It was cold again. 9F / -13C with a wind chill down to -4F / - 19C.

I live in St. Louis and some of you may have seen the posting about a kid leaning out of a school bus and whacking a cyclist with broom handle.

Today I was a little paranoid about those yellow behemoths.
Of course, nothing happened.

Then when I get to work my son calls to tell me the car won't start.

The risks and advantages of commuting by bike.

last 2 days I have wimped out and not ridden it was -13 f yesterday and i believe -15 today ((with windchill)) so i called a cab

Ah, mine was brilliant. Temp about forty-one, partly cloudy. Had bought an old Peugeot UO-10 (1976 model, I think) from a local thrift for thirty five dollars and spent last week overhauling and cleaning it, replacing the chain, all bearings, cables and housing, truing and redishing the back wheel, new tires and tubes, etc. I think it hadn't been ridden much, but had been left uncared for for a looong time. Nice stronglight cranks, normandy hi-flange hubs, etc, etc... finished today, tooled it around the neighbouhood, tightened up and re-adjusted a few minor things, and decided to ride it in. It was a joy. I think it's now my dry weather commuter. I'll keep my other commuter for wet weather and night rides-- it's far better equiped for those conditions, but not as nice a ride.

To think when I first saw this bike I was gonna buy it to part it.

Back to cold today 4F/-15C. Most of the ice was fairly smooth. Most of the snow banks have compacted to where I can look over them if I stand on my pedals. It was warmer this evening 20F/-7C, but I actually was colder and had to change from gloves to mittens. It is cold enough that no one has tapped any trees here, but they better get on it because I can smell sap in the evening.

Another nice ride in today. 7am and the temperature was a relatively cool 22 C. Nice to see the clouds are still protecting us from the evil effects of the sun.

Too cold for me to ride this morning at -19 C or -1 F. Toasty warm on the bus, though. The ride home last evening was a little warmer at -10 C or 14 F. During the ride I was marvelling at how well everything works on my 10 year old bike even though it's all gunked up with road salt.

A little bit of snow this morning, 21.9 F (-5.6 C). In the last mile or so there was enough of it to cause my rear tire to slip momentarily on some hills. Otherwise, there were no traction issues whatsoever. Really pleasant trip through the powdery falling snow.

Paul

Cold ride in today, but I went home at lunchtime yesterday.

Took the dual carriageway (trunk road) rather than cycle path. 1 mile shorter but about 15 minutes quicker!

Combination of a light tail wind, not having to stop at junctions and the fear factor of cars passing at 70mph helped me keep my pace up.

Fixed broken spoke last night and re-trued the wheel. Had a nice ride in. There was still some water left on the road and a few raindrops falling when i started. By the time I got to work my bike was just as dirty as if it had rained the whole way, but I was mostly dry. It was a beautiful ride in. I really am enjoying those new eggbeater pedals (much better than my broken Tiogas). The new bike seems to be holding up just fine as well (except for the spokes of course!).

Beautiful weather this morning: 40F and fluffy clouds. Had to buy a new rear wheel for the commuter (discovered huge crack in the rim near a spoke nipple) and got that installed last night as well as some new brake pads.

Left before dawn to get a 20 mile detour on the way to the office. Arrived feeling like a million bucks. Life is good, my friends.

Very overcast. Probably will rain on my way home. Nice ride. I didn't want to ride today, but I did and feel good for it now. I'm going to try to add extra miles on the way home.

Nice. I've been off the bike for the month of Feb, and today was my second day back in the saddle. (I had to get a wheel built, then spent three weeks moving and being busy w/ school.) Now that I think about it, despite the added time and logistics, I would have dealt w/ a rather stressful month much better if I had ridden more.

Anyway the big hill on the way to work seemed much bigger than it used to, but my commute times have been pretty steady w/ before, I didn't move far, so the commute is only 1.5 miles further than before. It was chilly this A.M. 32f, but no rain or snow so it was alright.

The whole day feels better now that I'm riding. The big news is that I'm getting rid of my car this weekend. No more lazy excuses not to pedal to work.

The sun was back this morning, although it's clouded over now. At least it wasn't hot. A spanky southerly wind kept that away.

Cold rain on the trip home, about 45 degrees F.

The trick was to add an extra layer under my jacket. This trapped my body heat. I was wet as could be, but warm underneath.

The only things that got cold were my forhead, fingers and toes. Of these, all warmed up nicely during the ride except my toes. These were like solid blocks of unfeeling nothingness by the time I pulled into my driveway over an hour later. But I was happy!



(Earlier this morning, the weather man asked the anchor man if he was going to ride his bike today in the "miserable, cold rain."
The anchor man replied, "No, I guess I'll ride the indoor bike today!" After hearing that, my mind was made up: I was going to ride if it killed me. )

Monday here the wind came up and was running about 35-45 mph, so I stayed off the bike. But yesterday and today were really nice commuting weather days. It was cool in the morning (just under freezing), but very nice for the ride home. I extended my route to take advantage of the longer days too; very, very nice rides home. I particularly like the fact that, with the better weather (sunny days here), people are out walking and its light enough to see things.

John

I worked from home this morning to let the temps rise above 0 F. I finally headed out about 8:30am with temps holding at 4 F. It felt quite warm despite these temps due to the strong spring sun. I think the artic cold will soon be a faint memory.

Bring on the spring.

I think a lot of people stayed home today because of the storm warning. Yesterday's massive backups did not materialize. It all seems absurd because the roads are clear and nothing is forecast until late afternoon.

There are some bike trails that I use for part of my commute. They are more direct than the street network and avoid several very long traffic lights. In all, my detour adds about 10 minutes to a 30 minute commute..

Paul

Nice ride this morning. Wet roads, brisk air, and a sun that wants to get out, but the clouds are forbidding it. Had a nice pace for the ride.

I did lose a velcro strap last night that held my waterbottle battery to the back of my seatpost. ugh, now I need to stop by the store for a replacement.

Broke another spoke on the way in. I am thinking of getting a 36 spoke wheel on the back due to the weight I carry. Had a beautiful ride in. Last night the bus rack was full so I got a bonus 18 mile ride in!

Very mellow on the way in. Cool and cloudy but probably won't rain.

how much weight?

A warm morning early on, but thankfully we got some drizzle that seemed to cool things slightly. I felt invincible this morning.

Last night the velcro strap holding my water bottle battery fell off my bike somewhere. lo-and-behold, I found it on the side of the road on my way home tonight. It didn't fall off, it split in half. Looks like I'll have indeed to buy a new one.

I was just impressed I saw it out of the corner of my eye. I doubled back, and it was it.

I added an extra 15 miles to my commute home this eve. I thought it would have been 20.. guess I'll have to find even more of an extension.

Very nice on the way in. Clear and warmer, 40f. I've taken a few weeks off and lo and behold I'm getting tired after just 3 days commuting again, still feels great to be out. I stopped counting at a dozen other folks heading to work on their bikes this AM. Funny how I don't see any on the way home! (I leave work at 9pm.)

I missed a day through illness on Wednesday. Made the ride to work taking it easy yesterday and was nearly back on full form today. Our weather has been very kind this week with sunshine and warm temperatures. Spring is on its way!

Have a good weekend folks,

Ed