Made the first commute to my new job today, it was 10 deg (c), extremely wet, and muddy in some places. I had to get decked out in gore-tex for the 12km (7.5mile) round trip. I need to get some fenders and panniers to protect me from the splash, and carry my work junk.


Hey Deputy Jones, let us know when you make your first stand-still spill with those clipless pedals, haha. It will happen... wear gloves.


Matt

Well the weather sure did change this afternoon, should be a fun ride home:
A band of overcast clouds and a few sprinkles will sweep eastward through eastern North Carolina through 6 PM. As this system passes through... brisk winds could gust as high as 40 to 45 mph through rush hour.

lol, will do. I have been very careful/cognizant of the fact that I am "clipped in", but I am sure that very soon I will pull up to an intersection and totally forget about it.

I knew the new fenders I put on the fixie would bite me in the ass. Pre-fenders, I had no toe overlap. Post-fenders, there's toe overlap which caused me to stop in my tracks w/ the rear wheel coming up a bit as I tried to take off from a standstill. No fall, but it did annoy me a bit. I'll keep the fenders on a little longer and try to get used to it, but they're probably coming off after spring.

Yeah, I was very careful at first too, and all was going well until I started to get used to them, and BAM! I was standing on one foot, with the other clipped in, and for some reason went to put my clipped foot down or something, my balance went off, and I hit the ground with my foot still clipped, lol. And again, almost immediately afterwards, I came to a short climb after going through some water, and the hill was unexpectedly muddy, stopping me in my tracks. I didn't have time to unclip before I was on my side in the mud, haha. I hope your spills aren't as messy as mine were, good luck!

adventurous. the morning ride was pretty standard pleasant-winter-ride type of weather, but the evening was all party. powerful head/crosswinds with gusts, great blobby wet chunks of blowing snow, the whole bit. typical of this whole lackadaisical winter, i was woefully unprepared for all of it: booties at home, only one glove cover, just a t-shirt and silk shirt under the light jacket. i actually intended all day to take the bus home because the coming wind was well-documented and it blew up to 98 kph during the day. but when i got outside and saw all that magical-wonderland snow and thought of the bragging rights, i got ambivalent. wanted to ride, wanted to not-ride, couldn't make up my mind . . . somehow it's so disappointing to see all that snow and turn your back on the ride without getting to experience even a little of it.

i set off with my bare open-knit gloves and ratty runners and rode the first part, telling myself that i'd go as far as the bridge and then quit. i really meant to, once i got a taste of the headwind and all the eyesfull of snow. then i got to the last bus-stop before the bridge and couldn't face it: getting off the bike and waiting with other shivering souls for 20 minutes before a bus came . . . i kept going. and actually, crossing the bridge was almost easy. that river's like a demarcation line; whatever weather you're getting on one side of it seems to just stop when it reaches the bridge. i had wind, but no snow. then i took a bus on the other side to bring me up the hill, and rode home from there into the wind again. i don't know if i'm imagining things or my spirit's just broken or what, but wind is rarely as difficult as i expect it to be.

next up for the rest of the week: freezing temperatures.

Nice commute this morning. Low 20Fs, and a slight tailwind. I could see a lake effect snow squall coming across Champlain. It started flurrying with 2 miles to go, and I was inside before it really got going. Now everything is white outside.

Last night I had the once-every-6-months occurrence of a driver (Benways Cab van) who can't stay behind me at a red light, so he pulls up on my right, blocking all the right-turning traffic in the process, only to have me jump the green a little bit and drop his cab through the intersection.

Little on the cold side. Definitely below freezing as there was ice on the sidewalk in places and even some in the road, but not much. All the people driving were nice....probably because of the police officer I was almost keeping up with

Yeah, definitely below freezing and my legs weren't feeling fresh so it was a slow cold ride.

Another mild ride in - temp in the low 40s. While waiting at a red light another bike commuter rode past on the cross street - first 'office professional looking' bike commuter I've seen since I started. His helmet was hanging from his backpack. Why even carry the thing if he's not even going to wear it?

First freezing day commute (32F) and I was still sweating when I got to work despite only wearing a t-shirt, wool l/s shirt and shell. More traffic than usual and managed to drop traffic completely at an intersection where cross traffic had blocked the intersection. I wove through the gaps and took off. Had one cab honk at me despite the fact that a truck was blocking the lane further ahead and the lane next to me was clear.

Straight into 50km/hr gusts at -8C for 5km. It was a challenging commute, I should be allowed to tack on a few extra km into my journal.

drove in this am
but i have the mtb in the truck and will hit the state park this afternoon
beautiful out there, 45f and sunny. I really missed riding in....

I was going to come in on the skinny tires, but there looked to be a reasonable amount of snow on the ground, so I got out the snow bike. Good call on my part! Insane wind, drifted snow, -20-something with the windchill.

Yipee! Snow! I rode a little extra this morning just because its soooooooooo fun! I bike/bus commute. The ride to the bus stop was great. About two inches on the pavement. The snow was all up in the fenders so it was tough. But FUN! When I got to town there was no snow on the ground. Oh, well. The bus driver and the girl at the coffee shop sure did give me some funny looks!

Avoided the bike path today due to the fact that it has turned into a sheet of ice. All roads for the first time in awhile and I enjoyed. Might try the route more often. Also think I'm overdressing. It was 18F s I had a couple layers on but I was way too sweaty when I arrived at work. Oh well...

A pleasant ride in. I for once left the house on time so I was spinning leisurely. I had a good trackstanding day, so no foot down on the way in. The only thing that was odd was in the elevator ride up to my office. A woman noticed my super-Fred fluorescent jacket and bike shoes and said "Oh, it's going to be too cold for you tomorrow!"

Oh, really?

Cool ride in. I went through 1/2 inch of snow on the road for about a mile then nothing. Rest was dry or damp from the salt melting things. 20 - 21 degrees F in MI this morning. Need to put on a more aggressive front tire on if I keep this up. I even got a crazy comment from another MTBer that is contracted to where I work. Maybe I am

Nice and sunny now. I expect it to be still cold but no precipitation.

You guys are all making me jealous, I want to see some snow. Usual commute this morning, pretty cold though. Low 20's tonight means a very cold ride in the morning, coldest it has been here this winter (if you want to call it that).

slushy. I didn't get in until ~half an hour ago, stayed home w/ the kids in the am (school day).

about two inches of snow on the ground this morning when i went out, with more snow falling. i'm trying to protect my knees as it gets colder, so i wrapped them up like a hockey player and was fine. also located and used all my additional more-serious gear. it was right at freezing, and a really nice ride.

during the day it got colder and started to snow like crazy, so when i came home it was up to four or five inches in most places. much better than the last time this happened, maybe because it's not as cold so the snow is softer. i didn't need to walk over the bridge. took the 'wrong way' side of it because after watching the traffic i didn't want to be sharing the cloverleaf with those cars. the places where i did get off and walk for a while i realised this round of snow is way more slippery than the last one. it's a neat moment when biking is the only method of transportation that feels realistic and viable. i can't pretend my knees are totally thrilled, what with the extra weight and resistance of snow and all the extra wiggles you need to recover from, but they should be okay if i stay careful.

p.s. it's mean-spirited and competitive, but i do love being the only bike in the bike cage.

Zero degrees F under cloudless blue (as the sun came up) skies. Coldest ride of the season so far. I was comfortable. The MUP is snowy but it's only a thin layer so it's easy going. There are a lot of iced-over pedestrian tracks already as well. I'm pleased with my bike's performance. A much smoother ride with the full suspension.

Someone else is riding in from the general area where I live (evidence: a track in the snow). I wonder if (s)he'll keep riding even when it's this "cold." Guess I'll see on my ride home. I seem to go in and come home earlier than the other person.

I came up behind two pedestrians. You would think they would hear the loud crunching of ice under my tires, but no. I dinged my bell at them. They heard that. The ped on the right swerved left and the ped on the left swerved right. It was pretty funny. I wasn't near them yet so I had time to take it all in and giggle before they sorted themselves out.

45F and WINDY, 20-25mph out of the South. Rain is coming.... the wind makes it hard to keep a straight line, kinda spookey on the 18" wide shoulder of the 2-lane, 45mph overpass I pedal over every morning

-2C and I forgot my ear warmers. Some guy in a minivan gave me the thumbs up as he waited at a stop sign.

Coldest ride in so far this winter, temps in the low 20's F. Slow going since I was wearing so many layers but I was taking it easy and enjoying the ride. My toes were the only thing cold when I got to work. Not supposed to be as windy this afternoon but I will believe it when I ride home.