idcruiserman

25F and snow with a tailwind this morning. Excellent ride. I was about as fast as the cars. Overdressed as usual. I need to leave the mid fleece layer for the teens and below.

jyossarian

28F this morning when I left and I was still sweaty when I got to work. Silk and wool works wonders that way. Almost got right hooked by a cab that sped up w/ about 30' to the intersection. He never fully passed me, just pulled ahead and started his turn. I asserted my ROW and dipped right and around him at the intersection. I guess he knew he didn't pass me fully so he let me pass instead of being an ass and taking the turn on two wheels. When I got to my block, I had to go around a truck that pulled a left turn fakey and started backing up into a loading dock.

sauerwald

I dressed pretty much as I usually do for my ride in this morning, but did find that my toes were a bit chilly, and my water bottle froze before I got half way to work, so I checked the temp when I arrived: 12F (-11C). It is funny because other than my toes, and to a lesser extent, my ears, I didn't feel that cold. Co-workers were all amazed that I rode in this morning.

vtjim

Oh Yeah - This being the first winter that I've commuted with a water bottle (my old MTB had no cage), I can now say with certainty that water bottles DO freeze at 0F.

rustycool7

icy ride this morning. I put on a triple layer of wool on top, polar fleece and MUSA pants on the bottom with booties. Still managed to sweat a little on the 12 mile commute. Saw 2 groups of 5 deer in the Battlefield Park. My water bottle froze as well.

Wulfheir

-25c with some drifting snow. the wind was no where near as bad as yesterday.

GTcommuter

Fine this morning. I actually caught most of the green (or yellow) lights and had a very easy ride in. I even got to pass a Prius who thought the speed limit was about 10mph on a main street.

And well-wishes to a fellow Atlanta commuter who got clipped yesterday. She's ok other than scrapes, but emotionally very shaken up that neither the driver nor anyone else stopped to help her up. Jerks.

squegeeboo

Black ice all over the MUP on the way home last night and the ride in today. Much easier with Sunlight good thing I slept in 'by accident'.

jyossarian

Turn your water bottles upside down so the ice forms on the bottom of the bottle for all you frozen water bottle people.

And gtcommuter, that sucks when people can't be bothered to help another human being. When I saw a Fedex driver fall off the back of his truck, both a cab driver that witnessed and I stopped to help him up. It didn't take much effort for either of us and it was appreciated. What's so bad about offering a little help?

HardyWeinberg

Black ice going home and coming in. At least there was another dusting of snow overnight so there was more of something to dig into for traction (in addition to frozen evergreen branches) this morning.

Last night, was reminded that bridges freeze first. Actually, last night I was totally on fire in not paying for mistakes, downshifting and pedalling out of fishtails when my mind lapsed and I forgot that the weather had changed, that kind of thing. This morning I only had one wobble I think that I just balanced myself out of.

Got off the bike to walk up one hill (around a really tight corner).

Funny thing, I saw the exact same skid in the dusting of snow from the other biker who had gone that way and tried to take the corner on the bike. We both appear to have taken the hint and walked w/o falling.

Got off to walk up one hill and down another last night (short ones). The descent could have had DIRE consequences if I slid through the stop sign, didn't want to chance that.

pinkrobe

Ditto! I also fixed my rear brake lever and the rear brake itself. Having your brake drag as you're heading into the wind, uphill through snow is just not fun...

vrkelley

No commute, snowed in...have safe ride everyone

caloso

Chilly (for me at least) 35F/2C but clear with a gentle breeze from the northwest. I took off my jacket after 20 minutes. I don't care what anybody says: there's really no such thing as a breatheable jacket. I think tomorrow I might just wear an old moth-eaten merino wool sweater over my jersey. (I better save that for the "Fred thread").

gizem310

Please give her my get-well wishes from a fellow commuter in California. This is very sad to hear.
Had a real fast ride in. I am leaving work early today, so I told my boss that I was going to come in early but overslept. So I rode as fast as I could with an empty stomach and cut my commute time by 15 minutes. The computer that I installed last night was showing 30 mph, and I was very proud of myself - all this commuting was finally paying off. Then I realized that the computer was set in kilometers.

ModoVincere

Man that sucks. I swear Atlanta has the wors a$$hole drivers in the world.

I did not commute in today. I worked 14+ hours yesterday and rode home at 10:00 last night. Was a little chilly at that time. Also, wtf is with the damn SUV drivers here in Alpharetta. I was on Windward Parkway which is a 45 mph 4 lane divided road. At that time of the night, the traffic was extremely light and yet these JAM could not move over into an empty left lane, they have to pass me at 50+ mph and about 1 ft separating me from their front quarter panel! I mean WTF!

-JP-

No snow here in Lincolnshire, just 25mph winds and rain to deal with. Had some hairy moments with the wind coming from my left alongside a main road (even at 7.30am it was busy) trying to push me into the traffic. Took me about 15 minutes longer than usual, which I think isn't bad. Mind, my helmet nearly flew away when I took it off!

marqueemoon

I bussed it today. It was icy out this morning and I busted my butt at work last night getting caught up on things so I decided not to kill myself and have a nice relaxing bus ride in. The bus takes a long time, and I had to walk about half a mile once I got off. It was a good reminder of why I prefer to ride.

demo9

cool and damp this morning, a constant rattle all the way in turned out to be 2 loose spokes on my front wheel.

bikebuddha 

I have that same problem over on this side of town. Message to motorists: if there's an empty lane use it.

chephy

Still spring-like weather in Toronto. Warm and windy today. Nice riding. Was just dawdling there for a while but then got passed by a couple of folks and picked up my pace.

kbrown

I made my first commute today. I wasn't going to but the weather was just right. I got my bike last night and before that I haven't ridden except for once for 3 days while my truck was broken down I just borrowed my friends old bike.

I left at 6:35 this morning and it's down hill the whole way to work and I had a tailwind the whole mile and a half. I was to nervous to ride on any streets without shoulders since I got it last nite rode about 5 miles and that was it. I just rode around where I live so their wasn't a lot of cars. I take an hour lunch so I rode next door and ate in about 15 minutes and rode around practiced emergency braking and played around a bit. The ride home was of course uphill with a headwind. Still made the trip in 15 minutes though and didn't have to walk the bike at all. I won't be able to ride to work again until at least tuesday since it's supposed to rain but at least I know I can do it.

tomg

25 miles today total. lite wind am, amped pm push home!
traffic (except one) seemed pretty sane/sharing!
good day!

jwbnyc

Interesting commute Today.

Ran into a section of HHP access road covered from side to side with Black ice while running down to Broadway off the ridge in Riverdale. There is an underground stream that sometimes floods the road on the steepest downhill section going into a right hand bend. It's been so warm this Winter. The thought of ice forming just wasn't there. It was one of those "Oh ****" moments. No time to stop. Hit the brakes to get rid of some speed. Just tried to be relaxed and upright. It worked. No crash. Thank Dog there was no ice in the corner.

Then on the way home just about became a hood ornament for one of those new Landrovers up on Frederick Douglass North of Macombs. L3? whatever.

I know he was moving fast because I hardly heard him until the last Second. What I heard were pedestrians going, "Ah ****!" as he apparently tried to do a high speed pass around someone in the left lane by running into the right (mine) lane. He was in a big hurry to get to the nonstop traffic jam that is the FDR/Harlem River Drive split. Snuck a peek over my shoulder and there was his grill right on my ass. Can't say I was too upset even though this could have been curtains pretty easily.. It happened so fast and there was so little warning.

He blew by on the left as soon as he had the clearance. Real jake of him.

Saw him stuck in traffic a couple of blocks later on the FDR access road, the *******.

It just seems to be impossible to have a relatively safe commute around here. No matter how conservative you ride there is always a situation sooner rather than later.

I am really starting to hate cars.

tokolosh

the morning ride was really nice. all the snow has been flattened down - uh, flat - by cars, and it never got above freezing all night, so it was just really smooth and steady. hardly any ruts anywhere, but i kept my speed down a bit anyway just in case. the only thing that worried me was gravity, specially once i discovered my brakes need replacing again and i was doing parts of the ride by braking with one foot trailed on the ground. i skipped the last few really steep blocks i usually use heading down to the bridge because of it, and went across to where there was a sidewalk instead, and less of a slope.

rode all the way over the bridge - yay. it was rough and chunky in spots, but so much better than last month. that's probably partly me being much stronger after a month of the studded tires, but it was also just easier snow to deal with. i took buses most of the way home though, because of the brakes. i REALLY need to pick up new pads. that was the only thing wrong with the morning ride.

the guy on the other side of my desk asks every day if i rode, but he just laughs at everything i say after that. i think it's just because he doesn't know what else to do, so i don't take it personally. there's an edge of the hysterical-giggle in it. i do try sometimes to convince people that i'm so cautious and stodgy in weather like this that there's absolutely nothing exciting about me riding, but it doesn't seem to sink in somehow. his elbow is getting better, i'm glad to say.

vtjim

Dark and windy. Slightly above freezing though. 35MPH wind blowing off the lake, into my face.

First ride on the Hakka W106 tires. I mounted them last night. Far less rolling resistance than the original knobby tires. They're quieter too, even with the studs. With the headwind, on snow, I was riding almost as fast as I ride on dry pavement with no wind with the knobby tires. I guess I'll swap them for more road-like tires in the spring.