The ride in was a balmy -13C, much easier than the -30C temps we've had lately. I felt so fast this morning, and agile too. There was a real weight off my shoulders. It was only when I reached the office that I discovered I had left my pack at home! D'oh! No lock, pump, tools, tubes, booties, leggings or cell phone today. The temperature is supposed to plunge this afternoon, so hopefully my reduced load will allow me to get home quickly.

36 F and windy this morning. Really windy. Really slow. Took me 1:45 to go 24.5. The other day when I had a light tailwind, I did it in 1:23! Amazing what a difference the wind makes!

just wet, some wind, nothing bad. 30sF.

I took a roundabout way downtown this morning, sticking near the river. I noticed quite a few Canada geese and I wondered if that was unusual or whether they're always there this time of year and I never noticed before.

Rode the bike to Urbane this morning, scheduled a BB replacement. I did give it a nice wash and cleaned the chain pretty thoroughly (on-bike chain cleaner method, but I did it about 4 times to really get the grime out) so the mechanics didn't have to deal with too much filth... This mornings ride felt like a sharp skate on ice, amazing how much difference a smooth(ish due to my BB problem ) drivetrain feels.

Cooler temps again, I think it was -11C when I came in this morning, but the wind has seemingly dropped making a nice difference. Lovely sunny day out there today though, can't wait for Spring.

I did my first practice commute on Monday. My route takes me thru the central part of Kansas City, over the Missouri River to the Kansas City Downtown Airport. I have converted my old Bianchi Sport SS to a commuter bike. Fenders, blinky, headlight, new tires, tubes, cables, frame bag, safety vest and a new Cateye. It is 9 miles one way and drops about 300' in elevation from home to work. So the bike was ready to go and the snow had melted enough to try this for the first time. Off I went with the wind gusting up to 35 knots on a 60 degree day. Northbound I was flying. Cruising by the Costco I saw a fellow getting handcuffed by the police behind the building. Not sure I would have seen that from my truck. A fellow did just what the Pennsylvania Bike Safety book said would happen, made a right hand turn right in front of me. I was super ready for anything and handled that OK. I was worried about the bridge getting over the Missouri River but it has very wide paved shoulders and 2 share the road signs just before getting on the bridge. I zoomed to the Downtown Airport in 34 minutes. After a quick blow and a refill on the water bottle I headed back home into the wind. A major gust blowing between the downtown buildings nearly blew me off the bike. I was determined to make it home in all this wind and sure enough I rolled in 1 hour and 3 minutes after turning and heading south.

All in all things went well. Maybe a little hectic still getting used to the traffic and the route. I can't help but think my average will get better with less wind and a little more fitness on my part.

Good stuff grmv4!

It was raining again today. I saw a lot of people pushing their bikes this morning, too. Very strange. Perhaps the weather was putting them off riding?

I rode my old bike today. Didn't want to take my brand new shiny Salsa out in the rain.

Brutal downpour, 36F, coming home today at lunchtime to get sick kid out of school. Blinding sun when I finally got here of course. Stopped at home for trail-a-bike to pop kid onto.

I don't work on Weds. so I lucked out again on having to ride in some of the worst weather of the season. I stayed indoors all day yesterday so I didn't have to deal with the terrible conditions. I don't know, part of me wonders what it would have been like to have to ride in 50-60mph winds. That would have been something to talk about. Some of the worst weather we've had this season has occured on Wednesdays. Anyway, now I'm preparing for the freezing rain that they're talking about for tom'rw morning. Right at the time I usually ride. I still have vivid memories of the the ice storm we had back in Dec. Dec.15 to be exact. I had to ride home in that. When I got home, my bike had little icecicles on it. So for safety's sake I will probably switch to the snow studs for the morning commute. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Leave early and take my time. Todays' commute went smooth. 17f in the morning, 30f this aftn. Mileage for Jan. was 482 miles.
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Good ride in the morning, sun coming up over the hills. My old commute into downtown Rochester was always away from the sun in the morning, now I am heading south so the sun is off to my left most of the time and sometimes in my face, but I still enjoy it more than behind me. When I got the the security gate at work I was waved through by the guy in the booth and going through the raised gate right behind the car in front of me but then the gate was starting to come down, the guard standing there was like, "whoa, hold it!" but I had already ducked through and was gone down the main road.

On the ride home right before I got to my apartment I saw a fat little raccoon slowly waddling across the street, coming from my side. He got halfway and then a car coming from the other direction scared him back a little, then he continued on. I saw another car coming fast and waved and pointed down at the raccoon and they slowed down, and the fat little guy safely passed to the other side and disappeared into some bushes. Gotta watch out for the critters.

gmrv4, good job on your shakedown ride in KC. It will get easier to make the twice daily commute rides, but it is usually best to take it easy for the first few weeks. Don't worry about how fast or slow you are going, just ride comfortably and get the feel of the traffic flow and safety issues. I think lots of folks would agree that safety and comfort trump speed and time when bike commuting.

Today was a great day for a 27 mi RT in my area. It was a calm mild day, the only obstruction on todays route was a wrong way mtn bike rider, going against me in the bike lane plus two lanes of oncoming cars.

Nice commute with an all new drive-train. Bike is almost completely silent now. Only issue was that I opened the front v-brake and couldn't get it closed, so the downhills and intersections were a little more hair-raising without it.

wet. wet. wet.
fun, but I just hope my leg warmers dry off a bit before the ride home.

Down around 20F. Overcast. No wind. I'm hoping I can ride home before any heavier accumulations of snow start to build up. Also sleet and freezing rain possible later. Messy.

You know you're a winter commuter when you're riding home and it's 25 degrees and you feel like you should have worn shorts...

I am planning on leaving town right after work while I still have the company rental car... so I actually drove to work today. Big mistake. I got to the gate that I had just been riding through after flashing my id badge all week long. Today I had to wait there for 10 minutes while the security guard exercised their power and detained me to determine whether or not I actually work there. Because I don't own a car I don't own a car I don't have a parking pass so I don't show up on the employee list at the gate apparently. eventually someone figured out that I work there and they let me through. Last time I will ever drive a car to work. Ever.

A bit cooler today, around -24C on the ride in. Traffic was pretty reasonable, and we got in without too much fuss. In many spots the ice has a thin layer of salted snow that significantly reduces traction. I can break the rear wheel free pretty much at will. I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, with warm cats at my feet, snuggled under the covers with my wonderful wife.

Nice and sunny. Black ice all the way though. Studs mostly did their job, I coulda stopped to let more air out I suppose. Weird I could feel myself fishtailing a bit w/ each pedal stroke. Not pedalling perfect circles apparently.

worked 3pm-4:30 am in the E.R. exhausting. I go outside to find a sheet of slush/ice covering everything freezing rain. I pushed the bike up the hill from the er, but my ride was treacherous, but safe. I love my new fenders............nothing worse than an ice water enema early in the am

Last night was cold and very wet. And my light died halfway home. Luckily I was able to take side streets and it was not an issue.

This morning was dry and cold. At least my hands were; my heavy gloves were still wet from last night so I only had my liners. Other than the numbness in my fingertips, the ride in was very comfy.

I put my gloves and shoes by the water heater pilot light to dry when I got home last night, it was one of those commutes...

Yeah, it was my own fault. Instead of bringing my gloves into the house, I just threw them on the workbench in the garage.

I've been getting a little tense since my hours have been cut. I'm working 4 days every 2 weeks and 2 of those days I have to be at School or the hospital 45 minutes after work. So I'm down to commuting 1 day a week. I hardly think that qualifies anymore. It looks like most of the snow we were supposed to get missed us. By 7 tonight we were supposed to get 6-11 inches. I shoveled 3-4 inches in my (very wide and long) driveway around 11 this morning and not much has built up since.

I took a ride around the neighborhood just to get out on the bike. I love "just for fun" rides but I enjoy them more with company. I'd have gone further if I had a destination but I don't really need to buy anything and have nowhere to go.

Well the ride in wasn't as bad as the weather guys said. I left around 4am expecting slick spots on the road. But I didn't see any. The freezing rain that fell overnight turned into slush by the time I left. There was a steady drizzle riding in that wasn't too bad. The rain gear I have made it comfortable. The snow sneakers held up good in the rain, my feet didn't get wet. I had the snow studs on, which was probably over-kill. But I thought that maybe on the dark side streets I ride that they might have ice on them. Oh well, riding home this aftn with the snow falling with the whirring drone of the studs. It was a nice ride. Temps in morning were 34f, aftn.37f.

heh... mine would sprout big hairy mold by the next morning if I did that