Low 20Fs and snow! There's a bit of a storm passing over Vermont. I'm hoping the snow doesn't pile up on the MUP too much before I ride home. First ride on serious snow with the Hakkas. So far so good, including riding uphill.

Happy MLK Day!

Ride in was quick due to the holiday traffic. Roads were wet and it was misting out so that gave the fenders a workout and it appears they work. AFAIK, I arrived mostly spotless. I did notice as I was turning onto the down Lex that my handlebars weren't perpendicular to the tires as they usually were. It wasn't off by more than 5 degrees and didn't affect the handling, but it had me wondering the whole way to work how that happened. I don't have allen keys w/ me so I'll have to adjust it when I get home. Strange though.

Well I've had about 3.5 weeks of craziness in my personal life, so I've been off the commuter wagon since Dec. 6th and not ridden my bike at all in '07 until yesterday.

What a day I chose to start riding into work, a nice coat of snow, slush and freezing rain - my commute has changed temporarily to just under 3 miles, so while it took me about 15-20 mins, it was only because of exercising extreme caution - I had no idea of the snow until I stepped out this morning with my bike. I still have my regular road treads on, so I'll have to switch to knobbies if this keeps up!

Saw a good few bikes, had a chat to one nice lady - we both commented it was the worst weather we'd ridden in so far. I had a lot of fun, despite almost hitting the off-side curb on Grace (it is one way though! ) and needing a quick foot down on a wobble/drift going south on Spadina.

Feels nice to be back.

comfortable ride in today. Mid 60's and light rain. Went to the bank to get some cash for lunch. When I started pedaling away it felt like I was riding in a big bat of molasses. Ok, I am thinking now, I know I only got 5 hours of sleep at the max, am I that worn down? Then I tried to turn, and the rear felt really loose. Oh crap! Flat tire..thank god I bought a spare tube last week and actually packed in my stuff this weekend. Found part of a thumb tack sticking through my tire.

Anyway, I'm all set now, and I'm going to get a new spare tube over lunch break.

Today was another great commute into work.

It was 21F - note where I live!

I was perfectly dresssed and comfortable.

Al

Yay! It finally snowed in Toronto! My first extreme commute of the winter! And I did it on slicks too.

The morning ride was very interesting... as in "interesting"... There was snow on the ground and really nastry freezing rain. I had a pick between busier roads better plowed by cars and empty backstreets that had nary a couple of tracks. I chose backstreets. It wasn't easy. The 6-mile commute that usually takes me 15-20 minutes was on the order of 45-50 minutes this time. For long stretches there I wasn't moving any faster than pedestrians. I also used a stretch of sidewalk that was better plowed than the street: given the speed at which I was going, a sidewalk was rather appropriate. I was losing traction just trying to go straight... the wheels wouldn't reach the pavement through the snow and would spin... Agh! Aggravating.

On the way back I realized I wouldn't be able to suffer the agony of the backstreets again and turned to major road: Queen St. E -> Church -> Davenport -> Spadina. It wasn't too bad: basically just a bit of slush. The roads were narrower and it was easier to take the lane because of that - and because all the lane markings were hidden under the slush anyway.

Usually I brag about how many green lights I manage to catch. Well, today all the red lights were mine! I crawled between the intersections and slowed down before interesections: streetcar tracks at funny angles is not a thing to joke with.

At one red light an old sickly-looking guy with a cigarette in his mouth in a car behind me gave me a honk. Remembering BF discussions, I replied with a smile and a wave. He shook his head and pointed at the sidewalk. I pointed at me and then at the road. He rolled down the window and started telling me I should get off the road. Yeah, right. I told him to learn the effing law. He told me I was a loser. There I just couldn't help but laugh. A poor old jerk with a cancer stick in his mouth in a lousy old gas-guzzler just has to find someone who is less fortunate than he to make him feel better. Too bad, buddy, you picked a wrong person. Keep looking. He honked behind me a bunch and finally passed me (not too closely either). As he sped away, he did a couple of skids that were clearly intentional but whose purpose was unclear to me. To throw snow into my lane? To express his frustration? To complain he ain't getting any and can't get it up anyway? Who knows? Who cares?

To balance it out, there were plenty of nice drivers out there, giving me lots of room. One lady pulled out in front of me, noticed me brake, made apologetic gestures and pulled back into the driver giving me space. I was going so slowly there wasn't any danger, and I didn't have to brake very hard - but the reaction and the whole exchange of smiles and waves was definitely nice.

And yeah - my toes really froze on the way back. Need some better socks and boots, I guess.

Hey! Welcome back!!

I hope the craziness in your personal life is not of too bad a kind.

Wow, that must've been quite a shock. Better check the weather before you head out next time.

Same here.

On my way back home (around 11:30-12 a.m.) I saw quite a few bikies (not so many north of Bloor, but a bunch downtown). Amazing, eh? Nice to see people riding... or, in some cases (as it was with me on the way in at 6 a.m.), trying to ride.

Slow commute today. Did a leg workout on Saturday, and I felt like I was pedaling through molasses today. I'm finding out the battery life of my blinkies is about 1/10 of the advertised time in the winter.

As luckysnafu has reported, windy this morning, and humid. I wore too much clothing for the amount of work I had to do against the wind, and was very sweaty upon arrival.

My commute schedule is all messed up. My wife's 9 months pregnant with our first kid; neither of us is sleeping well so I'm trying to compensate by sleeping in. Fortunately I still arrive before any of my co-workers (and today that was at 9:45! How pathetic is that?).

21f and ICY this am in the greater Dallas - Fort Worth area!
I threw on the Nashbar studded tires @40psi and averaged 13mph on the commute. Passed a few cars... the studs are awesome, amazing traction. HEAVY, especially with sealant in the tubes.
Most folks took the day off.
Great ride. Looking forward to the go-home

Cold for San Diego today, around 25 degrees this morning coming into work, fortunately it's dry as a bone so there wasn't any ice on the roads. I'm sure I looked like the biggest dork in the work wearing my thermals under my MTB shorts, but hey, I was actually kind of toasty. The afternoon was windy, but not too bad, and there wasn't much traffic due to the holiday. A good commute all around.

i hate the dreadful hollow behind the little wood . . . frickin' ice. in the same little never-drains dip in the mup where the silt dumped me off a few months ago, i got caught in a deep set of frozen-in tracks from last week and went down and/or into the barrier. insult to injury, the tracks were probably mine. i was going too slow to be seriously hurt, but not slow enough to escape the crash and a badly bruised knee. for a wonder for once though, i landed on the opposite side from my derailleur and didn't get it banged up. there wasn't anything else exciting about the ride, but i chickened right out of taking the bridge home again and was back on the bus. the fun is starting to get frustrating. today i realised that part of my snarliness lately must be because i haven't been able to work up a good sweat for almost a week.

Bicycle commute is on hiatus for a couple of days to let the MUP settle down. Last night I slogged home through a few inches of heavy snow with a nice crusty layer on top. I put up with about a mile of it, then bailed up to North Ave (for locals) and found the sidewalk to be plowed. The road was a sloppy, cagey mess, so sidewalk it was! Wrong way, even! I'm such an outlaw.

Oh, and two x-c skiers asked me to take their picture next to the lake on the MUP. I was happy for the break, actually.

The MUP needs to get packed down before I try again. Supposedly it's getting plowed for 3 miles or so, but it certainly wasn't that way last night. Gotta love Burlington. Hundreds of miles of plowed sidewalk and they can't plow 5 miles of MUP. (This is an annual rant of mine.)

Had two close passes today. Pass #1 was a vanthat had to beat me to the intersection to turn right. He passed me on my left so I swung around behind him and passed him on his left as he got stuck w/ behind a line of turning cars. Pass #2 was by a truck who probably didn't appreciate me being in front of him so on his first chance, he shot ahead of me, right into backed up traffic. I had changed lanes because of said traffic, swung around a bus and came out ahead of him, made the light and kept on sailing.

Balmy 12F this morning plus headwind. Some ice/snow remnants left around town, but it only slowed me down on the big hill. Funny how 25F used to seem cold . . .

Pretty nice commute today except one idiot. I was pulling up to the light at Westside Parkway in the turn lane. All of a sudden dipstick on my right wants to move over....right into me. I slapped his window and stared his ass down. I could not believe the gaul of this a$$hole.

Anyway, I also got passed by a roadie that was apparently in a hurry. Going up a nice little hill and he basically handed me my hiney on a platter Maybe the next time I see him, I'll be on my road bike and then we'll see who's the boss

Warm and wet commute this morning. Temps in the low 60s so I was in shorts and the roads were wet at places from some passing showers. I didn't get rained on though and am hoping the rain is gone by the time I head home. Winter is coming back tonight

Winter's back in Cleveland!

It was very pretty. with snow coming down and an inch or two on the MUP. Fun, albeit lonely ride in today.

It's been two weeks since I've posted here, even though I've continued to commute every day. Reason for it is that on Jan. 2 my beloved Cannondale commuter, bought less than a year ago for $1300, was stolen from my lock-up spot at my office. Holy cow, I was just crushed, and still am.

This may be obvious to some, but if not, take my advice: do NOT use the Kryptonite coil-style locks. This is the second time I've used one and had it clipped. I've now lost approximately $2,500 in beloved bike because of these things.

So have been precariously riding my roadbike to work, just waiting for a flat tire or something. Having my bike stolen just sapped the enthusiasm I had for commuting, which is why I stopped coming here. But I still have to get to work, and biking is my best option, so I continue to do it. Now I'm trying to decide whether to just buy a cheapie commuter or shell out some bucks for another nice bike and then lock it up much better. I'm vain enough that I like to ride a nice bike, but I'm feeling very burned since my Cannondale was a replacement for a previous Cannondale that was stolen from in front of my house.

Thieves are such dicks.

That suck's dude..... Don't give up. Park it next to your desk.
Winter is finally here!!!!

Sounds like a good reason to demand indoor bike storage at work...

Sucks to hear that Relaxer. Hope your home insurance takes care of some of the replacement bike expense. Stick w/ krypto/abus/granit chains and locks plus a mini-U to lock the wheel to the frame. You can leave the chain where you work if you don't want to carry it all the time. Also, CigTech did a review of the GMC Denali so check it out if you just want a cheap commuter bike to tide you over.

I have friends in Capitol Hill who have also had their bikes stolen in front of their house. Do you have an option to park in a garage somewhere? I think if you ride in one and act like you belong, you shouldn't have any problems. Sorry to hear that. I've wondered how long my bike would last if I parked it in front of my office on N. Capitol Street!

Very windy commute today, with 15mph headwinds for much of the ride. I had a nice chat with a commuter who was taking his son to daycare/school on his bike--the first time I've seen that in the city.

I'm looking forward to the chilly weather this week, but could do without the wind.

Portland Oregon - first time since I started bicycle commuting two years ago - Stinking, Nasty, Observable, Winter - otherwise know as SNOW. Snow on the bike path - accumulating. About an inch by the time I got to work. I slowed it way down and actually enjoyed the scenery. It was a very pretty ride. I was just worried about snow on top of ice but no wipeouts this morning.

My wife had to catch a 6:30 a.m. flight, so I rode in alone. It was faster. If it doesn't snow tonight, sublimation may take away enough of the snow to allow me to ride the skinny tires by Friday. I won't hold my breath...