I'm liking this cold weather. So far. This has been the first week when the lows have dropped to the freezing mark in Raleigh, NC. My cold weather gear has been performing greatly -- keeping me warm enough without sweating. The end of daylight savings time also has been nice from a commuting standpoint. The sun is coming up now when I leave home, while last week it was dark all the way to work on my morning commute. The afternoon commute is also better. Even though it's darker, I feel more visible because my lights show up more and there is less glare from the sun.

I'm probably going to need some additional cold-weather gear and clothes, however, for days when the lows drop down into the 20s and teens. Probably will need a baclava and shoe covers, and perhaps a warmer jacket. Right now I doing fine with heavy jerseys, base layer and vest.

After three days of appointments after work, thus driving... I rode in this morning. 43F, sunny & clear. My feet got really cold today, time for thicker socks. I need full gloves too. Tonight will be my first post-DST commute in the dark. I am getting a better headlight this weekend, I hope I do okay.

I took a different route to work today to avoid two huge bridges I have to cross in favor of crossing one little one. The downside: I have to ride about a mile down a main road with a crater in the right lane the ENTIRE length that looks like it was MADE to eat bike tires. I might as well be taking the lane I have to ride so far out from the curb. There's a left lane too going in that direction so people can go around (and traffic is fairly light) but I still got 3 honks. It was quicker though and so worth it not having to cross those bridges. I'll have to see how it is on the way home, traffic can get snarly there during rush hour. We shall see.

Actually today was rather nice. 30F commute - but it was dry - and no wind - great commute. Plus I'm finally getting over my headcold (which has been sapping my strength) so the bike felt pretty good today!

Awesome! Got a new drivetrain so of course it feels like a new bike. And soooo quiet. After having to take it easy for a while until I got carried away somewhat and pushed it above around 30mph a few times, which tends to be a bit faster than I usually go on the commute. Then again, it was around freezing when I rode and I was more than warm enough for the ride.

I gotta stop leaving for work so late. Traffic just gets uglier and uglier so I was zigzagging way more than usual because drivers tend to hug the far left or far right of the lane rather than drive right down the middle. Turned up the street to work and after squeezing through a tight spot created by a livery driver, I took the lane in front of him and followed behind a cab. Of course the livery driver honks at me so I just give him a mean look and leave him stuck behind the cab since the light was red. Guess he couldn't wait to make up the 10' it cost him to have me in front of him. Jackass.

Brisk, foggy. It was up in the 40sF but I've been wearing full-finger gloves anyway. Oh yes, I thoroughly scrubbed my chain (down to rubbing the inner plates (on the outsides of the chain) w/ a paper towel) last weekend so it's been just a nice silent ride for a while now. It had been giving me that kind of chewing on cotton balls feeling before. First *cleaning* in ~2500 miles, 4th lube though.

A nice ride except for the impatient, rude person who honked, then leant lengthily upon their horn to express displeasure at my disposition as a cyclist.



I thought the horn was a device only for use to warn another road user of your presence in an emergency, not a device to make slow traffic get out of your way.

Like Most of the Northeast the cold has come and its my challenge to figure out before April how to layer without being too wet or cold.

25 miles to work and the real feel was 33 when I left home.
New Louis Garneau ear warmers with wintex are doing their job, but they do cut down on my hearing. Got to work on that. I did find that when I took them off at work they were soaked.

Some jerk decided to teach me how to kill myself while bicycling on Queens Blvd.
This road is known as the "Boulevard of Death" as many peole are run over in what at parts is 8-10 lanes. At my usual junction before a right lane ramp entry
to the Long Island Expressway is a red light that I almost never beat or try to. I position myself in the middle of three lanes so cars that will take the ramp need not honk me, leaving room for those who want to use the left lane and avoiding people to cut me off.
I continue merrily on my way happy that I was not crushed and this jerk in a jeep comes along on my right telling me that I should be in the right lane, blah blah blah.

I mean, dude if I was in the right lane back there I would be dead. I skipped the commentary, because as I said I can't hear so well with my toasty ear warmers.

I continue cranking away and who do I pass 1/4 mile up at a red light? Yup, Mr. Right Lane advisor. I smile, that pathetic drugged out look smile and hammer the hill.

My return home was late, I guess I left at 10:00 or so and the winds must have kicked up, beacuse I was dragging. No matter how much I pushed I had no power left. Oh well, I came home 7 minutes later than usual.

Funny thing when it gets cold.
a) I bike a bit more slowly
b) The hills don't hurt as much (see "a" )
c) I gotta pee more. I guess I will not have coffee at home until I get to work.

Back to checking out new winter gear.

Happy biking.

Dark, 27 F. and just a hint of what is to come....keeping a log of temp, wind and what I wear along with comments..might help me decide what to wear as I go along...

Yeah, drivers are pretty impatient. I'm taking the right lane at a red light, which turns into a shoulder about 20 feet after going straight through the light. When the light turns, the second I start pedalling straight ahead, a car behind me honks. I stupidly made the "pass me" signal (waving with my right hand towards the left) and he passed me with perhaps three inches to spare. I must stick to my policy of ignoring drivers who honk at me.

Really, really nice this morning. This fall I've gotten back into a groove. My buddy and I have revived our pre-work training rides. I'm at 149 miles for the week and it's only Thursday. We're going to have huge base miles in our legs by the time of the early season races next year.

Trying to get into better shape, so I have been either riding or going to the gym(or both) every day. My first session with the personal trainer yesterday, and my legs were wiped out today. No gas. I'm usually slow, and today I was VERY slow. Also developed a large and deep blister on my left foot, which certainly did not help my pedaling efficiency.

took the road route in this morning. commonwealth ave is a mess of construction these days.

got there in no time though. construction on the bike path home meant a little detour to the Cambridge side.

Proper gear is truly a blessing. I got rained on and snowed on today... and it didn't matter didly squat. :) In fact, it energized me.

Stopped by the bike shop yesterday and picked up another winter jersey. I've been looking for a warm jersey that is very bright. They had a new, old stock Pearl Izumi Escalation jersey that was all yellow and fit me perfect. Usually I can't find clothes large enough at our local bike shops, so order most of my cycling clothes on-line. I'm more than glad to give the LBS my business when they have what I need in stock. Anyway, the jersey is similar in weight to a Kodiak, but a little roomier. I also picked up a bell, which I've never used before, because I'm encountering more and more crazy joggers-with-a-death-wish in the mornings.

The ride in was nice today. Rang my new bell at some kids waiting at a bus stop who often holler at me. It was the "warmest" morning of the week with temps in the upper 30s. It felt colder, however, because the humidity was higher. The new jersey was comfy but I think I'm still gonna need something warmer when the temps start dipping into the low 20s and teens. We'll see.

That seems like a great idea, I think I should start doing that since this is my first winter commuting in New England.

Had a nice ride today, the only ride of the week for me, unfortunately. It was cold out, low 30s when I left, but no noticeable wind and I didn't have any close calls. Most drivers actually slowed down on the curvy back roads and waited until they could see if anybody was coming. Tonight will be my first ride home in the dark, so we will see how that goes. I have 3 rear tail lights ready to go, a front LED flashing light and two halogen lights to actually light up the road.

Odd fact of the day: You MUST wear reflective ankle straps if you ride at night in Massachusetts. It is listed in the driver's manual, of all places! :p

What else were you wearing on top with the jersey (I have it as well). I can't get the combination right and end up sweating too much

Around the freezing point and a bit windy, weather-wise. Anticipated and deftly avoided a left cross on the way home last night.

I'm finally back on my bike again after my dog crash nearly 3 weeks ago and a tiring cold the last couple of days.

27 degrees this morning. Back a little sore on uphills, but not too bad now. Dressed in layers and comfortable all the way: REI MTS long sleeve undershirt, Trek long sleeved jersey, Performance Illuminite commuter jacket, midweight tights and booties, Performance Schirocco gloves and balaclava.

I only need to ride outside a little longer before I can afford my new trainer and move inside. My road bike is in no way equipped to ride on slippery roads. We'll have snow covered ground pretty soon that will last until sometime in late April probably.

My goal was to commute 85 days at least one way to work this year. Today I hit 80.

4:30am 44f Nice weather and ride in except for the jerk on Sharon Woods BL. who blew past me doing about 50mph at 4:20am. And of course He had to see how close he could get to me without hitting me, I just stood my ground and pretended like it didn't bother me and continued on my way. On another note, I usually hit all the lights on 161 except when I cross High St. I sometimes come up on a red light and it irritates me that I can't trip the detector. I like to follow protocol and stop as a car would. But at that time of the morning, if no one is around then I will just ride thru it. If cars approach then I'll stop because I know they will trip the detector and I like to set a good example. I'm glad I did it at 161/Olentangy. Because as I cruised to a stop debating wheter or not to go thru it, a car approached, so I stopped. Good thing. Because it was a OHP car. Ride home was GREAT! 52f sunny. Took the scenic route home. Coming down the Alum Creek path towards home, I saw anothe biker and caught up with him and had a short talk complementing him on his bike. Talking about the disc brakes he had and the fact that we both were riding the same brand of Gary Fisher. His was newer, mine's about 15 yrs old.
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Had a platelet donation this morning and didn't feel like putting on the clown shoes so I rode to the blood center and work wearing plain old shoes. Even managed to hold a decent track stand. Maybe Grant Peterson is right!

Nah.....

Oh yeah. For all you folks out there looking for Winter gear. Check out stuff from SportHill.com (no need for layering). If it's good enough for the Canadian Ski Team it's good enough for me. Also look at the Squall pants from Lands End. For cheap prices, go to Sierra Trading Post.

After arriving to my destination today I discovered that my NY Kryptonite lock rusted shut. %$*!! Second time this year it happened to me! Had to hightail it to the nearest gas station where I bought some WD-40 to spray on the lock. Still made it on time - phew! This is it - I am definitely including some sort of lubricant in my bike repair kit from now on!

Talked to a guy in the parking lot at my daughter's daycare who was truly baffled by a bike w/ drop bars and 26x2.0" wheels. It's hard to talk about having a non-off-the-rack preference w/o sounding like an evangelist, but I try.

Took a slightly different route today so I could pass around the CN Tower for a change... Waiting at the lights right by my work I noticed a bike ahead, and sure enough was a guy on a nice looking Aquila something or other... trackstanding (geared bike) the whole light sequence (King/Spadina for locals) - very impressive, I gave him a "nice!" as I admired his skills.

Not too cold, but I've brought the balaclava with me for the riding tonight, I anticipate it'll be pretty cool after 9pm. Passed 5000km (3107miles) this past week. I'm pretty darn pleased with that! Just need to go get a new chain after reading that chain thread here :p

I had the day off today, but ended up riding to work so I could go to the gym and meet a friend for lunch. Traffic at 10 a.m. is a lot different than at 7:30! I don't think I even had to sprint - I just cruised around. Not bad for midday.

Here's how my commute was a few days ago...

http://spicymchaggis.smugmug.com/photos/219503790-L.jpg

Came into work thinking exactly that. Was 40 and raining; finally a chance to try out the ShowersPass jacket in its natural environment and with just a lightweight Smartwool layer underneath, it performed wonderfully. While the wool was a bit wet from sweat, I never felt hot and I was able to feel air circulating quite well inside the jacket. On the bottom, the 100 weight Polartec tights (Thanks, Icebike) with Endura shorts over 'em kept the legs toasty.

The Polartec truly makes me question the need for rain pants. They felt warm and got wet on the outside, but the piling on the inside remained dry. Combined with neoprene booties, I can certainly feel confident in this combo down into the freezing temps in moderate rain.

oh, the bike in this pic looks so much like my rig- memories of last winter and images of what's to come!

Hope you're riding studs.:)

My ride was much less frosty. There was a chill in the air and actually a threat of possible snow tonight but pretty mild compared to Nanook of the North.;)

Wow - that's a lot of snow. Not something we get in Sydney, especially not in the summer!

Today was warm - perhaps 25 degrees (77F), blus sky, sunshine. Very nice ride, if a bit sweaty.

I kept getting caught up by a dude on a MTB, all the way from Anzac Bridge to the Harbour Bridge. I kept leavhing him behind, then turning around later on and finding him back with me... He trailed me across the HB, and then rode down the ramp and dissappeared (I don't ride down those stairs. Seen too many stacked bikes chained up at the bottom...). Still, made me keep up a good pace through the city on the way in this morning.