vtjim

Me ----> <---- Headwind



35-40MPH howling off Lake Champlain this morning. Quite possibly the worst wind I've ever endured. Sssssssssslllllloooooooowwwwwwwwww. Took me about 50% longer to get to work. The good news is, it's supposed to be just as strong for my ride home!

3 to 5 foot waves rolling in to shore, too. Big by lake standards. Pretty to look at.

Last night some deer crossed the MUP ahead of me.

jyossarian

Got boxed in by two buses when another cyclist pulled even w/ me. Turned out to be queerpunk so we rode the rest of the way down Lex til I turned onto the street where my office is. Took a slow pace today (and still passed traffic) and talked the whole way down.

jeff-o

Better than monday and tuesday. I finally got my face mask positioned, so that it doesn't fog up my glasses. How nice it is, to be able to see the road! Unfortunately, my lights decided to permanently kick the bucket (rusted out connector) so I had to scramble to get a temporary headlight hooked up. The 9-LED headlight isn't nearly as bright as my dual 3W Luxeon setup, but it was better than nothing...

DataJunkie

I'm back! Yes, I know it was only one day off. However, yesterday I was cranky all day.
Anyhow, it was a nice 23F ride down to the light rail station. I was a tad late leaving due to the fact that I had not put the new rack trunk on my bike. My wedge pack needed to be removed to fit it. Of course, the train took off right when I showed up. Spent 20 minutes pacing trying to stay warm. If I had my wits about me I would have sat in union station to stay warm. duh
My new 700X28 tires improved my speed a bit. As did the rack trunk. However, wind and remaining ice flows from last week's storm all conspired to slow me down.

JohnnyOTS

Temp was in the high 30s the whole trip in. Each commute gets a little more pleasant as I gradually get used to riding the distance and get smarter about coasting up to lights, handling intersections where the bike lane vanishes, etc. I find myself saying things in my head like, "Take the lane!" and "I'm a vehicle." Didn't see another bicycle for the entire 20 mile ride which really makes me wonder in a city where it virtually never snows and only rains a few days every year.

ragboy

Good ride today -- in the mid 20s. While crossing a street on the MUP, instead of pushing the crossing button and making every vechicle stop for me, I opted to cross in front of a Cadillac Escalade (going about 10 mph over the speed limit, of course). Was probably 50 yards away when I went in front of him, but he laid the horn on me so I gave him a mitten bird

have a good day all!

RonH

Seems that every summer I forget how to dress when the winter temps get cold. Today it was ~33F (1C) and I finally figured it out and wasn't cold. But I'd really like to find some gloves that keep my finger tips warm. You know, when you get "old" (I hate that word), the circulation isn't what it was when you were 50, so my fingers get cold first. Today I wore my Gore-tex gloves with glove liners and my finger tips got cold at about the 6 mile point in my commute. Maybe I should have worn my PI ski gloves.

I only saw one other commuter. I see him almost every morning. He rides east and I ride west. We always nod or wave.

The high today is supposed to be ~60F (~16C) and I brought slacks to wear at work. I should have brought shorts.

Two Buck Chuck

As I was riding down Jefferson Drive on the National Mall (in front of the Smithsonian Museums), I saw a car driving down the street with a cup on the roof. When the driver stopped at light, I tried to grab the Grande Starbucks cup to give it to the driver only to realize it was taped to the roof! I fell for the oldest trick in the book, so I thought. The driver rolled down the window and handed me a $5 Starbucks Gift Card! A very clever marketing strategy, don't you think?

I watched in amusement as a forklift driver working at one of the museums started honking at her and pointing to the cup. He also was rewarded for his attempted good deed. I gave a fellow bike commuter the heads up, and he also scored a gift card. Keep your eye out for the Starbucks lady on you commute!

Relaxer

Damn, I wish I would've seen that. It would've compensated for my woefully poor dressing job this morning.

Flimflam

Can we say WINDY? Whew, as soon as I turned the corner to head west the wind was right up in my face, I knew it was going to be a slow ride in. Had a few "whoa" moments with crosswinds and traffic, but was great - traffic was respectful despite that I was a lot slower generally (I find I get a little 'edgy' in traffic the greater the speed difference is).

2C on the TV this morning told me I didn't need an extra hat or fleece, but packed my goretex with rumours of rain today.

Despite the head and crosswinds for most of the south/west journey (Wind was apparently a SSW, no idea on speed) I had a good ride in, was noticeably more tired when I got in, no surprise there though.

Made it in in 35 mins (35:59 - 36 mins technically ) which I'm happy with considering.

MyPC8MyBrain

Last night the noaa website said it was 47 when I was leaving so I dressed pretty light. I believe that they were way off. Had to stop and dig some layers and better gloves out of the panniers. Then I was nice and toasty the rest of the way.

This morning was 26f , clear and calm. Made for a nice ride. Cold, but nice.

Point of note... Only 15 more days until the days start to get longer again

Two Buck Chuck

Even better news--the sunsets aren't getting any earlier and will start getting later in about 10 days, depending on your latitude (check out www.sunrisesunset.com)! I recently realized the shortest day of the year (Dec 21/22) does not have the earliest sunset (google this for the rather complicated explanation or check out Earth & Sky's website).

vtjim

Yah - Actually, yesterday was the earliest sunset here in Burlington, VT. It starts setting later now through summer!

SunRISE is another question. Later and later, until next month. I keep printed calenders from sunrisesunset.com at work.

pinkrobe

Riding uphill through slop is making me stronger. I swear my legs are getting bigger - or it might just be fat.

RonH

Here's to L-O-N-G-E-R days.



And warmer temps.

bikedaddy

Saw my fox friend again today. Ran across the path then stopped and stared as I went bye. Saw zero other commuter today. Temp was about 18F. I almost fell on ice while going around in circle behind my office to cool down.

DataJunkie

Yay! I think you may be jumping ahead of things on the warmer temps

ragboy

that's so cool... take him some food! (peanut butter sandwich)

bikedaddy

I also see plenty of rabbits and would love to see the fox chasing a rabbit.

jyossarian

Computer crapped out on me today. Now I gotta replace the battery for the 2nd time this year. Other than that, the ride was the usual madhouse of livery cabs pulling in/out everywhere.

HardyWeinberg

horrible - bike-free. Likely to be the case tomorrow too.

tomg

great past 3 days, 75 miles total commute dst (25x3)! been cold, teaching people in cages, establishing presence (new job locate). lights are working well (thanks eBay)! saw 0.0, non, zero other cyclists here.
gotta drive tomorrow, dentist appt 5:20 pm. "ignore your teeth and they'll go away" i've heard....
anyway, the extended commute seems to be getting easier as i acclimate. sometimes the rides are the high-light of my work day!
tomg

kokomo61

Cold....22F in the AM. Core temp was OK, but my fingers were very cold for the whole ride. Toes only got cold towards the end.

Ride home was much better...50F, and a fast ride.

KeystoneKid

Ride in this morning was nice, 27F, 7mph headwind, empty MUP (12 miles 1dogwalker, 1 other bike).

The ride home was nuts. Not sure what the windspeed was, but it was a huge tailwind. I was riding 25mph on the level parts not trying, hit a max of 31 when I ran out of gears. This is on the commuterized mountain bike as they were calling for flurries this morning, and sometimes we get 4 inches of "flurries" here, although today we didn't get anything. After I got off the MUP, and turned crosswind on a gravel road it really got interesting. The wind was blowing so hard that I was having to drift to keep going straight. At one point the wind caught my panniers and literally slid the back wheel out from under me. Since I wasn't going very fast, I just planted my left foot and stood up, and then walked the last 200 feet to the crossroad where I turned into the wind and road the rest of the way home (less than half a mile) on pavement in low gears. What a hoot!

buzzman

brisk ride in the morning but certainly tolerable. a few patches of ice made me almost feel justified to have the studded snow tires on the bike. rode through the icy puddles just to make sure they still worked.

rode home in the cool darkness but the air actually seemed to be getting warmer as I got closer to home. seems that we may be in for a little warming trend. new batteries in my tail light- I thought it was looking a little dimmer- made a huge difference.