but nothing serious. I only had on 2 pairs of socks, there's room for at least another thick wool pair if needed.

For whatever reason, my goggles performed better than they do at -20c. Maybe the headwind helped vent them better.

Looks like we might snap out of this cold spell by Monday (high of -14c forcast).

Mid 30F temps this morning. The trail has turned to mashed potatoes. Not easy to ride on. The good news is that it's supposed to be in the 50s today, and I'm guessing the trail will clear off, hopefully before my ride home.

Bad headwind but I was going so slowly in the soupy snow that it didn't matter.

Super warm! 9 C, and even a little sunny. Feels like summer to me. I sure didn't need my long underwear. This has to be some kind of record for January.

warm and foggy in DC Too warm for a poly top and wind vest. I'm thinking it's in the low 50's??

what balto charlie said.

warm, rainy, yesterday's fog mostly lifted (it was thick last night, though). supposedly a deep freeze either this afternoon or evening. sigh...

Yesterday on the way home was probably one of my rougher commutes so far. It was about 37F and pouring rain. The streets were pretty flooded in some places (6 inches deep in some spots). I had on running shoes and wool socks. They were full of water within 45 seconds of leaving work. Then my legs got drenched, too. I thought of stopping somewhere and wringing things out or calling someone for a ride, but I decided to just book it home. I made it, nothing froze, and it felt pretty good.

Today was great, a little icy, but nice. Tomorrow it's supposed to be below 0F in the morning.

With 60 degree weather dropping rapidly, predictably we had an actual tornado last night . . . in January . . . geesh, shades of "Day After". Today is a tricky commute day. 40's and rainy turning to 20's by evening, which means ice. Yuck. I started bringing an extra pair of socks and gloves for the ride home because I am totally soaked after 40 min in the rain on the way in. Just too much water out there. This is with neoprene booties and rain gear. Not looking forward to putting on soaked tights and shoes, which will eventually dampen my socks . . . wet in freezing weather . . . not good. I'd rather have it cold and dry.

My reward was a comment from a guy in the locker room as I was rinsing the road grime off my jacket and pants, "Pretty rough weather to ride you bike in" . . . "No, not really . . . " SCOOOOOOOOORE!!!

supposed to be in the 60's here today! This morning it was so foggy I couldn't even see off the bridge. Couldn't see the city, anything. Creepy. As in zombie movie creepy.

3C this morning, with a max of 8C this afternoon... Wet commute, Glad I have fenders, but it's clear I need to make mudflaps now. Some patches of water were 1-2 inches thick, and made a splashy mess on my pants. I know my drivetrain is getting much more water then it's supposed to..

Anyhow, was nice to have no ice for once, so I put the pressure in my tires and brought them to 40PSI (up from 20PSI). WHAT a difference does it make. I miss summer for the fast rides.

I'd take a whole year fo 10C if I could get rid of winter.

37F with a few clouds and no wind when I left at 6AM. There were a few icey patches on the way in and it felt colder as I got closer to work. Checked when I arrived & it was down to 33F. By lunchtime it was only up to 35F and only hit the forecast 41F late this afternoon. Don