Tough headwinds this morning - very unusual for me as prevailing winds usually give me a kick in the tail for the morning ride in. Otherwise nice ride; traffic is returning to normal here in the DC area. I-66 was already backing up when I went under it at 5:45 this AM.

Went out with the wife yesterday and got to ride the ROAD BIKE! I hadn't been on it since early November. What a change to switch from the "boots" I am commuting in to proper road bike shoes, ride in a more efficient position and shed about 10 lbs of gear, fenders, rack, lights, etc.

It put this commuting "workhorse" thing back into perspective when I got back on the commuter bike this morning.

COLD AND WINDY. Wind chill (so they said) of 17-19 F, all as a headwind for me. Wore a sweatshirt and double socks for the first time.

No snow, though flurries were forecast. I was kind of looking forward to snow.

I think I'm going to need mittens instead of these leather gloves.

Windy heading west from DC today. Headwinds tough but not a problem- it's when they become a crosswind that the individual gusts get sketchy.

Lowest temp ride so far this year. -5 deg F and -15 wind chill..quiet and dark!

The first commute downtown (which is all uphill for me) since december 21st. I was definitely feeling it. Also, it was below 0°F with the wind chill, and it had snowed last night. I need to go back on vacation.

First commute since the first week in December. Trying to ride at every opportunity.
However, it was 5F this morning and I almost bailed. Instead I rode all of a half mile and carried my bike on the bus and light rail. Doesn't really count but I wanted to ride home this afternoon.

I was off work for two weeks during the holidays, and only got in two rides during that whole time. I was a bit worried about losing leg strength for the daily commute, but my fears were largely unfounded. Traffic volume was very low this morning, as many people won't be back at work until next week. The new wheelset is awesome. It's heavier than the Open Pro/Hope Pro II setup, but the studded tires fit much better, and I can run higher pressures than before. I can also switch wheels out in 2 minutes, meaning that I don't have to change tires when it snows. Sweet! :)

Cold, cold, cold ride this AM, around 20 degrees F with nasty headwinds and crosswinds.

I was four minutes late to the carpool and they left without me! I rode to a train station and got in by a combination of the train and hitching a ride with a friend the rest of the way.

I got to work late, but I got an extra 3.4 miles of riding in. Woohoo!

34F and foggy at 6:30 am. Got a few miles around town before meeting my buddy on the bike trail at 7:15. Did a quick out and back averaging 19.5 mph before heading back towards downtown and the office. Discovered that my key card didn't work. Either it has to be reauthorized after the new year or my boss is trying to tell me something.

into Carrboro town
 

Hey. It's 28 degrees F and I'm about to ride in for food supplies. Been riding actively a year now and just got an ActionBent.com Hi Racer recumbent. Love to ride now! Just built up to almost 20 miles and legs and lungs still work pedaling hard. Anyone know about national bike registration service? To go along with my new Kryptonite u lock? Keep pedaling. Paul

damp but not soaked. When I got up this am to get hte paper, was dark, windy, pouring/whipping rain. Oh jeeze, I was thinking. But, it lightened up and I'm glad I didn't bail and catch a ride w/ my wife.

and I apparently outsmarted myself, left a spare pair of shoes behind before taking the holidays off, so even if I hadn't remembered to bring shoes in today (which I did!) I wouldn't be barefoot. Whew!

Cold, rainy and windy. And I'm recovering from a 50 miler yesterday and a 30 miler the day before. I'm feeling good, but my legs are a little tired. I never knew how much more riding I could do when I was on my old bike. The new rig makes the same effort go a lot farther.

I was walking out of work when It dawned on me that I couldn't remember locking my bike up at the train station in the morning. Um. When the train pulled into the station, I was afraid to see if it was there or not, but it was there and just fine.

My water bottle was frozen almost solid. I put the bags on the bike, put on the lights, balaclava, gloves, other gloves, heat packs, helmet, goggles... and so on. I rode home in the dark in 20 degree F with nasty winds - the weather says it feels like 5 degrees. I think I've found the coldest I'll ride in. I actually rode several miles on a 4-lane busy street to get home more quickly.

Hill climbing is a lot easier when you're cold.

Is this your LHT w/ dynohub? How's that working out? Pix!!!

Awesome Day One bike commute for 2008, 25 mile RT. Balmy morning, almost 50F / 10C, no wind. Traffic still pretty light today and the sunrise was pretty. My Keen sandals with wool socks are working out just fine in the southern cal un-winter. The ride home was at about 65F / 18C, just as the sun was dropping below the horizon. One bike commute down, 199 to go for 2008 (200 = annual goal for work days that I will be able to bike commute).

15F and a 25mph headwind. This was about the coldest commute that I had last year, and remember being way overdressed, still cold, and miserable. This time, I found myself perfectly comfortable and toasty, not too cold or hot. Experience is paying off.

Otherwise, the ride was quite slow as the headwind was brutal. Saw what looked like a newly-homeless couple sitting on the Brooklyn Bridge and wished I had taken hand-warmers with me that I could've given them. Saw 5 or 6 other cyclists riding during my ride, one without gloves.

I still haven't gotten my winter shoes back from Lake, and frankly, am realizing that I don't really have any need for them.

First bike commute and ride of the new year. Usually I participate in one of the local group rides on New Year's Day, but my wife wanted to go for a hike, so that's what I did. That was OK because I finished 2007 with a bang. I was off work from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1, and rode well over 200 miles during that period including 64 miles on New Year's Eve. That put my total mileage for the year at 7,009 -- the first time I've topped 7K since 2002.

This morning tied my previous record cold ride at 21 degrees, but it was colder today than the last time. The last time, the temp dipped to 21 for a brief period, whereas it was downright cold all day yesterday (high of 35) and all night, with sustained winds of 10-25 mph. The winds weren't too bad this morning but are supposed to pick up again this afternoon. My cold weather gear performed great. I borrowed some Pearl Izumi AmFib gloves from a friend, and they kept my fingers warm. Got an Under Armor winter base shirt for Christmas, and with my Gavia jacket, I was warm but didn't sweat a drop. Also wore my PI AmFib tights, which kept my legs warm.

23 degrees with a strong headwind. I left late but amped it up (largely as a defense against the cold) and made it to work in about 30 minutes. I reeled in and passed 2 other riders and saw only a handful of joggers. I'm really liking my new Kenda 700x30 tires; off road traction but low rolling resistance, to be honest they don't feel much slower than my Conti 28 slicks, just cushier with poorer cornering. I think they'll be a good trade off for winter riding. I finally pinpointed the loud clicking noise coming from the drivetrain. Although the chainrings/chain/cassette were all recently replaced I was hearing and intermittent clicking, like a broken tooth or kinked chain. As it turns out it's the rear derailleur. I'll remove it this weekend and see what I can do about lubing or servicing it. It may not be repairable, finally giving me the excuse I need to convert to single speed. Anybody got any ideas on servicing a derailleur?

5°F, feels like -5°F, and I was still rockin along down the sidewalk to work. When the roads are really bad I don't like to play chicken with city traffic and buses, so I just play off-road on the messy sidewalks (there is minimal pedestrian traffic when it is this cold). I am glad my winter beater has a suspension fork, it helps glide over frozen footsteps. I got in the elevator with my bike and a woman just looked at me and the bike for a second and said, "hell of a day to be doing that!" I just smiled and said, "It's the PERFECT day, I am having a lot of fun!" :)

-21C just outside Toronto this morning. Since I have a short ride to the train station I just used my regular layers & balaclava (the thine one) but if they commute was going to be any longer than 20 minutes I really recommend the overpants & goggles, I was definatetly freezing my eyeballs as I pulled up to the bike rack.

Good thing about the really low temps is it makes you appreciate the warmer days. :)

Stay warm people! (outside of you Southern Hemisphere people...how's summer doin' down there?)

mid 50's here in san diego....sorry about your -21...you guys are definitally hard core....i considered not riding cause we have a chance of rain today.

how far are you guys commuting...i couldn't imagine doing my 15 one way in temps like that.

a balmy -7C this morning, my first time on the bike in 08. I felt sluggish as hell after a 3 week layoff due to a bad cold, bad back and holidays. Looking forward to getting back in the groove.

Heywood, I'll have to email a friend of mine who's always bragging about the "much warmer weather back east".

;-)

I only got 2 hours of sleep last night, so I was feeling whiffly on the way in. Thankfully, I was able to draft off of a minivan for the last few blocks of my commute. I re-tensioned the front wheel last night, so it isn't making the spooky spokey noises anymore. The switch from studded tires yesterday to 25C slicks today is a nice change as well.

Awesome. 40F, overcast, and calm. Had a "no-chain" day.

8F with a RealFeel of -16F due to wind.

Still, dealt with ok for the first 6 miles of the commute. Then I got a flat.

That sucked.

Apparently, below 10F, rubber tends to adhere to other layers of rubber. Had to wrestle the tube out of the tire, take turns peeling off and putting on my lobster claws to do work, and wound up spending twenty minutes looking for a puncture because my hands were just too numb to feel the tread properly.

Got back on the bike and finished the last 7 miles with my rear brake rubbing against my rim, but I didn't want to get off again and fix that.

Ah well, that which doesn't kill you gives you good war stories.

Windy and cold (at least for me). 34 deg and 16mi wind. ' had to battle the headwind going home. My toes and fingers were a little hard to move.
I'm still lovin it. :)

Flat and smooth. 63 degrees. Perfect.

Coldest I've ridden in yet. Started out a little under 10 F and probably went below zero before reaching the office. When I rolled in 50 minutes after leaving the house, my right foot was just starting to feel cold and I had an icicle hanging from my glasses to my right cheek!

The cold had a negative effect on my headlight battery too, showing a low charge indication only 25 minutes after leaving the house with a fresh charge. It ordinarily shows up halfway through the ride back home. Still, it lasted almost the whole ride back and shut off completely just as I was entering my street.

I was glad to have a new homebuilt light on my helmet for the first time today and it was amazing: brighter than my NiteRider MiNewt X2 Dual on the bars and longer lasting.

A pleasant 28 mile RT commute today. 50s in the am and 60s in the pm, no wind, but looks like a big storm system is rolling this way. Tomorrow's bike commute forecast looks a little rough, will have to see how things look in the am.