31F Nice commute...cagers 'played nice'. Saw record number of 9 commuters for Jan this AM! Gas stations are still gouging...hi prices

COLD!:eek:

Oh, wow! Please think of it as a long commute to your next job and continue to post in here.:)

Oops forgot to post my commute for tonight and yesterday.

Same thing both days rode in on Beacon and home on the bike path. It was cold tonight- 7F on the way home. But I must be properly dressed because I don't notice it all that much.

It was quite beautiful with the ice on the river in the low slung moonlight.

i've been asleep for 4 days. well, sunday through tuesday, but i was still kind of coming back online yesterday. rode to work in the morning and bussed home at night. stoopid disease.

nice ride this morning. it didn't rain! it didn't snow! there was no ice anywhere! no frogs or locusts fell from the sky! you could almost see spring coming or something. rode all the way home for the first time in a while, powered by split-pea soup and chocolate bars. still a bit weird, but it's nice to be on the way back to normal.

17 degrees this morning with wind chills down to 0 and -1. It actually didn't feel too bad under 4 layers, balaclava, wool socks, and skull cap. I tried to get right on it first thing to warm up (which seemed to work fine) but the legs never really got going because of the cold, felt like running in molasses. By the time I'd gotten to the airport the sweat (or tears) in my right eye was freezing, I could see this weird, blury white-ish haze. I realized that my eye was really dry and was able to rub out some of the ice, but had to ride the rest of the way with it mostly closed (was worried about frostbite). By the time I got to my office one of the night guys was like "you da man", he couldn't believe that I rode in this.

:D :eek: A 50,000 mile round trip commute! I'm impressed. :p

No ride for me today. Wife coming in to town for dinner, driving me home. I did my 2.5 mile walk to the bus. Below zero F, but not as cold as yesterday.

-23C with the wind chill according to the radio, I don't know how to do the math to add my speed to get the real wind chill. One of my fingertips is cold, that's about it. Will be much warmer tonight on the ride home, that, and I'll have a couple beers in me.

After years of bootie covering my summer riding shoes, I'm treating myself to a set of Lakes for next winter.
Gosh darn it, I deserve it having ridden into work almost everyday for 6 years. (since dislocating my kneecap...that got me off the bike for awhile)

16 here in Arlington. This was the first trip in about a year in which I didn't have to unzip anything enroute in order to cool off. That made it seem a bit more like a normal winter, anthough we could still use some snow.

Paul

Yesterday, about 100m from my house, a rabbit or hare bolted in front of me. In chase, was a little black dog. The 2 bolted down the street a block before hanging a quick right, and out of view. Then a woman comes around the corner looking lost, I ask her the name of the little black dog, then I swing a u-turn and give chase to the 2. Not even a block away, it appears either the dog was petered out, or the rabbit was able to get to some place the dog couldn't. A happy reunion of master and pet ensued.

Then I tuned up and cleaned my bike. Excellent commute in this morning, felt like a new bike. I probably shouldn't leave 4 months in between maintenance, but you can sure feel it when you do.

I could tell it was Friday this morning. Tired legs and slow going. Still better than driving :).

Cold morning for around here, low 20s. I had a nice commute in and saw another commuter all bundled up and we waved at each other. I was surprised to see somebody else out on a bike.

Left the house it was 10F... brutal wind chill. Not too bad after first mile.

Great ride this morning. Was 16 degrees when I left the house, but sunny and dry out. Unlike the ride home yesterday. Swirling, dusty snow made it close to invisible, plus the ground was wet and slick. And the downtown rushhour drivers were even more ass-inine as usual.

But this morning was great. It's funny when it gets down into the teens -- I can feel a bunch of long-gone injuries popping up to growl a bit. There's the separated shoulder from college piping in. Oh, and the hyperextended knee from that Ultimate game in 1999. And the two broken fingers from a year or so ago. And the crack on my head accidentally administered by my 2-year-old son last summer. I just love the nostalgia.

Still pissed off about my commuter bike being stolen (though it helps that my homeowners insurance is going to give me $900 for the loss). It's just not fun riding to work on my roadbike. Fortunately I just bought a real nice fixed-gear, which I'll start incorporating once I've gotten some more practice on it.

Great ride. Relatively warm, too, 44Fish...

Today was my first commute below 0F (-3). It was the first time my legs didn't warm up immediately once I started moving (I wear only jeans). I had on a face mask and a balaclava, but I had to take off the balaclava because my glasses got fogged up and wouldn't clear up. You know how you get a painful tingling in an extremity that gets cold once you begin to warm up? Well, that happened to my nose today, for the first time.

Well...cycling past stationary cages (due to roadworks) for 2 miles out of my 10 mile morning commute made it an even more pleasant Friday slog than normal :) Looking forward to passing them on the uphill home leg.....

Jam'h Great Si! :D

Misty 42F -- light rain. Awesome ride in.

Hey Relaxer, where did you play Ultimate? Competitive or pickup? I play competitively here in RTP, finally made it to Nationals in 2006 after 11 years of trying.

Back on topic, nothing exciting on today's commute. Cold today--22F. Couldn't feel the ends of my fingers or toes upon arrival (5 mile ride). My wife thinks I got frostbite back in the day (probably playing Ultimate or soccer). I think I just have lousy circulation and no body fat.

It was a pick-up game down on the national mall. In the summer, you can pretty much take a 15-minute bike ride and have your choice of several games. If you're good, you'll be welcomed with open arms.

Overheard part of a conversation about me on the way in. Two guys crossed in front of me while I was stopped at a light.

First guy: [looking at my feet] "I don't know how he does it without more shoe covering."
Second guy:[can't hear what he says]
First guy: "Oh, I bought it. I just won't RIDE it in THESE conditions."

I allow my self to feel mildly heroic until I realize that 1) my feet ARE a little cold and 2) its sunny and 24F, hardly harsh conditions for a January day in Chicago.

Walter

Dang it...had to drive today. Was out late last night separating fellow poker players from their money and forgot to plug in my bike. No light = no ride.

Oh well, I won enough money that I don't care today :-)

'Twas a wee bit chillier this morning, but not bad at all. I slept like a log last night, but still woke up tired. I'm glad it's Friday...

Did you ever have one of those days when the ride to work was the best thing that happened all day?

One of those days
 

Yes, but the days where the ride home is the best thing that has happened outnumber the ride in.

today was the first commute to my new job! 3.3 miles one way... I'm still in the Very Short Commute club.

it was COLD this morning. 16 degrees with -3 degree windchills. I actually had to spend some time this morning digging in my closet to find my serious winter gear (thermal tights, balaclava, etc.) that I used a total of one time last year. I was a little worried about black ice so I took it a little slower than I normally do but there wasn't any on the roads... couple patches here and there in parking lots that I was able to avoid. even the path was in good condition, other than part of it being closed for some construction. good ride in.

it warmed up to 32 degrees for the ride back (ha). I put in an extra half-mile or so on top of the ride home but that's all I really wanted to do today. shifting felt a little weird at the start of the ride but got better on the way back. had a screamin' 20MPH headwind in my face for most of the ride back but other than that it was a good ride.

so begins my long stay in the working world.

In the teens F Fri morning when I was waiting in the bus. On the ride home it wasn't bad, mid 40s F and I went over 100 miles commuting for the year. That was my second week of riding home 3 days in a week.

Except for having to come in on a Sunday (I'm a M-F 9-5er) it went well. Mid 20's, mid teens real feel, light snow the whole way in. But then I get in, go to take off my helmet and :eek: NO HELMET!!! Apparently I forgot to put it on when I left the apt, I'll know for sure when I go home I guess.

Wow, today I got my bike the dirtiest I ever got any bike to be! Frozen slush all over the frame and the drivetrain! What a mess! :eek:

My rear brake isn't working very well in these conditions and my front brake gives out such a bad squeal that I avoid using it except for dire emergencies. I should really do something about it... So far I just made to sure to keep my speed down... but that's boring! :)

Hello fellow riders, this is my first posting and I really like this forum to post in first. I have a 3 mile ride one way everyday of the week. To see what I do after the ride, take a look at my blogs.

Since I live in the warm climate the weather was good today. I left around 7am and have about a block to travel to the hike and bike trails that our city has built for the community.

When I get on the trail the traffic is not much of a problem. It seems the traffic will be the biggest problem on a daily ride. early morning is the best time to ride to work.

The wind is coming out of the north and I am riding south so it is a nice ride. There isn't very many people on the trails at this time of morning, but on occasion I will approach a walker from behind. This morning I came up on one. Slowing down and waiting for a way by her. I need to put a bell on the bike to warn them as I approach. But some of the walkers have the IPODS and can't hear me or the bell anyway.

The ride home was a head wind and took some time to get back to the house. Being it Sunday and 3pm the walkers and riders must have been taking a nap or something. I was all alone today. I did see an old friend on the way home and stopped to visit for a few minutes.

Kudos to all the posters in this forum for there brave efforts on the ride to work and back. Great reading. Keep up the great biking your doing.

http://www.freewebs.com/robsuniverse1/justblogging.htm

View my blog and my web site when you can.

HAPPY BIKING!