The commute was SWEET!!!!

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...X/_C147169.jpg

Riding in the snow with Bontrager Race-Lite tires is interesting, and challenging... Among other things ;)

With apologies to my nothern-tier cycling friends, my ride in this morning was delightfully cool and refreshing: upper 40sF/8 or 9C with light southerly breezes.

It's on mornings like this that I really and truly feel sorry for those of us convinced by the luxury-merchants and lifestyle-mavens that automobiles are a necessity. Sometimes I sense that the motorists going by feel that they have missed something, but it's probably just my imagination. Besides, even if they did something on the radio would distract them from it, or they would start thinking about how much money they owe and it's gone. It's a damned shame...

Mid 40's for the ride in this morning! It was great to ride through patches of cool and warm temperatures. I broke a spoke though. First ride in a couple of weeks because I am a cold weather wimp!

Yes, it was nice riding weather today in the DC-Metro area. Cool, but not cold. A little wet this morning when I left the house at 6:15 in Maryland, but the rain stopped by the time I reached DC and it was nice riding the rest of the way to work. This is actually one of the best times of year to ride in the DC-Metro area. All the federal employees are starting to take off for the holidays to get rid of their "use or lose" and Congress is out of session. It makes traffic a lot more manageable.

I overslept this morning and briefly considered driving, but then remembered it's supposed to be relatively warm today after weeks of colder-than-normal temps. So I leapt out of bed, threw my clothes on, ate a banana and hit the road. Got lucky with the red lights and made it to work right on time.

I keep some instant oatmeal in my office at work, so I had some breakfast after I showered and dressed. It sure felt nice riding to work in mid-50s F after temperatures in the upper 20s for the past few weeks.

I know you are going to say "tough it up buddy!" But man, it is tough looking out to that 6F weather out there right now and knowing that I am going to ride my bike in that! It was in the 50s yesterday, and it will be in the 20s and 30s tomorrow... wtf?? Thanks a lot Monday. Ah well it still beats scraping off the windshielf, gettin the car warm, sittin in traffic, listening to pointless mumbo jumbo on the radio, payin for gas, sittin on my *****, finding a parking spot, paying for parking and then doing it all over again on the way home.

I love my bike

That is friggin hilarious!! He should open up shop, he's got a lot of potential buyers!

Rain, Rain, and a headwind. fun!

62 with wet roads, never rained but the mist off the cars would keep you wet. Took 10 minutes longer today since I rode my Hybrid to work. That was different but I kinda liked it.

24F and icy but I had warning and got my studded tires on well in advance, so actually a nice quiet ride. 2 hr school delay and my wife stayed home w/ the kids this am but that will be me the rest of the week I believe.

want.

Good commute today--nice weather, and I caught up to friend who rides to another campus for my company. His department is moving to my building in February, so we'll be able to ride together again! Woohoo!

I also bought a new (used) bike last weekend. It's not a commuter but I hope to ride it on days I don't have as much to transport. I don't like riding with a backpack, period, but especially because it covers my high-viz jersey.

The one day I drive all year is for similar purposes. My wife LOVES to bake cookies, so every Christmas she makes dozens and dozens and I bring them into work. My 1st year commuting I tried doing it via bike. Fail. Now I drive in that one day....and Wednesday is the day.

It's amazing: one day of driving is enough to remind of all the reasons I hate it and stopped commuting by car. And it's only 5 miles!

Chilly and rainy, very very rainy. But a good ride none the less. We had a faux auction at work today and I got some pretty cool stuff, plus I got to show everyone the true meaning of utility cycling! Everyone at work was betting that I couldn't carry a basketball, comforter set, and 16 piece glass ware set on my bike, but alas I proved them wrong.

Good ride this morning , strong legs make for a sweet ride , round freezing temperatures, gloves , wool hat , windproof jacket and wool sweater.
I took the folder today , last week was Jakes ' week since I took the children to kindergarten and had a longer commute by bike. I ride different bikes on different days to do as much cycling as possible , but I have to take the car to take the kids.And take the groceries home on the way back , my wife is working 3 days a week , so we all have to pitch in.
Don't know about all of you , but with three bikes running and commuting all year 'round , my christmas wishlist looks like the inventory of a well equiped cycling-store.
Keep up the pace and keep the cold wind out .

Nice!

Beautiful weather for cycling here this morning. 18C, light cooling breeze, blue sky, sunshine. Lovely. I was feeling a bit groggy when I set off, as I didn't sleep too well. But after a few minutes cruising along, I was singing to myself and full of the joys of summer.

Awesome ride home tonight. I know I shouldn't be celebrating a balmy 67 degree-day in December (what with the implications such temperatures have for global doom), but it was such nice riding weather. There was a beautiful sunset as I crested the top of a hill in my ride - the sky was an eerie red-orange against a backdrop of rain clouds that were moving out. Glad I enjoyed, too, because the rest of the week is supposed to be very rainy and much colder.

I got that elusive but thoroughly enjoyable double tailwind today! Light breeze out of the south for the ride in before some arctic air blew through before noon. The ride home was a bit chilly but who cares when you've got 15-18 mph winds pushing you home!!!

I had my first run in with ice today. This is the first time in three years of commuting that it has snowed and the school district has not canceled school. The main roads were fine, although I had to avoid a couple bike lanes due to ice. One section of my commute is on a road that almost no one takes, so it was fairly icy there, but I managed to stay upright just fine.
I got the inevitable fall out of the way within the first two blocks, going down a steep hill, I saw the ice, but kept my front brake on figuring it was light enough to not cause problems. I learned my lesson in the form of a ripped off back pocket, torn bar tape, and a cracked Ipod screen.
The ride back included a flat tire, the first one I have ever gotten commuting, and losing my keys (luckily I have spares, and the only thing I will miss is my garage door opener). Even with all the bad things, I'm still really glad I rode, as now I'm sure I can handle anything.

Really farking cold... -34C with the wind chill.

I figured out why I was so slow the other day. I thought it was riding without my cleated shoes and wearing a sports jacket. Noooooo, last night I woke up with my throat on fire, every muscle aching and sneezing and coughing- I was getting a COLD!!

Had a really busy day ahead of me at work today and had to pull myself together after about an hour and a half of sleep. I felt like crap but was in no mood to deal with buses or driving into the city so I got out and rode. Fortunately the temperature was about 50-60°F with strong wind gusts at my back for about 70% of the ride in- the downside of that being that the ride home was pretty rough and really slow.

Riding the 10 mile ride home when I feel that "out of it" is like the end of a tough double century, just keep the legs going around until you get there.

I found a photo of the shirt in my archives. I censored it of course.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1229404003

Really nice commute home with a HUGE tailwind. Ran the helmet cam to capture some Christmas lights downtown and caught this scene.

Can you find the confused motorist in this photo?

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1229405639

My left hand involuntarily clenched a bit at the sight of it! :D

Nice ride in for me today: 44F/6 or 7C with about a 10mph headwind and light rain. Absolutely nothing to complain about! Even the motorists were well-behaved and alert (at least alert enough for my purposes).

6*F this morning. I dressed for it and was quite comfortable the whole way. The only cold bit was my toes; I need to get those neoprene booties sent back to Performance to get them exchanged for ones the right size. Either that or switch to platforms and hunting boots, which I normally do at some point in the winter.

19*F this morning, I left at my perfect time, traffic was light, no wind...it's better then coffee!

Mid 40's with a light headwind and sporadic showers, not bad. I was dressed just right and was very comfortable. I'm still waiting on my new tires, it's been about 2 weeks now, and feel that I'm really starting to push it riding on slicks-they're calling for a rain/sleet mix this evening. In addition, I'm learing how to adapt to being perpetually calorie-deprived. We're so busy these days that my evening meals are really taking a hit, my energy level and strength are noticably lower, making my normal pace impossible. Hopefully, I'll lose weight, at least.

I hated to drive this morning because it was really warm, but it was very foggy and it's supposed to turn cold and rainy by this afternoon. So I wussed out and drove. I don't like riding in rain and fog. Good thing I don't live in the Northwest!

Snow! (Not nearly enough for them to close work, alas.)

DRIVING FAIL!
:rolleyes:

Rode today after a couple days off due to snow. Had some bad ped-tracked ice to deal with. Did not like. The studs held, more or less, but the surface was horrible.

Temps in the high 20sF. Nice tail wind.

6*F along the lake shore this morning in chicago. I only saw 1 othe biker and 5 joggers along my 7.5 mile commute. It feels good to out there. I am sure my toes would not say the same. :) Ride safe guys and keep it up.