PaulH

I left my sport jacket at work today and rode home in a short sleeve shirt. I'll wear it home tomorrow night when it is supposed to turn cooler. Nice spring weather.

Paul

iowarose

In Iowa City - a toasty 8F with a 25mph W wind. Plus patches of glare ice left over from our thunderstorms (in January!) yesterday - the runoff froze solid. So I actually walked the bike in some parts - I don't have studded tires. This is fairly cold weather for this area.

vtjim

Morning's commute was crazy, in a fun way. Started out around 35F. Raining.

About 5 miles into the ride, it was snowing. A wet, heavy snow that was starting to accumulate as thin slush on the trail.

By the time I got to work (6.5 miles total) it was snowing hard (same wet sloppy stuff) and the snow had accumulated all over my bottom bracket, front calipers, legs, and helmet.

I felt a little sheepish dripping water all the way to my desk but hey, it beats driving.

clevernamehere

New personal record: -39C (-38F), windchill -52C (-62F) I must be insane... when I checked the temp I was wishing it was 1 degree colder so I could say I rode in -40C.

I cheated & used toe warmers today with my new boots (call it toe insurance). Toasty warm. My fingers were cold for about a 5 minute streatch then warmed up as I started to generate heat by riding.

A lot of people don't understand so I've started a "blog" (Frozen Bike) to journal my experiences / explain my insanity etc.

PaulH

Spring weather continues with an April Shower (tm) -- 22 MPH (19 KT) gusting to 31 MPH (27 KT). It was 49 F / 9 C, so I would have been hot in my raincoat had I not left my sport jacket at the office last night. Quite a bit of minor flooding, including a 40 foot (12 m) hub-deep pond.

Paul

KingFoo

...drip!

vtjim

I doff my hat to you, sir. (Or madam, as the case may be)

balto charlie

well I wish I had kayaked to work. Deep puddles/ponds Feet were completly soaked, I'll have to repack the bearings but at least I wasn't in a traffic jam.....I have to keep telling myself that. Swim on

balto charlie

wow!!! how far do you ride in those conditions. Just living in those conditions is tough enough.

tulip

left my bike at work last night because I had a late meeting. I got just as wet waiting for the bus this morning as I would have if I had ridden.

Gus Riley

BRRRRRRRR! And to think that my shutoff was 35 degrees and below! I'm such a wimp!

billh

It was 10F, -4F windchill. But sunny bright and beautiful. I went in a little late, hoping the sun would melt some ice. Only patches of ice, and not on the turns. I humbly have to say I finally got my clothing right, I was nice and comfy. I also thawed my bike out for about 20 min so I had at least 4 gears but the rear der was freezing up toward the end. I was working on how to breath through my neoprene face mask without fogging up my glasses. There is a bigger space for my nose than mouth so I found if I breathed in through the mouth and exhaled forcefully through the nose, then there was enough wind to clear my glasses. It's the details that makes the commute! ps--I'm also a believer in Thinsulate. New Thinsulate lobster gloves work great in -4F!!! I wouldn't have believed it looking at how thin they are.

billh

Wow, I'm in awe. I thought I was a stud riding in -4F! You get bragging rights for the day!!!

clevernamehere

Sir. But you can call me stupid like everyone else

My commute is 11.5 to 12.5km (7-8miles) each way. Sometimes I wonder what made my ansestors settle here. They went from Russia to Mexico, then decided to move here! Why they couldn't have stopped somewhere in California I don't know!

Actually, you're probably just a whole lot smarter than I am

I thought I'd pack it in at about -10c... then -20c... then I really wondered if I could handle -30c... now I wish it was 1 degree colder so I could say I did -40c. It's really just a personal challenge thing. I'm to slow to ride with Lance or anyone 1/2 as fast, so I have to compete in a less popular event

caloso

This morning was perfect time to ride. Cool and calm with good visibility. I was able to get out of the house earlier than usual to take a nice detour on the way to work. I wore my great new Cal Cycling Team l/s jersey and when I came in the door, the guard gave me a "Go Bears!"

I'm still breaking in a new pair of PI mountain bike shoes. They were inexpensive and have a good walking surface so I'm hoping they work out as commute shoes. Still a little stiff, not like my Sidis, but then they were about $100 cheaper.

srddude

another tough morning to go to work
-34 c with a west wind

two things that got me thru it

footwarmers, kept my toes toasty warm

https://www.grabberwarmers.com/footwarmer.htm

the weather next week will 20 to 30 degrees warmer

https://www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/fo...ity_e.html?YYC

ollo_ollo

29F & clear at 6AM, there were reports of black ice & accidents so I drove in nice & easy. It was so nice by lunchtime (sunny & 36F) that I rode back to work on my Torelli. Enjoyed the sunshine & light traffic. There were still some icy patches on the bike trail by St Martin's College but I got by without going down. Looking forward to a nice 3 day weekend. Don

LLCoolJessie

Hey all, I think this is my first post on this, because at my former location, I only rode to work occasionally, so I never bothered bragging.

Now I've gotten rid of my car and I live in Denver about 4 miles from downtown. We've had some snow, and I've been riding to and from work everyday for the last two weeks.

It's been pretty chilly some days, snowing some others... and well, it's so much better than riding in a car. I encourage any other part time riders to destroy their cars like I did... riding a bike takes on new meaning when you've got no other option.

vtjim

Regarding super-cold commutes: Hey, as long as you're comfortable, having fun, and don't get frostbite, keep riding!

My evening commute was great. Some slushy stuff had frozen on the trail and gave me a loud and crunchy ride for a couple of miles. The pedestrians hear me coming!

The crunchy stuff went away and I had mostly-dry pavement for the rest of my ride home. Am I addicted to winter riding? I was aiming for frozen puddles.

I had a bad headwind but I pushed through it. I've noticed my strength has improved a lot over the last few weeks. I'm cruising on an old heavy MTB at the same speeds I was cruising on my road bike. I hope my fitness level stays the same. I'll be super-fast in the spring.

bikerTeen

I haven't had any super-cold commutes... yet.

Yesterday I biked in the slushy new snow. The temp was hovering around 32F/0C. I got to work with two items I had forgotten the previous commute: Badass-style ski goggles and my HID light. Gotta love those HID lights.

I was slipping around way too much, especially on the way to work before the roads were plowed. I really need to get studded tires. Thanks vtjim for the suggestions you PM'd me.

clevernamehere

Great ride this morning
Northern Lights, 21km/h tail wind, 17c warmer than my last ride in to work... it doesn't get much better than this! (OK it'll be better than this in June, but for now this is great).

My New Winter Cycling Blog: "Frozen Bike"

cicadashell

nice to be back on the bike. it's a brisk 464 °R out there, with light flurries that created a slick spot, at a turn near the office, on which i nearly fell. also some ice near the house that nearly brought me down. i wish i could find studded tires in the 27" size!

jerrryhazard

This was the coldest day I've ridden to work yet, I believe. The Bank thermometer said -2F, which is childs play compared to some of you. I was well dressed, and the temp didn't bother me too much. I'm sure I can go much colder.

On the other hand, my bike was giving me grief. I switched wheels out last night and forgot that the rear cog on the new wheelset was set up for a different chainline (singlespeed). I noticed this about a mile into the commute when my chain derailed. I put it back on and it came off again after about 20 meters. So I turned around, zipped back home and put on the other wheel. This also involved readjusting the brakes due to differences in rim width.

On my way again. The ride up 5th avenue is uphill for about 2-3 miles. There was a slight headwind, but the bike was pedaling like there was a 20mph headwind. First gues was brakes were rubbing. Stopped, dialed out the adjuster on the levers, and checked the pads. They were both sitting about about an 8th inch from the rim (front wheel and bottom bracket both spin fine as well). Continued. Still hard pedaling. Stopped again, held the back end up and spun rear wheel, it seemed to spin fine - no brake rubbing. But, just in case, I undid the quick release and just ran with front brakes. The bike was still pedaling like the bearings were freezing up. At this point, anymore hassles were going to make me late, so I grunted it out. It felt like someone subtracted 3 teeth from my rear cog, and my legs have not burned so bad from a ride in a long time.

Now the bike is outside in the rack. Ride home is about 85% downhill. So, I'll see whats up with all this then. Visions of frozen bearings and snapping axles are filling my head. Really, I don't care, I just want to know what the deal is...

Rant over, forgive me

vtjim

10F degrees. Light snow. Nice ride!

BikerTeen, you'll be hard core if you ride tomorrow. Don't have any exposed skin though.

slone130

5F degrees-no traffic. I love working on holidays. I do need to buy some thicker gloves though.