Yup, today is definitely a Monday masquerading as a Friday. The commute home was nothing short of the usual except for the racket coming from the drivetrain. Time to clean and lube the chain. Out comes the chain cleaner and solvent. Solvent in, chain cleaner on and SNAP!, the lid arm breaks. *Grumble grumble* Jacket on and off to the LBS for a new chain cleaning tool. Get to Larry & Jeff's on 3rd and 79th and immediately notice a Specialized Langster single speed. Ooohhh...nice and light. A salesman comes over and starts in w/ the hard sell. No thanks, just need a chain cleaner. And those reflective stickers. Back at home, break out the new chain cleaner, fill it up, slap it on, spin the pedals and the chain falls off. Oops, wasn't watching the chain line. Off w/ the chain cleaner, flip the bike over and SNAP!, there goes the Apex rear fender, now in two pieces. *Grumble grumble* Chain's back on, chain cleaner's back on, spin the pedals, clean the chain, rinse, repeat. Now it's drying, and I need a new rear fender. Sigh. Tried to do something simple and broke two things. I'm afraid to go to the bathroom now.

Took the Townie3 w/utility trailer today. A very nice ho-hum day, nothing unusual. Which is, I guess, why today seems so unusual. If that makes any sense. Ddin't see any wild critters, all dogs were tied, etc.

Fresh dead armadillo on the side of the road. All four feet stuck straight up in the air. I went back about a mile to pick up a discarded whiskey bottle I had seen. Layed the bottle on the armadillo on the way back by. :D

:eek:

warmer am/pm rides today, good end to the week. one note:
approaching the left hand turn area mentioned earlier, (rarely, if ever, get "noticed" for change lite), i saw a break from the right hand turn lane accross while the signal then turned yellow. a f150 truck was coming from behind while i changed lane, but when the signal was changing, and i had moved to the correct lane, he sped up, through the yellow, skidded almost hitting the first of 2 cars turning left from the opposing direction just starting engaging in this turn. almost hit them.
i thought yellow lite ment "slow down, prepare to stop" this was a "friday thing", i think! 4/4 commute workweek!!

welcome to a fellow Bostonian- former BMXER.

Comm ave- that's often my route these days since the bike path is so gnarly with ice and snow.

haven't posted in a few days due to a frantic schedule... Actually took the bus one day in there (it took 8 minutes longer than biking) and the rest of the commutes were in really cold weather- 0F. Today it was up to 45F. But since I'm cycling home after 11p most nights- like tonight- the black ice is treacherous. Watched as the bus dropped off a guy who stepped off and landed flat on his ass- he was fine. I followed the bus ( I usually scoot past but conditions were bad) and at the next stop a woman got off and likewise ended up on her butt in the snow- she, too was fine, but a bit bewildered since it looked like there was no ice just black pavement.

I had two good slips on the bike this week but caught myself before I hit the ground both times. But man it's slippery out there.

:rofl: watch out for that sales guy when you go to replace the fender. i'm laying bets with myself now , , ,

today's ride didn't happen. lay awake too long last night debating whether to wring my kid's neck for what his math teacher said or hug him to bits for what his english teacher said, and slept in too late. well, i need the practice at remembering how driving works, sigh.

it is COLD on the days i don't ride. i'm almost ready to call that science. days i ride, i can go outside and down the road for coffee in sandals and a light shirt at 0 degrees, and then stand around out there drinking it; days i drive, four minutes in hiking boots and long-johns at 5 degrees does me in. i can't figure out whether to be surprised that the effects only last for a day, or surprised that they - well, last for a day. in any case, it's still winter and there's five more riding days left till christmas.

Last night, another late-night ride home. A good chance to destress for a few short miles. I'm glad I'm commuting, because otherwise, I wouldn't have been on my bike since Sunday.

On the ride in at noon it was almost 40F (4.4C) today! Only problem is on the ride home the melted snow has turned to a thin veneer of ice. My commute, which is a distance of 10 miles (16k), is almost directly west and thus inland and the temperature change is noticeable. I start the ride at the end of the Charles River where it empties into Boston Harbor and follow it inland. It's amazing how predictable the temperature change is whether I follow the bike path or take roads but as soon as I hit about 5-6 miles into the ride the ground temperature shifts and what were puddles in Boston are black ice in Brighton. The ocean keeps Boston a couple of degrees warmer at this time of year.

Am seriously considering some studded tires this year. I just don't think my chain stays will accomodate a tread width on anything wider than a 1.5. I'm not sure if anyone makes a 26x1.5 studded tire. Also managed to snap my front fender the other day when the temp dropped to about 0F (-17C) A stick that would normally have bounced off it cracked it in half like it was made of an egg shell.

Awesome ride to work on my thrift store schwinn.

I just got it and fixed up all the bearings and flipped/chopped the road bars and de-geared it ...

I took a slightly different route today and it paid off, i got to work in 20 minutes in what appears to be a slightly shorter trip, I would say 5 miles instead of the typical 5.4...

I have not yet swapped over the trip computer to this bike so I don't have actual #'s, but I did time myself with my watch... now, can anyone help figure out how to convert it to avg speed in mph ??? duh - 15 mph ... thats a nice little boost from my typical 12.5 mph on the huffy ! LOL

take a peek !!

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicyc...18-05_1907.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicyc...18-05_1904.jpg

Crud. Why did I open this thread? I flippin miss my bike now.

I was getting a bit burnt out. Commuting with the bike was becoming a chore rather than fun. So, I took a few days off and then a 4th day off since it is 5F out. No need to ride on the coldest day of the week. The rest of the week is supposed to be 15F-20F. I'm starting to regret my decision. At least I will have a ton of energy to burn off. I think Wed and Thursday I will ride directly home instead of taking the bus.

*cries a tear into his beer*

-14C/7F calm

With my wife gone on holidays, the temptation to simply jump in the car was great. But I dug deep, locked horns with the devil, and won!

I saw the same commuter who keeps crashing red lights. So again, I caught up passed him. This time I hit a red light. He actually stopped behind me. Hopefully that proves to be more influential than telling him the responsibilities he has on the road.

I absolutely love commuting in the cold, it's mid-summer that is demoralizing for me. I think we should have a Southern US/Canadian commuter exchange program. I like Rush, hockey and pro wrestling, so I'd probably fit right in.

After two weeks of bad schedules, I was able to get back on my regular commuting route this morning. It wasn't as cold as I expected, but still plenty comfortable. Today was also the first day on my regular bike since it's been converted to a single speed. No reason why except to try it.

10 degrees F out today in Cleveland. Had a nice ride--overdressed, as I sometimes do. Crisp air, a few snowflakes. Went a little slow.

The guard at our business entrance told me I was the second cyclist to come in today. I bet there is only 3 or 4 for the day.

About 35F when I left this morning so just a t-shirt and windproof shell for me. Made decent time, got some good speed going even in traffic and saw another commuter. Contemplated a new bike purchase on the way in and how I'd have to learn new riding styles to accomodate. Hopefully I'm not such an old dog that I can't learn new tricks.

-5 F/ -20.5 C this morning. I think my nose is going to break off one of these days. I need a solution to the frozen nose vs glasses fogging problem as nothing I've tried has worked. Next step is to get perscription goggles and a heat exchanger(the darth vader mask things).

Clothing: Balaclava, cold gear top, sweatshirt, winter jacket without the liner, knit gloves, windproof ski gloves, bike shorts, tights, sweatpants, wool socks, boots.

Aside from the nose I'd say I had the layering just about right. Slow going though, took 32 min to go 5 miles (9.4/15 mph/kph).

My boss told me I'm insane :)

I like to vary my route; keeps things interesting. I'd forgotten about this path that makes a shortcut between two roads I normally loop around. It's gravel but covered with leaves/pinestraw this time of year, so it's not too bad on the skinny tires.

http://www.nicomachus.net/images/canon/path.jpg

That looks like a nice spot. Sigh.

The ride today was completely uneventful. -13C at the house when I left, but it got much warmer as sson as I got downtown. Quite nice really!

Sweet, that'd work out great cause I love bluegrass and Jack Daniels! :beer:

Today I fell for the first time using Clipless pedals. I came across a bus that was just about to move out from the bus stop, and decided to wait behind it untill it did. Well to make a long story short I fell before I could unclip.

Good thing I was wearing Gloves, cause my hands were smarting even with wearing them. Bang up my knee a little, but no torn clothing (Thank God).

Interesting commute this morning, -8F/-22C, quiet other then the sqeaky crunch of snow under the wheels, smoke from the chimneys and sewer grates, beatiful Christmas lights. Everything was just so still. I didn't see any other riders out there this morning. I had my layering down just right.

Hey Buzzman, thx for the welcome

Today's commute was much improved over the rain/sleet mix we had last Friday. Had bit of trouble actually getting started as I had to give my rear wheel a quick 5min truing...crappy Alex450 wheels. Once again I made it safely through "Car Door Alley" that is BU Central. A couple of doors came my way but nothing unavoidable. One guy, even when out of his truck didn't see me because he leaned back in to get something. Had one fairly close encounter from the passenger side door at a stop light, but I've come to expect this from time to time. On a bright note, my original route is pretty much ice free, so no more climbing snow banks for a while. Not nearly as many casual bikers as there use to be so I can pretty much pick and choose my riding line...a far cry from the conga line that can occur during the warmer months.

70 deg, slightly overcast.

Had a nice commute as I was trying my new headlight for the first time (turbocat S47).This thing is as bright as most car headlights. (rant on) Anyways, when I was about 2-3 miles from work I had a lawn truck pass me and right after his truck was past me he moves over intentionally and his 25' trailer would have hit me if I didnt slow down. The trailer hit the curb, thats how far over he went.

So I go into pursuit and he runs a redlight to avoid me catching him. There were no cars coming through the intersection so I keep chasing and see him turn. I find them a minute later and ask who the driver was and what their problem is with cyclists. He just starts yapping about getting off the road and the usual BS. I just ride away and say that the law says I can ride on the road.

I just wish I remembered to get the phone # or something off of his truck.(rant off)

OMG, that is so f-ed up ... I'm glad you made it!!!

I would have told that guy off so bad he would pull over and stop his truck anytime he saw another cyclist...

lol

I've caught myself yelling at the top of my lungs at people with their windows rolled up just so they know how they almost killed me when crap like that happens ... lol

sheesh.

A friend of mine's wife and newborn daughter were run off the side of the road by a trucker who didn't stop to check on them. If he did, he would've found a badly injured mother and a beautiful newborn daughter that was no longer alive. I take reporting bad drivers seriously now.

I once screamed at the top of my lungs to an old woman, "Stop! Are you trying to kill me?" She was backing out of her driveway into the opposite lane of her road and never saw me. She was short and could barely see over her back seat. She had gone too far over in the lane and almost hit the curb.

I'm not sure if she had a heart attack or not ;), but she sure regretted her poor driving. She felt bad immediately. I just got back on and kept riding. She didn't pass me for quite awhile.

I wasnt whispering, thats for sure. :mad:

The usual. I should start making stuff up.

The only solution i ever found was contact lenses. This is my first winter with them and wish i would have done it years ago. Now i can cover up the entire face and be comfortable. If you must stick with glasses, i somewhat found a solution last year.

If you wear an earband over your nose/ mouth and (ear band backwards, widest part in front) with the band sealed against your nose, it will be open naturally in the area near the mouth. You can nicely exhause the air downward with this method. The seal at the top of the earband keeps the glasses from getting the hot air.

http://www.mountainmagic.com/sportsw...arband-f01.jpg