Well today was another excellent commuting day!

On the way in I encountred some city workers put gravel and salt on the bike trail. They warned me that the underpass was a 'glacier'. I was already aware of this but thought it was great they warned me. I actually didn't dismount and was able to stay up over the glacier due to all the stuff they put down.

On the way home approaching the underpass from the opposite direction an approaching jogger warned me of the 'glacier' ahead. Again thought this was very kind. Then as I was about to go from the MUP to road some guy on a road bike yelled something at me ... it was friendly... just not sure what it was. Maybe 'it is really cold' or 'keep on going'. I just waved.

The reason I write all this is that for the past month I have had little to no interaction with anyone besides cars (and a couple racoons) due to the cold and snow. While I certainly enjoyed everyone's friendliness today I somewhat dread when more bikes and pedestrians come out in the spring. I like being one of only a few out there...

rode in and home via Beacon St and the urban road route- no bike path.

I'm crawling along these days at what feels like a snails pace even on the road.

Temp this am about 12F. This evening about 18F.

Unlike the path most of what I can report of the road/street ride is of interactions with motorists. I actually had two positive ones. One a big black pick up truck that gave me plenty of room passing after having had to wait for a while to get by me on Beacon and the other a cabbie that saw me signal to cross over Beacon on the way home and slowed way down and indicated to me that he'd wait as I diagonaled my way across the road.

I got buzzed a couple of times too but I've long since forgotten why or how.

Cr**********p!
I had a stinginess-related accident today. Well, not exactly accident. More like an incident. My rear tire blew up on me, as i was going up a hill, about a mile from work.
And why did it blow up, you ask? Because i was too cheap and didn't follow my mechanic's suggestion to replace the tire as it's worn out.

AGH!
Moral - take care of your tires! And don't stinge out!

Couldn't bike in today, because I have two meetings away from the office that need driving to. On the bright side, I am super tired today, but only b/c I was up til after midnight putting together my 2nd bike, a singlespeed (dinglespeed, really) MTB. Should be done tonight/tomorrow in time to burn off some calories ahead of the Super Bowl!

Another cold and windy ride to work this morning. All was well until the last 1/4 mile when I almost got hit head on by some idiot who couldn't stay in his lane around a turn. He had his car practically the whole way in my lane. I yelled and pointed at him and he jerked his car out of my way. I guess the southerners here really can't deal with the cold weather...which brings me to tomorrow's forecast of snow/sleet/freezing rain. I can't wait to see what is in store for tomorrow's ride :D

yesterday afterwork i thru my bike in a co-workers truck bed, and we went to a rink to play shinny with other workmates. it's roughly the same distance from home as our workplace. so i'm calling that a round commute. besides, i didn't wanna be late for the game.

it was windy as all hell though, 50km/hr gusting to 80!

<sigh> I've already pretty much decided not to ride tomorrow. Since I can't stand the thought of coming to work without riding, I'm just gonna work from home.

I snapped a bolt on my seatpost while I was riding home last night, so I did half my commute standing. I pulled a seat and seatpost off of another bike and used that today. Unfortunately it's set 1/2" too high, so I have to take care of that before I head home.

Oh, and because I broke the seatpost, I have to get a new bike. It's a rule or something.

Lots of frost, 20sF, but no ice, no freezing fog like Monday. I got my smartwool long johns yesterday, wore them in today (as tights, w/ jogging shorts over them), I have to say they were amazingly comfortable. Next step, see how they do when it's wetter.

:roflmao: and heading over to fiddle with my seatbolts. ;)

Been riding all week and it's been mostly good. Today I had to dodge some cup cake who was in a heaving rush to catch-up to the rest of the traffic.

Ouch! Sorry to hear that gendasza. Hope today was better.

26F More frost and ice today. No bunny hops over the speed bumps...took it nice and easy on the turns. Saw other bikers on the route. Still pretty good for January (usually there are none for Jan)

Had a very impressive wipe out on the way in today. For one quarter miles section I decided to take a little 'sidewalk shortcut' due to the snowy weather this morning and wanting to avoid a particually busy stretch. The sidewalk look nice and clear all the way up to my interesection. No peds out so I was travelling at a good clip. Ofcouse a there was a little bridge covered in ice. Didn't see the ice due to the fresh dusting on snow. My bike left me behind and I fould myself sliding across the ice. Amazingly no damage to me or bike. However - a marked fireman car saw the whole thing and turned on his light and stopped in the middle of the road to make sure I was okay. Also a guy in a big truck stopped to ask if I'd like a ride. It was very nice but I declined. As I was pedaling later I realized I left my glasses where I wrecked. Didn't go back- they are 2 dollar hardware glasses. Maybe I'll look on the way home.

So I think the moral of my morning is - when conditions are questionable stay on the course you know is safe. I've done my commute enough over the last few weeks to know where the ice is and to avoid it. It was stupid of my to try to 'shortcut' and I could of hurt myself.

Anyway the ride home will be fun with some fresh poweder. Maybe one day it will get above freezing and this mess will finally just go away.

I didn't ride today because it was too warm. +2F. :rolleyes: Spring must be right around the corner. I walked to the bus instead. Needed a break from riding the unplowed MUP.

But last night I had a funny experience when I got home. It was around 0F. I took off my helmet, goggles, and balaclava, and walked down my driveway to get the mail. When I got back inside and took off my nylon jacket, I noticed the inside was covered with ice. :D It was so cold that my fleece top was wicking sweat, which was then condensing on my jacket and freezing. :eek: Hard. Core.

Was 22 degrees in our nation's capital as I left the house this morning. As I rode in, there were (naturally) not that many commuters out. But then in a grand moment of synergy, four of us all pulled up to a red light at almost exactly the same time. We all gave each other stoic greetings, and then pedalled on. Any of you guys a BFer? (I'm the one who drapes his dress shirts over his pack)

Last night the cold weather caused a solder joint on my headlight to get brittle and break :mad: so I had to use the (totally inadequate) emergency backup I always have with me. A quick solder job fixed the light when I got home, and hopefully the electrical tape applied will provide some necessary strain relief.

This morning was fairly brutal -- it wasn't so much the cold, but the headwinds gusting to 24 mph and maintaining around 17 that tested my will. I even had some sweat freeze on my beard during one prolonged blast ... that was an odd sensation. Looking forward to tonight's commute -- the wind is supposed to be quite a bit more subdued.

So much wind, I lost about 1/4 of my normal speed. Nothing like pedaling hard to keep up 14mph on a downhill where I'm normally coasting at 18+. Good exercise though :)

Temp as I rolled out of bed was -2 F. Nice headwind. Got more than the usual amount of staring as I walked past the smoker-penguin-huddle. Today is one of those days when I question why I do this.

January: 23 work days, 23 commutes by bicycle.

Today I didn't even wear my jacket - just a T-shirt and shorts with knee warmers.

Oh I hate you, I missed 1 day due to repairs from a crash caused by a near miss the day before.

I mean congrats!

chanced the ride in today... 60% chance of rain but I managed to beat it in-- we'll see if I'm so lucky on the way home.

I'm jealous reading all you guys stories of riding to/from work...I just moved to Durham, NC and I am wondering why I haven't started doing this myself since I live about 5 miles from my job...Now that I'm actually motivated to start tomorrow, we're supposed to get snow, rain, ice! I guess I'll have to stay jealous for another day...

It's been rainy for the past two days in Tucson. Today it starting raining 5 seconds after I walked out of work. Luckily I went out and bought rain gear last night. Exchanged a hello with a fellow fg rider at the bike crossing.

Don't let a little weather stop you ;)

Lovely morning for a ride today. Top of about 90 today so it will be warm on the way home. Had a nice chat to a lady I see quite often on my way to work. I have been encouraging her to have a go at one of our club triathlons for quite a while. Well she actually did in early January and said she'll be back for more. Feels good to get a newcomer hooked on the sport.

in the 20's this morning, definitely cold enough for the balaclava. good, relatively fast ride in. had to make a detour to stop by my bike locker and pick up my lock. I hope I can get a new lock mount soon. I counted at least 7 other cyclists this morning... good to know I'm not the only one crazy enough to get my pedal on in this weather.

got out late, so I rode over to campus for some dinner then back from there. only added an extra mile and a half or so to the ride back. fast and fun, although traffic was heavy in some spots.

26F Awesome...great sunrise and sunset. Frosty with black ice

+1! FedEx studded tires ASAP! :) I'll be riding tomorrow. It's supposed to be in the 20s! Shorts and jersey weather! :rolleyes:

Delightful. It was windy and a bit nippy, but very enjoyable in the sun. I had my longer commute where I take the train and my bike to an afternoon meeting. On the way home, there were no hooks available to hang my bike, but that was ok. This very nice guy let me lean my bike all over his, he even shared his dinner with me. That would be my wonderful, little brother! I mean, if you can't lean your bike against your brother's, well, that would be too sad to contemplate. It was so much fun to run into him on our commutes home. We laughed, joked, and generally horrified the quiet folk on the train. :D Then we shared our bike ride from downtown for a good long way before our ways diverged. I'll be coming home that way at the same time as him every Wednesday for the next month, so watch out Washington County MAX commuters! We'll be driving you bonkers at about 5:30 once a week! :p