SaskCyclist

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!

Ed Holland

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

Zin

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!

jerrryhazard

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...

caloso

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.

jfmckenna

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...

HereNT

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

moxfyre

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

Zin

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.

jnbacon

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

Zin

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
https://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.

mirona

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.

moxfyre

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...

sbeatonNJ

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.

ollo_ollo

39F at 6AM: we had a few showers last night & today, just enough to keep the roads wet & get lots of grit & dirt on our bikes. I managed to make it in to work & back without getting rained on but got caught in a downpour on a donut run at 9AM. My co-workers are putting on "The Twelve (working) Days" of Christmas with different groups bringing food items in daily. I know i've managed to gain a few pounds since Summer & one of the other bike commuters was discussing this with me today. We think the only solution is to lay out a longer route to work & ride it for a while until we manage to burn off a few pounds. Hope it works.

spidercyclist

Snow on the commute home tonite and some ice on the rode.
Rode the ss tonite.I think the ss & the full suspension will be my winter bikes . The old rail bed I have been taking will soon be unridable . So I will have to find a new way home or just ride the old way home .
Have a good nite .

John Ridley

20*F this morning, snow and ice overnight.

New equipment today: Visorgogs (thanks to this forum and icebike for the suggestion, they're good), Nashbar 5-in-1 tube-o-polypro head cover thing, worn today as a balaclava. Bike Peddler mirror moved from glasses to helmet for the first time.

Stopped after about 2 miles to put on the balaclava. About 3/4 mile later, realized my mirror was off my helmet. Went back and found it lying in the snow. Not impressed with the mirror mount, at least not in the cold. The mount is still on the helmet but the mirror fell off it.

Not too bad speed, considering; I had a 13.9 MPH average, including a couple of minutes in a line of cars going 2 MPH at a bridge (I sometimes dodge this line but I have to merge back in to get under the very narrow bridge so on squirrelly days I just stay in line).

Lots of fun. Feels like I'm alive today.

vtjim

Rode the rail trail with about an inch of fresh powder. Very nice. My studded tires arrived yesterday, so I think I'll mount them tonight.

My first ride on fresh snow. My existing (and ancient) MTB tires (26x2.02) are very knobby and gave me no trouble. The studded tires should give me more confidence on the icy parts.

If anyone is thinking about riding in the snow, I'd recommend it, especially if you don't have to deal with cagers! I was a little nervous at first, but once I got going, and played with braking and pushing the pedals, I realized I had plenty of grip.

bpave777

39 degrees foggy and damp here in Copenhagen. they're calling for rain for the remainder of the week. i'm getting my gear together.

darkmother

-10C and sunny. Very refreshing. My feet got a little cold by the end-have to get some shoe covers, but other than that, it was great. I passed a bus packed with miserable looking people-I got a couple of "what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you-it's-freezing-out-there-looks", but I wouldn't have traded places with them.

Map tester

Clear and cold (31°F), with enough wind to feel it. Everything stayed fairly warm except for the toes. Going to try the chemical foot warmers tomorrow morning (should be in the mid 20s). Keep the faith!

ridealot

Cold and a dusting of snow this morning. Tempature was around 22°F. I did not see any ice on the road so that was good. I think the high today is supposed to be around 25-29°F. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

SaskCyclist

Good commute today. -9C with a little wind. Earlier this winter I bought a lead acid battery/dual headlight combo from the LBS. It has been browning out after 1 hour of run time and I finally got to the LBS yesterday; they gave me a replacement battery so we'll see how that goes. It was good and bright this morning.


Only a few more days and the nights start getting shorter. Woohoo!

cicadashell

the stone railroad bridge at dexter! i can just picture it.

yeah, 20 °C and a fresh flurry. i wore ski helmet and goggles and was as warm as toast. put some knobbies on the bike - couldn't find studded 27" tires, if anybody has, thanks for letting me know. the streets around my house were treacherous, everywhere else just messy. it was a beautiful ride, though, especially with the kind of orange color from the goggles.

jnbacon

My first fixed/headwind commute. Ugh. There's an 18 tooth cog in a brown semi somewhere in the midwest, making its way towards Arizona. I kept my legs churning in time with the mantra, "Two more teeth, two more teeth."

A balmy 60F and the aforementioned headwinds. Saw a strangely beautiful silvery banner slow-motion waving over the canal, a long streamer of translucent garbage bags caught in an olive tree.