Ed Holland

Hi Folks,

I had a slow ride in this morning as there was a lot of traffic and a headwind. It was also threatening to rain... Last night I decided that it was time for a bit of maintenance to the brakes - new pads, clean & grease the cables and the caliper bearings and re-set everything just-so. I forgot about this first thing this morning and nearly went clean over the handlebars . Didn't realise how much things had degraded - I could still stop well enough.

Does anyone else find that rear brake pads wear significantly faster than those at the front? At first this is surprising - I try to balance between front & rear, but physics dictates that the front brakes work harder. I have noticed the difference in front & rear wear rates many times suspect this is because of the extra grit and gime that hits the back of the bike.

Have a good weekend,

Ed

bradw

On Wednesday, a car intentionally bumps me.

This morning started out innocently.

A little kid throws a snowball at me and misses.

No big deal.

Then as I'm going along Arsenal along Tower Grove Park, I'm pedalling steadily with a line of parked cars to my right and traffic passing easily to my left.

Or so I think.

A car pulls along and a voice says "You're slacking, pick it up a little."

I turned to see a St. Louis Police vehicle.

I said "What?" and he repeats himself and then moves along with the steady flow of traffic (which he temporarily slowed).

Please check me for a "Kick Me" sign, because I can't find it.

This interaction with the police makes me think it might be difficult to get anything done if I do report an incident, such as the bumping on Wednesday.

mrfix

Well folks, the snow here has really put a damper on my commuting, I've been riding the cyclops in the basement for a week and a half. Last night I mounted my new Nokian studded tires and hope to be back in the saddle again Monday. I stopped riding because of the extreme cold caused the salt melted snow to freeze along the roadway and I didn't want to crash and get hit by a vehicle. I hope the studded tires work as well as others claim, I'm going on a test ride on Saturday and hopefully Monday we'll start the commute up again.

tchazzard

Hey Mrfix....you missed some nice riding. I just wished us up here in Maine had gotten the snow you folks were supposed to get. I do not think we even got one inch.

Anyway, I have had a good week of riding. The only downside was the some shifting problems due to excessive road grit. I did the best I could to clean and oil the bike, to no avail. So off to the LBS goes that bike and now riding the spare.

As a side note, my new Lake Zero CX gloves kept me toasty this week despite riding in the 0-10 F temps. And almost t-shirt weather this morning with a depart temp of 20 F.

temp1

I saw the weather report for the first time in a long time, they said it was 9F so I added a middle weight wool sweater to my normal ensemble of a Nike running shirt and a gore tex wind breaker, I should have put that nine degrees in context with the rest of the week because I was hot, I wonder how many BTU I generate in the morning.

The sun was out the roads were clear and the drivers couteous, I dont know if I have been lucky lately or if the bike messengers have scared local drivers streight, but it is nice to share the road rather than to have to defend my little piece like a badger, good day,

Temp1

mrfix

I'll gladly trade the snow for some 90 degree sunshine, I get through winter but I don't like it. It's hard on me and harder on the bike.

tchazzard

New England is all about variety. One never knows what to expect. That is what keeps life exciting. As for the bike, pick up a really beat mountain bike, sans shocks, throw Nokians on it and off you go. Keep the nice bike for clear rodes.

Paul L.

Had a stupid commute. Did two stupid things. Maybe it is because of the raw sewage I had to ride through at the beginning of my commute (city workers were pumping it out onto the road for some bizarre reason). Anyway, Guy pulls up next to me and is inching forward like he is going to turn in front of me as soon as the light turns green, of course I had a "Guy" moment and decided not on his life (or mine as the case might have turned out otherwise). So as soon as I see the opposing light turn red I shoot out into the intersection, forgetting about the opposing traffics turn signal. If I was a cat I would have used up a life right there. Needless to say the drivers were alert and probably thought "Stupid Bicyclist", and they were right. The second was as I was pulling into work where I ride the sidewalk for 100 yds to avoid a dangerous intersection. Somebody turned into me. That was dumb too because I should have been looking for him since nobody sees you on the sidewalk. Anyway, had a nice warm ride as my new microfleece jersey arrived last night. It is pretty warm, almost too warm. Anyway, just had to confess my stupidity to the world this morning. Lucky to be at work I guess. Will be more willing to let stupid drivers be stupid in front of me in the future, and more willing to wait an extra second or two to let them get it out of there system.

toolfreak

Northern wind 5 BF. , temp 3 degC. , nice and calm weather.
I enjoyed both rides and i was finely fit enough to do some running after my commute, i feel great!

Have good weekend everyone

Pete Clark

How was the commute today?

Spilled my coffee backing out of the driveway. Great, now I had a coffee stain in my crotch. Forgot to gas up last night, so I had to stop and wait in line at the "convenience" store, both at the pump and inside. A belt was making a funny noise under the hood, I hoped maybe it would go away later. Traffic was backed up for miles due to a stalled vehicle which was not actually blocking anyone, but since traffic had slowed so much, everyone thought there was something interesting to see, so they all stopped to look. Later, on the freeway, traffic again slowed to a crawl, this time due to a string of five cars which had rear-ended each other when following too closely. Got to work late and spent 10 minutes in the bathroom trying to get the coffee stain off my pants...

Just kidding-- rode my bike! Felt the sting of cold on my ears while I got a secret pleasure from occasionally watching "steam" billow from my lungs as if I were an old locomotive. Arrived at work fresh and crisp!

P. B. Walker

Is there any chance he was just joking with ya? I mean, you weren't holding up traffic.

Even if it was a joke, that's kinda lame for an officer to be doing that. I would have gotten a license plate or car # and reported it. That's just uncalled for. They are supposed to be setting an example. I mean, if it had been funny, then I can see slowing down to chit chat. At least you know they are looking out for ya in some small way. But that was just a lame joke, if it was a joke.

I probably would have replied, "Yeah, go eat some more donuts, fata$$" LOL

PBW

bradw

Yeah, I figured out later that he probably was joking, but he caught me off guard and I was feeling a little paranoid from the bumping incident from a couple days ago.

I've made lame-ass jokes before, so I'm not going to hold against anyone for doing the same.

My ride home tonight was completely normal. Well, the batteries on my headlight ran low, but that's to be expected.

I'm liking this commuting thing more all the time.

bcommuter

Been meaning to post all week. Everyday was pretty nice except
for a flat on both tues and wed nights. But found places to stop with enough light to quickly slip in a new tube. Tonight there was a light rain which was kinda nice since it makes me feel like a little kid playing in the rain. The best part of the commute all week was
tonight when I finally got away from the traffic on a side street. There was a DEEP fog with a light rain and my niterider made a beautiful pattern through the fog and rain. I could have riden in that forever but knew I had to go home. Enjoying a cold one
and thinking about tomorrow's ride and gettin an X-mas
tree......

ngateguy

Yeah bradw he was joking with you. I have done the same thing we get harassed by so many drivers when one is being funny we take it seriously oops. You know that he may be a cyclist, and a commuter also. I had an interesting case this week when riding up Latona Ave here in Seattle the other morning I heard a car behind me I was over to the right as far as I could go but the car wasn't passing me I turned to wave the car past and it was one of Seattle's finest he had is top yellow flashers on (not his blues) and he motioned for me to get in front of him which I did for the remaining 2 blocks up the hill I made my right turn ( I was thinking here I go getting a ticket for something) and he went straight while sharing this story at work to a fellow 2 wheel commuter he told me I just got a police escort. He had it happen to him about a month ago. It seems there is an officer who works out of the north precinct who does this all the time. My hats off once again to the boys in blue, at least here we do not have that much trouble with them. Could be that Seattle was the first major city to have a police bicycle unit and they soon became hero's in the way they could catch the bad guys. And my hats off to all you easterners I will no longer gripe about riding in the cold (except in February when it is 33F and raining I will take -10 and sun anytime)

pinerider

Chilly this morning, -11 C (15 F)with a slight headwind. Had to stop shortly after leaving to put on my bellaclava, my forehead was getting cold, didn't want it to freeze. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and pleasant. Swore at zero drivers this morning, saw 1 fellow bike commuter of the unlit, unrelfected and unhelmeted variety, said "good morning" anyways, he was out in the cold same as me. I tend to only say hi to fellow bikers that at least approach my safety standards

Ed Holland

Morning All,

It was a rather grey and wintry start to the week this morning. But, one of those days where as soon as you make it to work and back into the warm, the sun comes out. It is now beautiful but alas it will be dark before I make the return journey.

Cheers,

Ed

Hants Commuter

Rides today were quick but short and could well be my only rides of the week

It was noticable colder this morning with a chilling wind proabably bouncing around 1 or 2 C. My hat goes off to all the commuters that are out there in the double digit sub zeros!

Jean Beetham Smith 

Crisp (11 F), sunny, dry ride in this morning. The roads are almost completely clear, but I still get to traverse the ice field of the office parking lot, jump the parking bumpers and bash through the snow to get to the office basement. This evening was up to 20 F but felt cooler in the dark. Second time in 2 weeks someone refused to right hook me! Could this be a turning point in cyclist-motorist behavior? Tell me it is so.

Chris L

Had someone try to kill me this morning on a roundabout. I have taken down a # and a very brief description (I only had a split-second or so to look at it). I will be paying a little visit to the cops on my way home this evening.

Chris L

Finally got to ride in a decent storm! It had everything - thunder, lightning, rain. What more could I ask for. The only concern was the traffic chaos caused by the southern end of the Gold Coast losing power. You really appreciate those traffic lights when they're not there.

pinerider

Nice ride home last night and nice ride in this morning. Had to wait about 2 minutes for a train this morning, all 24 cars waitinig on my side of the tracks kept their engines running for the whole 2 minutes! It's not that cold out!

tchazzard

8 F (-13 C) with light winds this morning. Forecast call for warmer temps the rest of the week. Highlight of the morning was that I came across a nice Snapon screwdriver. I think I have collected a dozen or so tools during my commute so far. Most of these are screwdrivers, with a few pairs of wire cutter/strippers thrown in. If only someone would start dropping bike specific tools off their cars/trucks.

toolfreak

Beautiful cold weather, wind 5 BF, temp - 6 degC.
Nice front wind this morning, did it half the time
Headwind on the way back, CHILLY!
I have to buy new gloves if it stays below zero...

Ed Holland

We're getting a good dose of winter weather here in the UK. It was around, or just below freezing this morning and reached the heady heights of 1°C briefly at lunchtime. Don't think I'll be that lucky on the way home. Fortunately there is cold weather gear to keep out the chill.

The only annoying thing was that despite leaving early today, the traffic was backed up so far along our street (a sidestreet) that I had to walk to to the end to get to the main road. I'm convinced that these cars are just using the street as a cut through to annoy me specifically, and I'm not paranoid in any way .

Cheers,

Ed

caloso

Rainy (heavy drizzle, really) and cool (49F). Got a bit of satisfaction cruising by a coworker as she waited for the bus.

Looks like the rain has stopped for now and that the sky is brightening in the west. I may have a dry ride home.