13 degrees/-2 windchill, coldest yet for me,normal 7.5 miles, legs and fingers cold for first mile, then ok. at every redlight I had to uncover my face as I was sweating.

Didn't get to ride home today because I wound up with my first flat of the year. And me without my patch kit or a spare tube! (Still don't have my office infrastructure totally up and running since our move.) A kind co-worker drove me & my wheel home so I wouldn't be late picking up the kids. Patched it while they did homework and looks like I'm good to go again.

Nice ride in. Picked up a really thin balaclava at EMS today which is absolutely awesome for sub 25 degree rides.

17 degrees on the Watchtower clock. Come to think of it, that Watchtower has to be the most pessimistic thermometer in NYC. All winter, it has consistently been showing 2 degrees lower then the forecasted low for the day.

Conditions were better than yesterday, all the gunk that was wet and heavy then was frozen this morning. One hill I ride on the road was even clear, what a difference that made. Really looking forward to riding on clear pavement come spring.

Nice seasonable ride in this morning--a bit cold (23F/-5C) and calm. Wish I could figure a way to keep my fingers warm (they have been very susceptible to the cold since a youthful rock climbing indescretion about 30 years ago). Lobster mitts and glove liners don't quite do it.

Interesting note from yesterday's ride home. The one main intersection I go through (Univ of Maryland entrance next to ComCast Center) was shut down in all directions while a motorcade with two big tour-type buses went through (motorcycle outriders, State Troopers, and even a Baltimore city police car). I heard on the news later that Obama was on campus yesterday afternoon. I wonder how many times he used the word "change" while actually saying nothing...

Heck no! Replace my beloved trike? I'd never hear the end of it when my wife sees the bill! ;)

I was back on the road this morning, with repaired brakes (one new brake cable and a caliper overhaul) a new chain and a freshly lubed derailleur. It rode like a champ again! I'm still going to look into hydraulic brakes though, as I have no desire to do a weekly flush/replacement of the mechanicals I've got now. Brake cables really aren't meant to be removed and rethreaded on a weekly basis!

Nice ride to work in the low-30s this morning except for the red lights. It was like my bike was emitting some kind of rays that caused all the traffic signals to turn red as I approached. However, the last light on my route -- which is also the longest one -- turned green just as I got to it, so it all averaged out in the end.

Someone in a minivan blew their horn at me while passing, but the horn apparently wasn't working and it sounded like a cow mooing. That was funny. Beautiful sunrise this morning. Now that the days are getting significantly longer, I'm riding in the dark for only the first 10-15 minutes of my commute and get to see the sun come up.

50's, light breeze.

Nothing spectacular. :D

weather is so nice I took the long way in :D:D


Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 2:32:20 3:30 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 2:20:06 3:13 pace
Distance (mi ) 43.44
Moving Speed (mph) 18.6 avg. 40.9 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +2,596 / -2,558
Temperature (°F) 44.6°F avg. 44.6°F high

about 35 this morning
uneventful ride..fingers got a little numb though...same as yesterday
hopefully miss the rain on the ride home

nice and warm, well into the 40s, and sunny! I am really loving not having the studs on. I didn't realize how much peace of mind I got from those silently rolling slicks.

Warmer temps and fully-inflated tires made for an easy ride. I need to get faster on the studded tires, but I am improving.

Ok first commute in over 3 and half weeks due to holidays, great feeling being back on the bike with a purpose, although I did loads of riding over the 3 week period I was never in a rush to get somewhere, in true Craig style leaving the house at the last minute meant every second counted on the ride in. Weather was once again below par for an Australian Summer but loving it non the less.

Powered home in what felt like record time and spent most of the day yearning for the ride home...... Love it

Snowy Commute
 

Today was the first time I needed to use the winter bike (Innova Tundra Wolf studded tires). We had 3-4" of snow over the night. Plows seemed to hit the middle of the streets which of course resulted in the right hand lane being pretty rough on the right half. Made the 4.5 mile commute uneventfully. I was amazed at how much of a workout it was pedeling through the plowed snow and with the studded tires. The afternoon ride was a little easier, it had warmed up some (~25°F). Weather reports are for a wintery mix (i.e. they aren't sure what we're going to get) tonight and tomorrow.

Ice. The Nokian W160's feel a bit sketchy on solid ice but not enough that I'm going to put the W240's on. They are destined for the fun bike but I haven't taken that out in a while.

Freezing rain this morning. I was all set to go, stepped out the door, and immediately started sliding. I looked at my slick-type tires and said, "No way." End result=quick change and a hoof to the bus stop.

I have a complete set of wheels coming (a drive-train upgrade has been called for for some time now) and they include a set of Nokians (W106s) for just such a morning. But they're not here yet. So rather than ending up with a broken leg on a lonely stretch of road in the freezing rain somewhere, I took pub trans. I'm only a half hour later than I usually am, and am still in one piece. Miss the ride, though...

First ride in the rain yesterday since late last summer. It has been that dry here in NC. The rain didn't roll in until afternoon, so my morning commute was dry. Some doofus almost hit me backing out of his driveway. Defensive cycling pays! I saw the car idling in a driveway with its lights on, so I drifted left toward the center of the street. As I approached, the car suddenly started backing out very fast and missed me by only a couple of feet. I bet they never even saw me, even with my headlight and fluourescent yellow jacket. The rain started about mid-afternoon but wasn't heavy. So the roads were very wet riding home but it was only sprinkling. I've got some RaceBlace fenders sitting in the garage, but they will stay there until it starts raining again with any regularity. I would rather deal with wet roads every once in a great while rather than drag fenders around every day in dry weather.

missed the rain yesterday. The weather was great! nice not to bundle up with my cold weather stuff. Same for this morning. Great temps and it was nice to ride in the rain again after so long of not having any here in Raleigh. Need to get some fenders though - this weekend I think.

A little slippery and slow with fresh mashed snow on all the roads, but definitely bearable.

Woohoo!

My increase in mileage is starting to pay off.
My speed is picking up a bit and my legs are starting to get used to things.
I should hit 230 miles this week. First time over 200 since last Nov.
100 of those will be commuting miles.

This morning was the high 20s with a small wind. I decided to ride into work the entire distance instead of riding half way to the light rail.

Tomorrow should be chilly with a few inches of snow. Must play in the snow!

We got hit by a few inches of snow on top of warm ground - instant skating rink! Actually it wasn't that bad. The snow for the first 10 blocks was brutal to ride through, sending my front tire every which way, encouraging fishtailing. After we crossed into the wealthier part of the commute, the Lexus [Lexi?], Audis, BMWs, Mercedes, Range Rovers, etc. had packed the snow down considerably. The city went to town with the sanding and salting, which made the last half of the ride sloppy but fast.

It was an icy, slushy, sleeting/raining morning commute, a typical New England winter morning. Snow tires got me to work safe. Leaky rain gear though, I guess I should have zipped up the pockets on the jacket. Either that or the sauna effect was strong today. Nice morning, especially the looks of disbelief.

Last night was interesting, it had snowed for hours and it had accumulated, then started raining. On my ride home after midnight it was a sticky slushy mess. I had to take it slow and it took twice as long as normal to get home. Going up hills was tough as I had almost no traction in the slush even with huge knobby tires. Fortunately there were almost no cars on the road, aside from a few plows. As I came up to my street I saw a heavy duty snow plow working one side of the street and a pickup with a plow working the other, and as I approached, the pickup turned towards me and stopped. I was very confused, I wasn't sure if he was about to turn around and I was in his way, but after I passed him, he turned back the right way and kept going, and I realized that he had been pointing his lights at me to alert my presence to the other plows in the street. I wanted to thank him but he was already down the street. That was considerate.

Today, it has been raining all day. So most of that snow from last night has melted into deep puddles and slush. Part of my route was blocked off because it was flooded, and I had to go around on a side street that was almost as flooded. Full-coverage fenders are worth their weight in gold, but through those puddles it was kicking up so much water that I just had to raise my feet up and look silly for a minute while water splashed up all around me. Got a little wet but the rainproof outer layer I recently purchased ensured that I am not sitting here at the office soaking wet all day.

Commute today, pretty straightforward. I travelled from North Salinas to South Salinas to run the track at the local community college, about a 25 minute ride from my home, the weather is overcast and a tad chilly as this was about 9a, I have my jacket at on and throw on a pair of gloves. I do my pre ride check and I am on my way. I followed a straight forward route along North Main down to some street, don't recall the name. I get there, made excellent time, locked my Giant Rincon 21' up using the bulldog of course. After all I did learn my lesson about securing a bike. that is another story though. I am there at the track decide to walk first then run. You must understand I have not ran in quite some time so I had to refamiliarize myself with it. Fast Forward, I ran about a mile and walked a mile more and mounted my steed. :) Beginning my journey home all seemed to be fine and dandy, up until I was coming on the last left turn before the complex. I had to put myself in the right lane considering Boronda is about a 4 lane road that comes up to a left turn, riding the bike on the right means you must travel across four lanes or at least two to get to the left turn at the end. So I did, speeding up from about 14 mph to 27 very quickly to keep pace with the traffic as I set myself in the proper location. Saw was coming up on a red light so I sped up just a bit more, and at that very moment ... owch! a double charlie horse legs rock hard and hurting just to move. Here I was waiting for the light to change and my legs felt like they were going to burst. Once I got going the charlie horse slowly wore up till it was not quite as severe though I could still feel it. I made my way up that last long hill to turn into the complex and realized, what a story that could make. So there you go Original and in its first revision. Enjoy and keep on riding.

For the first time in over three months I have had the pleasure to ride on a road that is not covered in ice and snow....I can remember early in September I was getting cold, discovered snowmobile mitts, October my cheeks got frozen, got a Balaclava, it got more routine as the winter went along. I got the lights figured out, learned to ride on the snow, ice and cold and now dare I say the worst of winter may be over.

Today actually yesterday was the first time in months that my studs made noise on the pavement, it was actually the first time in months my down jacket stayed home. It was above freezing....last week it was minus 30 degrees C what a difference a week makes!

I might have a choice this weekend ski or pull out a real bike and go for a road ride.