Ride in was slightly snowy. Roads were wet, but not icy. Quite windy, and a bit cold without the scarf I foolishly left at home. A little under 40 degrees outside, gray and cloudy, but really lovely once I got going. Traffic was obliging. What a great day for a ride...

Last night as I was putting the commuter up on the rack I noticed a broken spoke on the rear wheel. The wheel had stayed pretty true, so I didn't notice any rubbing and there wasn't any creaking from the rim. And then I noticed a second broken spoke, right next to it. And then a third!

It's rare that I break spokes at all. To break three in a single day is off the chart. Now that I think about it, there's a lot of debris in the streets including lots of sticks and branches. I wonder if one of them flipped into my rear wheel and popped those three.

So this morning I had to ride the "A" bike. Boo hoo for me.

First commute on my new Dahon Matrix folding bike. I've been traveling on business for the last couple of weeks, and I couldn't wait to get back on the bike, so the rain didn't bother me. Very foggy. Rode alongside of our esteemed (or something) Vice-President and his very long motorcade. I had jumped up on the sidewalk so as not go get underfoot. He usually takes a helicopter, but I guess the fog was too dense.

Really like the Matrix. It does not feel like a folder, but like a regular mountain bike. I'm not used to the suspension fork, but I'll either warm up to it or replace it. The best part about it will be on my way home, when I take it on the Metro, folded, during peak hours. Whoo-hoo!

It was downright hot by the end of the ride this morning. I probably won't need my knee warmers when heading down to the beach tonight.

For the first time, I was complimented on visibility. She rolled down the passenger side window and I thought for sure I was going to get an earful. It was so nice to hear what she had to say. "You are marked really well, I can see you from a long ways away." I figure it is all good so long as it is not a target on my back. I thanked her and kept on truckin. It was -14C and most roads were cleared after yesterdays snow.

I had to drive this morning as a friend at works is borrowing my old minivan for the weekend. During the drive in I noticed something -- there are more bike commuters right now than I saw all summer. I saw at least 6 people on the drive in. How odd!!! I wouldn't think people would start bike commuting NOW!

Last night's commute home was fantastic. I worked on my bike Wednesday night and it was working very smoothly. It was also my first totally dry ride all week.

The last couple of days have sucked here in Maryland. Not too cold, but very rainy. I'd much rather have snow. There seemed to be a lot of impatient truckers on Route 1 this morning who didn't mind getting dangerously close to me and spraying mud all over me. Yech.

It has been a long wet week for commuting in Chicago. Not necessarily rainy every day, but water on the ground and in the sky. Lots of mist. I kind of like riding in wet conditions; I like the sound my wheels make.

I wasn't planning on riding today, though, because my rain-gear set is not yet complete and I was promised rain, rain, rain by weather.com. Showered last night, set my alarm for half an hour later than usual, laid out work clothes, the whole routine. Then when the alarm went off and I looked out the front windows, we were having a perfectly lovely morning, sunshine and light fire-opal clouds high above, backlit by the sun. Very little rain, and chilly, but not cold.

So, I threw on my bike gear, stuffed the work clothes into my pannier, and rode to work really fast. :) It was a great ride; the lake was still as glass and the sky was absolutely beautiful. Looking over my shoulder, I could see the 80% chance of precipitation looming at the skyline: grim. I put on the speed because at my usual pace I'd be very, very late; I could feel the burn, but not so much it hurt. Actually made it to the bike station about the same time I usually do, showered pretty quick and made it in just before 9am - perfect. Ten minutes after I got there, the dark clouds screeched to a halt and parked themselves over downtown, where they have been pouring mist and drizzle and rain ever since.

In other news, though I had to wait about a month and a half longer than I expected to get my return label, once I shipped my lock off, Kryptonite got me my new one really, really fast. I shipped it off Monday afternoon and had my new lock in hand on Thursday. Very cool.

It rained again overnight & it was 49F with a few showers for my commute in. Unusually humid & I dressed to to warm so was getting quite damp during the commute. I rode my Motobecane touring bike & enjoyed the change. Mr Moto got me to work in good time but I had to peel off my sweater & flannel shirt for a while to cool down. The rain started again just before lunch & I had to put on my full rain suit. That's twice this week. Supposed to be going into a clearing period tomorrow, good time to clean & lube a few bikes. Don

Cold this afternoon when I rode in. Enough so that I wore new wind pants. Had to stop halfway to work and take off the nylon rain jacket I had on, just too hot along with the poly shirts I was wearing. Same deal on the way home tonight. I'll wait 'til it's in the mid 20's before I try the long pants again.

My first snow commute! Not scary at all. The rail trail is un-plowed but the snow was only an inch or less deep, with a lot of clear/wet areas, and it was above freezing. MTB with knobby tires worked fine. I have studded tires in the mail.

I saw one fresh MTB track enter the trail about halfway through my commute, so I wasn't the only one this morning! :)

Right now it's raining and snowing. Should make for an interesting ride home.

Good Commute this am. I felt a little sluggish and realized I didn't drink enough H20 before starting out. It was -14C and road conditions were terrible. It went from raining and +5C to snowing and -5C within a few hours on Saturday. With all the melting and rain the roads were a skating rink on Sunday and still today. I do feel safer on my bike then I do driving my car. I guess I feel more in control however unjustified that may be.

Have a good one!

Wow, -14C, now that's some winter biking.

It was around 2C and grey, but dry here this morning. Not a bad ride considering the gloomy weather.
I got a new frame (Kinesis alloy frame, carbon fork) at the weekend to replace the failure of my no.2 road bike and have had a fun time bike building. Unfortunately, it was not possible to get it ready to ride as I'm awaiting a headset and front derailleur that the bike shop did not have in stock. This, of course is a real frustration - having a new bike almost ready to ride :).

Cheers,

Ed

First commute since just before Thanksgiving. I've been sick with a nasty chest cold. Still not 100% over it, but feel good enough to ride in the cold weather again.

The commute this morning was cold. 8F/-13C. I think the chain on the bike was not liking the cold much as I think I had some sticky links. Its the only explanation for what was happening. Supposed to be mid-40s by the afternoon. We will see if the problem goes away along with the bitter cold.

It's good to be back!

Commute this morning was cold. Coldest yet for me this year. I think 25f plus 25mph winds. Roads were wet, and I feared patches of ice would jump out and slam me, but did not come across any. I've decided that below 25f I shall always wear the windpants I bought from campmor (anything over that and they get too hot). Today just wore some fleece tights and silk long underwear and they boys about fell off. The ride against the wind was tough, but not as bad as last week.

It's been snowing for the last hour or so, but the weatherpeople have thrown their sticks and bones; and they say it will stop soon. Wind at my back on the way home...

Ack. It was one of those Monday mornings: couldn't find my keys, so I can't open the bike cage, so I have to lock my bike up on the public rack. I wouldn't care if it was my everyday commuter but it's having its rear wheel rebuilt (see Thursday's post about breaking 3 spokes), and I rode my good bike in today. It'll probably be an unproductive day as I go out and check up on it every 15 minutes.

My commute was awesome today. I felt like my bike had it's own engine. Fast high steady winds blew me all the way to my office door. I just hope it calms down for the return trip...

15F with 30mph gusts - fun stuff. If only there had of been snow and ice :(

The headwinds this morning were something crazy... there's a hill that I go down where I can normally coast in a fully upright position to about 26 mph, but today I maxed out at 19-20. It was actually quite relaxing, felt like I was being gently pushed down the hill rather than careening along it.

I hope I don't have the same wind on the way home :D

You know, the absence of snow this year is concerning. If winter stays dry like it has been this fall, next summer we will have terrible wild fires again.

I find it especially interesting that the Twin Cities are still bare and dry.

40F and no weather to speak of. I saw a shooting star, going my way.

inbacon bring reminds me of some interesting info that I'd like to share. Keep your eyes open for meteors on your after dark commuting times. Here more info:


Space Weather News for December 11, 2004
http://spaceweather.com

GEMINID METEORS: The 2004 Geminid meteor shower is underway. Midnight sky
watchers this weekend can expect to see bright meteors shooting out of the
constellation Geminid--at least a few per hour. Rates will increase
many-fold on Dec. 13th when the shower peaks.

Because this meteor shower has such a broad peak, a good display is
possible twice: on Monday morning, Dec. 13th, during the dark hours before
sunrise and again on Monday evening, Dec. 13th, especially during the
hours around midnight.

Visit spaceweather.com for more information and predictions for selected
US cities.

COMET MACHHOLZ: While you're out watching the meteor shower, take a look
at Comet Machholz--a 5th-magnitude fuzzball near the feet of Orion. You
can see it with the unaided eye from dark-sky sites and it looks great
through a small telescope.

How was the commute today? HOW WAS THE COMMUTE TODAY??? It SUCKED!

Just got back. Should have been home about one and a half hours ago. The morning was awesome. Just a tad chilly but good riding weather. The ride back was another story. At about mile 11 I get that tst tst tst sound in the front. Yay a flat! Small puncture but no biggie. Pop in the spare and mosey on down the rest of my route. Mile 15 comes up and, guess what? TST TST TST TST! This time it's a small puncture in a completely different area! You gotta be kidding me. So, I'm outta spares and no patch kit so I have to walk the remaining 2 miles. YIPPEEEEEE!!!!

Here's my message to the town of Westfield (aka Wastefield), MA:

CLEAN YOUR ROADS!!!!!!

That is all.

Anyone else notice that car lanes are clean but there are pebbles and glass and junk all over the bike lane? On Rte 1, I try to ride on the bike lane in the morning so as not to get flattened by a truck, but it's really annoying to ride over all that gravel...

My day was good with one exception. I got out of school early and rode over to the light rail station and the guy would not let me on because of the time, no bikes till 7. I was hoping I could get on the light rail at least and then wait in the warmth of the PATH station till 7 oclock came. Or I could have ridden around the waterfront. I didn't even get near the train as I walking towards the light rail I heard the conductor over the loud speaker go "Sir you can't bring that on the train station". So I turned around and rode back to school locked everything back up and went to the library.