Swimming is not part of my commute
 

Anybody else need a boat or kayak on your commute this week.
This is my route to work in the first pic thru Gurnee Il.
Im sitting on my bike looking south down O"plaine road at old Grand ave.
No way around without going on one of the heavy traffic 4 lane 50 m.p.h + roads
That dont have any shoulders only have about 18 inches of asphalt past the white line then 6 inch curbs
Needless to say I took my truck this week

Just ride through it, i rode through 28 Inch deep water! to the point it was over my tire!, it is challenging but possible. Put it in to a really low gear and floor it but be consistent.

I rode through a little 6-inch deep lake this morning, but it was gone by the evening commute.

Sounds like fun but I bet it was a lot warmer than 38" degrees fahrenheit
when you did it :D

I am hoping this will be gone by monday
It suposed to warm up into the 60"s
This wouldnt be bad except for the tempature but it also gets deeper further down
and I ride thru there at 4:30 a.m. in the dark

not to be that guy, but the whole reason they tell you not to drive through a flooded road in your car - wouldn't that go double if you were on a bike?

Might one suggest? http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=311921 :D

I rode through water over my bottom bracket under a viaduct Thursday morning, twice. Wasn't 38, but it wasn't warm. That was after removing the water from the basement the bike was in.

Down here in Chicagoland, a day after the floods, we woke up with snow on the ground
Yeah Monday it will warm up. I ride trails to work - I bet they still won't be rideable :(

The place is finally thawing out . I take it.. now rain is melting the snow.. keep plodding along out here
rained with sun breaks since september.. ,

Up here the des"plaines river trail wont be rideable for a long time it is under about 8 feet of water in a lot of places
and it looked like a lot of spots have been washed out
I guess in this case Im lucky all my commuting is done on road
I still havent decided though if that is good or bad

If the water has any movement or force to it, you should absolutely never, ever walk, ride, or drive through it. A few inches of water can easily move a car off a road. A bike has much less of a contact patch with the ground so it may not be affected as much, but it's still stupid dangerous.

If the water is not moving, I still wouldn't go through it for the simple fact that you can't see what hazards lie beneath - road could be washed out, could be large holes, debris, etc. It's just a dangerous proposition all the way around. Flood waters are nothing to play with.

pretty much exactly what i was getting at!

Yes, even "shallow" water can be deceptive. Imagine hitting that on a bike at speed...

triathlon season!

Up to about 8 or 10 inches at least it's not really dangerous on a bike if you know how deep it is all the way through and where not to fall in. I wouldn't try it where there's a possibility of erosion, or if the water is moving rapidly.

When there's too much water I'll take the bridge!

I'd agree, except potholes are like the Spanish Inquisition: you never expect it. They seem to pop up overnight with no warning on pavement you thought you knew. They hide in puddles like sticks hide in leaves. I'm wary of both. :)

I tested my commute path yesterday - there was a new lake at mile 3 blocking any progress. I drove the bike to work though and got in 22 mi after hours on site.

Riding through water like that is not only dangerous but could damage your bike. One of the leading causes of deaths from floods is people trying to drive their cars across flooded roads. It also can't be good for the bearings in wheels, bottom bracket, etc. to be fully submerged in water while riding.

Flood waters were gone by the time I buy the road yesterday but the crap left by the water made the ride on pavement like a mountain bike trail.