temp1

The commute in Chicago was indescribably beautiful, sunny 40s low wind, and the cars were few and far between in Lincoln park. It is supposed to be this way for the rest of the week, Im gonna eat it up

Temp1

tchazzard

What a change the sun makes. 8 F this am on the ride to work and now 35 F (1 C) for the ride home. Feeling like early spring. And not too shabby for one of the shortest days of the year.

Pete Clark

I've been there, too; usually, I think the same thing, but people who see me are probably thinking, "That poor man riding his bike in the cold!"

Really, it's like I'm in another dimension. We may be only a few feet apart as I ride by, but I'm in a different world altogether.

Ouch !

It's bitterly cold and very windy, at one point on my commute to work I was going downhill, standing up on the pedals and giving it all I have and I only managed 18mph !! man that wind was strong.

The journey home tonight was just as bad but with the added bonus of hail, every now and then it would blow directly into my face and hurt like hell.

Still I'm home now and getting home in one piece is what it's all about.

Ouch !

caloso

Pete, you probably get this too in Georgia, where well-meaning officemates offer to give you a ride home "because it looks like rain!" I just have to politely decline, get on my bike, and chuckle to myself.

Chris L

I have since spoken to the cops and they assure me this woman will be "spoken to in regard to the manner of her driving". Apparently that will be the extent of it because I was skilled enough to avoid an accident at that time. Now maybe if I'd fallen down and broken my arm and my leg and...

vssn

Tough commute this morning, into a cold east wind all the way. Couldn't get up any speed. At least the wind will be at my back on the way home. Passed four other cyclists on my route, most I've ever seen in this cage mad city.

Ed Holland

You did what you could ChrisL, and good for you. There have been a number of occasions that I should have done the same thing. In my opinion, if a number of serious complaints are made about an individual's driving they should at least be forced to re-take the driving test. Of course, the problem here is that it is difficult to substantiate the complaints in most cases. It's a nice dream though.

My ride today was chilly again, but I still managed to pile on the coals and get here in a reasonable time despite the bitter headwind. Guess I shouldn't complain - its nowhere near as cold here in comparison to some of the locations of some of you other folks. Certainly we have no snow or ice to battle against.

Cheers,

Ed

PaulH

Fairly hard rain and just at the freezing point here in Washington, DC. The roads were fine on my trip, but there is some really nasty freezing rain in the suburbs, where my office staff live. They have called in with all sorts of tales.

The ice coats the smaller branches of the trees, turning them white. The contrast with the black trunks and major branches, reminds me of cherry trees along the Tidal Basin in the spring. It is very beautiful.

Paul

nathank

this whole week it hasn't gotten over freezing in Munich. Monday was pretty brutal as i had just returned from 3 days in Barcelona where it was like 11-13C (50sF)- so pretty warm in comparision with -6 to 0C!

i'm now up to wearing my undershirt, long-sleeve, windproof jersey/jacket and then shell jacket, with my winter winproof fleece tights and my winter Polar shoes and neoprene overshoes and my snowboard gloves with liner underneath and windproof headband and helmut cover --- head was a little cold yesterday, so i added a thin skull cap under the helmet - also blocks the skin gap between the headband and the helmet. my hands were actually a little cold this morning on the way to work.

Monday and Tuesday i say quite a few cyclists, but for some reason saw very few today. actually, monday some guy passed me which rarely happens - i usually pass maybe 30-40 cyclists in my 30-minute commute.

just checked the forecast and today's high is -4C (24 F) and tomorrow night's low is -11C (12F), but unfortunately no snow in the forcast for the next 5 days or so -- just cold.

i put the studded tire on the back last Friday, so i've ready for the snow if it ever comes! i'm ready!

toolfreak

Todays commute; northern wind 5 BF, temp -5 degC , clear sky.

Again beautiful weather and chilly, my first ride with thermo underwear, recommended gear for the wintercylist :thumbup:

The little lakes and canals are frozen around here, and a lot off people took the day off to do some ice-skating!
The forecast says another two days of frost, and thats a good opportunity to change my route and do some ice-cycling

cheers

caloso

Thick fog this morning, the product of yesterday's rain. I put an extra blinky on my backpack and rode the long way on less-traveled streets and the bike path along the river. The path is on the top of the levee but the fog was so thick you couldn't see the river. It felt like riding through a long gray tunnel.

Very cool.

Hope everyone else had as nice a commute.

Chris L

The weather conditions today are absolutely perfect. Apparently someone has told summer to bugger off for a while. It was really hard coming to work today when all I wanted to do was ride.

ngateguy

Well winter has finally settled in to the Seattle area, of course here it doesn't mean snow and ice it means grey and wet. 3 days of grey and wet it is good to see it finally come it is over a month late so we are really in the onset of a drought. The weather people say we are going to have an unseasonably warm and dry winter this follows 2 (maybe 3 but my memory is waning these days ) dry summers, not good. But as far as the commute it has been windy and wet it is sort of nice right now but if it persist I am sure I will grow weary of it by the new year. Tomorrow I drive to work for the first time since september, the company christmas party is tomorrow night and I don't want to ride all the way home afterwords (34+miles). Does anyone know what happened to inkwolf haven't seen any posting from her in a month or so hope she is alright.

Chris L

Send her a PM. She should get back to you.

nathank

well, winter is definitely here with the temp this morning of -7C (19F) and again not getting over freezing. but the commute was again no problem. the skull cap i added is good except it gets pretty wet... we got a light dusting of snow and the radio was chattering about commuting delays but i didn't notice a think

last night a friend of mine rode out (i work on the outer edge of Munich) to meet me and we rode into town and then we bought all the stuff to build him a NiMH 20W light like i had made. we had to go to a few places --- in total i've logged 150km from Monday - Wednesday, all at less than 0C!

but it is cold enough that people REALLY think i'm weird now. i saw 2 coworkers yestrday as i was leaving with all my gear on and they were just shocked! then i went to my club Bike Guide meeting to discuss next year's tours, and even the group of 12 bike tour guides thought it was too cold to ride...

ah, well i've ridden every day the last 2 weeks and i am glad for it!

Ed Holland

Well, it has warmed up a bit here, but is still only 2 to 3°C and now it is damp - so it feels colder!
The commutes are still enjoyable - it feels good to arrive at work after a bit of healthy excercise.
Unfortunately, the council has just built a new "park and ride" car park. Actually this is a good thing for the city, but they have put it on my commuting route and built a new set of traffic lights to serve it. The main problem is that the road has now been narrowed because of an island placed for the lights, so there is more chance to get squeezed. Of course, officially, I have no reason for complaint, since there is a shared bike/pedestrian path that provides me with an alternative, but it is never cleared of leaves, branches, thorns, glass etc, so I will not use it. Call me stubborn! If this is the worst thing I have to worry about, I'm doing pretty well in life

Cheers,

Ed

pinerider

We've been having U.K. style weather here the past few days. Yesterday's trip in wasn' t that cold (-2C) but humidity was 100%, so bone chilling dampness made the ride seem a lot colder. The way home last night was +2 C with a steady light rain. I arrived home dry and happy!
Damp and light fog for the morning ride in, I arrived at work dry, happy I could ride, but not happy I have to work!

Andy Dreisch

It's been a couple weeks since my last commute. It was great to be back on the bike this morning. I've been running during my bike-commuting downtime so I was able to keep a brisk pace.

My left knee is nearly 100% but I'm still going to take a few more down days just to be sure. Given the monsoon rains and 50+ knot winds they're calling for starting tomorrow, this should be no problem!!

I really need to get full-fingered gloves. It was pretty chilly this a.m. and I had to adjust my hand position, moving my palms forward a bit and curling my fingertips under the bar to avoid the wind.

Yes, folks, that's all we have to worry about weather-wise here in San Jose !!!

tchazzard

We finally got a storm, but it was not what they forecast. My ride in this morning was through 3-4 inches of slush/wet snow. It was slow going with 60 pounds in my trailer and gusty head winds. I tried to ride in the traffic lane as much as possible. Only had one car yell at me to get off the road. The nerve of him.

Chris L

Just be careful. My original knee problem in 1997 was actually caused by running.

Andy Dreisch

Thanks, CL. My knee problem was a direct result from overdoing a century ride a month or so ago. I really overdid it ... and I knew it. Being 41 years old, it just takes time to heal.

I can run just fine, thank goodness, or else I'd go nuts. It's the part of the knee most involved in pushing downward on the pedal that was injured, a part that's not used much in running.

I still could feel it some this afternoon so I skipped the ride home and will pick it up next week.

temp1

Almost got whacked by a bus in the bike lane (there were no stops and I was not in the blind spot), a cab merged into me, I gave him a kick, scared his passengers and went on. The my lungs have been hurting lately except for when I ride for some reason so I was feeling great, no one was going to blemish my lovely commute today.

Ed Holland

It is a rather foggy day here today, so lights and bright clothes are in order. It has warmed up quite a bit compared to the start of the week, but now it is damp.... Still I woudn't swap the ride for anything

Have a good weekend all,

Ed

pinerider

-2 C and damp again, but a pleasant ride in. Had to modify my luggage arrangements, had a large box of doll + accessories for Christmas gift donation, wouldn't fit in panniers so I had to improvise. I took off my rack pack, put box on rack with bungee cord and put rear blinkie on back of bike jacket. Other than an annoying wind flap from the plastic shopping bag covering the box, everything stayed together and arrived dry & happy!