A little humid but cool.

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First commute with the winter weight gear, with ride temps around 20 degrees. The only thing that I noticed was that my face stung like a biotch for the first 10 minutes. Otherwise, I was toasty and cranked out a great time. This is the coldest day of the year so far but the funny thing was that I saw more joggers, walkers and riders than ever.

First half commute (other half tonight). Nice pleasant 3 mile spin, with a modest hill along the way. Reasonably warm and sunny, and there was a nice break in the traffic just as I had to cross 3 lanes of 50+ MPH traffic. (I plan on normally just using the crosswalk at that point.) Had to figure out how to lock a bike once I got to work, but it wasn't too bad. Happily, the LBS had explained to me what to do. Hope I can manage to fumble around in the dark with the lock and putting my lights on tonight without too much trouble. :)

The highlight of my commute home was the dog blocking the FDR MUP where the MUP narrows to about 4 '. It was a cute little mutt blocking the path and looking at me expectantly, probably saying, "Well, what are you waiting for? Pet me!"

Mine was really bad coming back today. One of the jocks at school wanted to be "cool" and let all the air out of my back tire. with no frame pump, I had to walk! I still don't know who did it. I am going to find a better hidden place tommorw.

Wow, very nice. What camera/settings are you using for those shots?

Took the Allez Elite w/utility trailer to work this morning.

When you get soaking wet riding home in the rain, do not wear the same wet shoes the next morning when it's in the low 40's. :(

On the way a lady passed me in a p/u, pulling a jonboat. The right tire on the trailer blew before she passed, I could hear her coming, but I had no way to let her know. The next vehicle to pass me was another p/u pulling an identical boat. The lady apparently realized she had a flat when the tire came off the rim. She pulled over, the next truck pulled over, then I pulled over to see if I could render assistance. The lady and the gentleman in the second truck, husband/wife I'm guessing, held a quick pow-wow and decided to head back home on the rim. Must not have been very far. He thanked me for stopping, we held a quick chit-chat and went our separate ways. :)

Approaching the last paved intersection I move to the left side of the right lane in preparation for a left turn. There is a car approaching from behing, but it's way back. Signal my turn, and begin to turn when Moron Cager decides since she'd turning left too, she can pass in the turn with a cell phone stuck in her ear. Fool. I got her plate number with the idea I would hunt her down when I got to the island. There's only one road in and out. Then thought better of it. It wouldn't have taken much for me beat the snot out of her when I found her. Threw away the notebook page with her plate number on it. :mad:

The ride home was a little chilly against the north wind. When riding against the wind like this and especially when pulling a trailer against the wind I have found it better to ignore my speed and concentrate on my cadence. :)

My commute to work was pretty mild. No rain today fortunately. Bad thing is that I got hit by a SUV on the way home :( The driver made a right turn (signal at the very last second) right in front of me. I managed to make half the turn with him but it was too sharp so I hit the front of his SUV and of course flew to the ground :( He just rolled down his window and by the time I had managed to say "Yeah, I think I'm ok", he had taken off :( Too bad for me. I should've looked at his license plate number but I just wasn't thinking about that. I was more concerned with checking for damage on my bicycle and myself. I guess you can say I learned my lesson and I'll be more prepared in the future in case something similar would happen again. I just feel stupid and keep thinking I should've shouted "Hey, wait" or "Stop" because he most likely would've. By the time I though of that, he was already gone.

:(

If your helmet took a hit at all, then do replace it. I'm sorry to hear you got hit, glad you didn't take any worse harm than that but it's still the kind of thing that shakes you up. :(

thanks :) my helmet wasn't even scratched. I think somehow I landed in a way that spared me from any serious injury. My poor bike suffered though. I had to replace the rear derailleur and freewheel.
Anyway, I am riding tomorrow :)

icy & cold .

terrific pix- thanks.

Haven't checked out the bike path to see if it is clear of snow and ice and so have been taking the road route into Boston in the am. It's pretty direct and mindless. Most of my thoughts are occupied with watching for cars pulling out and the occasional jerk pushing to overtake me when there is not enough room. The bike path is way more contemplative. Watching the geese, the rowers, the skyline of Boston with the sun in the east and the mist on the river. It was about 22F (5.5C) again this morning. Felt very cold at 8pm as I left one location downtown for another- had to use the face shield of my balaclava. Left my rehearsal at 11:00p and despite an offer of a ride home- in a car with a bike rack- I pushed home into a light NE breeze and it actually felt warm. Solved my stinkin' hands problem by washing my gloves and remembering I had thin glove inserts that I'd bought specifically for the purpose of being able to remove them and wash them occasionally. They're also good for locking/unlocking the bike as the temperature moves into the teens and single digits. Noticed that winter has truly set in because my cable lock has to be pryed out of it's coil. I love that first warm day in the spring when I realize it's like a rope again instead of a tight spring.

I'm glad to hear you're OK, better the bike took the damage than you. The parts are more easily replaced.

oy. i'm really glad you're okay, and impressed by your toughness - i'd be shaky even if i hadn't been hurt. but it still sucks. you could report hit-and-run, you know . . . ?

pretty average rides today. i think i'm glad of this returned warmth, but i'm not sure yet. humidity is back all the way up, so +4 doesn't feel all that different from 0 really. i think i'm disappointed that i couldn't swank around all day today disengenuously exclaiming 'but it's so WARM!' to all the bundled people. small mind, me. plus it felt pretty cold starting out, but i guess it's deceptive when so much of it is humidity-related - i was way overwarm by the time i was halfway home, in the same stuff that was just right last week at about 5C colder.

obstruction on the bridge; i got to do the midnight-shadow free-spirit glide past everyone queueing up in the cloverleaf at 7:30 pm. apart from that section, everyone on the way home driving like the world's supply of prozac had all run out at once. i have no idea why, except two theories: there was something violent on tv last night, or being sprung from the snow back to our standard conditions has made them all come over all strange and peculiar. i didn't really enjoy anybody, but the prize for the night goes to the guy at the stopsign who came to a full stop, looked both ways and right at me, and then started out again right in my path. i've never experienced that invisible-cyclist thing people talk about before; it was kind of surreal. and yeh. enraging. he made me put my feet down right in the middle of the killer hill, which meant i had to start out all over again from a stand.

twelve more commutes till christmas. my drivetrain definitely seems to be losing the will to live; it keeps making strange noises and skipping and chattering, doing the shift with a clunk half a mile after i actually made the change . . . but i think it'll hold out. i'm thinking more and more that i'd like to have a real bike, but i've got this little personal-challenge thing going that says When i've finished this contract and commuted to all of it on this bike, Then i can think about retiring this one with honour and getting a different (read: real) bike for a different job and a different ride. assume there'll be a different job, that's to say. i feel like if i change bikes in the middle of this, i'll never know if what it and me together would have been able to do, which was kind of the point of all this. but i think i can clean the chain and maybe put air in the tires this weekend without compromise.

songs: gallant murray, traditional; chain up the swings, michael marra.

High teens (F) this morning. I wore polar fleece on my legs for the first time this season, plus turtle fur around my neck & lower face.

They keep saying it's going to snow, so I keep riding my big heavy MTB with studded knobby tires. Then it doesn't snow. I hate riding the studs on dry pavement. The trail is almost clear so I think I'll switch back to the road bike for tomorrow. (Unless it snows)

First ride this week for me. One of my coldest rides so far, mid 20's here ( I know it's not cold compared to some of you other guys :p ). I bundled up and put some hand warmers in my socks for my toes and I was very warm when I got to work. This will probably be my only ride this week since I have to drive to a different job site tomorrow and it is going to rain/sleet/freezing rain on Friday. I also forgot the battery pack for my lights so I have to leave early to make it home while it's still light out.

WINDY!

Oh man, it sucked riding into work this morning. Wind was around 20 mph out of the east. And what direction, do you suppose, I was riding? That's right, directly into it.

It felt like I had an extra 25 pounds on my bike this morning. It had better be this windy AND from the same direction this afternoon when I go home.

And then I left my breakfast at home so I will be starving this morning or have to raid the candy machine.

Nice ride in this morning. Temps were in the low 30's and the wooden bridges were treacherous (especially on semi-slicks) with crunchy, hard-packed snow/ice, but the paved part of the trail was in excellent shape. I had to replace my brake pads last night and was glad they didn't squeel (I didn't have time for test-riding/adjusting). I'll also get my studded tires tomorrow and am looking forward to that.

i feel a song coming on. the twelve commutes of x-mas. anyone want to write it? tokolosh... maybe you write one line each of those twelve days. :D actually, i hate all of the versions of the twelve days of x-mas, including the original. but anything bike related can keep my interest for a while.

thanks for reminding me to charge my battery. i forgot to yesterday, and my ride home was, let's just say, a little dark. a car and a bus independently cut me off by turning in front of me. both times i yelled obscenities and threw up my arms, but i'm pretty sure they just didn't see me. i gotta get at least a blinkie for the front. something i don't have to charge every day.

'twas a crisp and frosty morning.

Glad you asked . . . it was cold. COLD, I said. And I made a mistake by not layering legs with my thermal pants, just long spandex in zero F windchill. First morning that my thighs were colder than my fingers. So I concentrated on my fingers, inventing new hand positions to keep my index finger out of the wind. Grin and bear it. I couldn't wait for the first hill to warm up my insides. Ahhh, that felt good. Now, I'm praying for a red light. But nooooooo. I hit all the greens for some odd reason. I pass a car failing to start in the frigid cold. Aaaaruhaaaaruhaaaruhruhrhu. Hah, sucker! Then the long slow hill, warm again. A cyclist flies by on my left. "Morning". He's standing up the whole way! Is he panicking in the cold? Accepting his wheel, I hop on for the ride. He blows all four stop signs, jerk. But he is pulling me. I'm breathing de-oxygenated air through my spandex mask, gasping for O2, sweating profusely. Slow down, jerkoff. Argh. He pulls off. Now I am really warm. I reflect on all the comments this week from work colleagues and friends, "You're riding your bike, it's COLD out!" Doh. At work the window offices are complaining how cold it is. St Louisans are wimps, I reflect. No doubt about it. They need to spend a couple winters in Chicago. That will provide perspective.

Peregrine: Glad you're ok. Bad karma has a way of jumping out from behind a bush when we least expect it so I'm sure that SUV driver will get his at the worst possible time in his life. In this season of giving, how about them cagers giving us a break?

28F on the way in. Legs felt like they wanted to go back to bed along w/ my brain which was longing for the warmth of the covers. Took about 10 blocks before they decided we weren't going back to bed and started working right. Had my ear wrap warmer thing (MEC's website calls it a helmet headband), but I didn't wear it. I probably should have since it seemed colder this morning than last night. It probably was colder this morning than last night. Oh well, my ears survived.

Shadowed another cyclist on a Casati (sp?). Old school rider w/ the gray hair to match, full black ninja spandex, old army surplus backpack and no helmet. Caught up to him, then we had fun taking up separate lanes down Lexington Ave. and keeping up or beating traffic (when we split the lanes). Then I pulled ahead at a stop light and didn't see him afterwards.

Things to remember for tomorrow: construction at E67th and Lex. bottlenecks the traffic and slows me down too. Take 2nd Ave. instead.

Question of the Day: Does anyone else besides me wake up thinking about riding their bike?

Last night was a pleasant ride home. I think I like this commuting business. Today was an unusually nice ride in. (Yes, I can say this on day two of commuting.) All the lights where I usually have to wait a long time along this route were either green or about to turn green, and gaps in traffic developed in just the right places.


Peregrine, I'm glad to hear you're okay.

Had a nice easy commute in this morning. Actually worked up a sweat by the time I parked the old bike at the office. I am still having a problem with the cold hands, have tried two different gloves with glove liners. I guess the next step is the hand warmers.

Oooh, that was me today. "I hope it's warm for the ride in". It was [-19C instead of yesterday's -23C], but I got back into bed for 20 minutes before heading out. I'm glad I did, as the sunrise was very nice, and nobody missed me at work. One bad thing about going in late - with the cold temps, the automatic door to the parking garage was closed, and I couldn't get it to open. I had to wait until a van came in and activated the door. That isn't a big deal, but I worry about getting in there between x-mas and New Year's when it's -30C and I have to wait for somebody to drive up.

The temperature is supposed to get up to -6C today, which is going to be pretty freaking nice. The salt on the roads will hopefully melt the slush, and then it will dry out a bit on the weekend.

12 Days of Commuting X-mas:

On the first day of x-mas, my true love gave to me, some brake pads for my single speed.

On the second day of x-mas, my true love gave to me, two plastic fenders.

On the third day of x-mas, my true love gave to me, three-fingered mittens.

On the fourth day of x-mas, my true love gave to me, 4 blinking lights.

On the fifth day of x-mas, my true love gave to me, FIVE CHAINRING BOLTS!

On the sixth day of x-mas, my true love gave to me, six frosty pints.



There, that's half, somebody else finish it off.

Absolutely! If work schedule and sleep requirements allow, I get up to go for a sunrise ride, then go home, eat breakfast, and then it's off for my short commute. If I need to get in early or I need extra sleep, well, there's still the commute to look forward to. It's really all I think about when I wake up. :)

Of course? What else is there to think about in the morning? :D And that's not only on the days I commute.


Forecast today was for freezing rain but all I got was this strong wind butting heads with me. I think my average speed dropped to ~10 mph on the way to work :o
Temps were around 34F which is nothing compared to what some of you guys are experiencing. Hats off to you! :beer: and be careful!

4 below in Chicago when I left home this morning. Mittens were required. Any colder and I'd consider long johns. It kind of makes hills more attractive. The extra work helped circulate warm blood to parts not getting enough.

This morning was 34 degrees and cloudy, so I packed the rainsuit. Of course since I packed it, I did not need it. Got some smiles today because of the Christmas lights I put on the bike. The roads were still wet from last night, maybe I should splurge on some fenders. The SUV drivers I have been laughing at at work tried to get my goat tonight when I got off work tonight. They thought I would be upset that it was raining. I said "That's what rainsuits are for!" :D That got some grumbles when I smiled and rode off. I looked in my helmet mirror and watched them shuffle off to the parking lot. It was 41 with no wind and light rain. It was nice to have the rain clear the air and make things smell fresh. I hate sucking fireplace smoke when I get in the residential part of my ride. On the industrial part of my ride, I get to smell Budweiser brewing at the local brewery. :beer: I like it, and it sure beats diesel fumes. Do they use rice in Budweiser? Smells like it. They say the vats in the brewery are bigger than Deleware. I"ve lived here 17 years and worked within a mile of the brewery for 5 years, maybe it's time to take the tour. I still have to take the Jelly Belly tour too, I need a day off. :cry: