no commute for me today...
 

well, we got 6 inches of snow last night and just got done digging out the driveway. Not planning to ride today
and just thought how you guys in the Midwest still commute in stuff like this and am amazed...

I agree. It was 49 and windy here in South Florida this morning, with a high today of around 60. That was enough to have me driving the car and leaving the bike at the house. Truth is, the bike needs brakes, and I got the parts yesterday, but it'll be Saturday before I get them replaced. Probably ride for an hour on Sunday, if the brakes are fixed....

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

I rode 9ish miles each way in Boston yesterday...my boss said it was the "most impressive thing [he]'d ever heard", and something about how I needed to get an extra hole punched in my Man Card :lol:

Where's your commute?

My year-round commute is from Kenmore Square to Norwood, and I take the Commuter Rail home. I've been called a "saint," though a scheduling conflict kept me off the bike this morning. I posted elsewhere today:

Malden to Fenway via Wellington, Union Sq. Somerville, and Mass. Ave. Usually I use the Northern Strand and Wellington Greenway paths for part of it, but the former hasn't been getting any kind of treatment or plowing, and the latter has always taken a day or two to get anything, so I took an alternate route using Highland Ave and passing through Wellington Circle.

49 and windy and you don't ride? I know you live in Florida, but come on man, HTFU. :)

Part of the reason to drive today was to bring home some tools from work, that I would rather not lug on my bike. I have a couple of projects for the weekend that require real tools. Also, the brakes on my bike are shot, and I just got the new pads yesterday in the mail, need to fix the brakes too. Are those excuses enough********** When you live in South Florida, like I do, and ride all summer in 90+ degrees and high humidity, 49 seems awful cold!!!!

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

From the way people were dressed today on the bus (I'm riding the bike home) you'd think we were in Boston today. It was only 48 degrees this morning, and it was funny to see how bundled up they were. I find it refreshing and a break from what Tractor Toms says is our oppressive summer heat, humidity, and hurricanes.

I was on Maui yesterday and in NYC today. Hmmm, I think I'd rather be back in Maui. I had this fantasy that I'd come back to NY and still be able to occasionally ride, but I'm thinking now maybe not until March.

Non-Floridians just do not understand that. I say bring them down here in August or September and take them on a 50 mile ride at a leisurely pace. Very few of them will complete the ride.

It was also 49 at my house some 150 miles or so north of you. I do not commute by cycle but do try to ride at least 20 miles a day. Not today though, way too cold for this cold weather wimp.

Bob

The 2nd should have been 1st commute of the year. 1 inch of snow on the ground and upper 20s, all set to go and gut tells
me with the blizzard coming I'll probably be at work for 24 to 48 hrs out in the weather , so maybe not a great idea. Sure enough turned out after 40 hrs and a foot of snow I was on my way home and it was 8F
Good call. Next chance is monday forecast for temps starting in upper 30s falling thruout the day into the single digits. But dry

Whether is relative. In Minneapolis it isn't cold, until it's very cold (if then), while I know folks in southern California that complain if it's 65 and cloudy.

a kind of a weird experience as a newbie... I now know how to dress for 20-30 something degrees... but when it starts to be around the mid forties...

I am not sure exactly what to wear...

It's not rocket science. You have to experiment, and let your body tell you. I have a hilly route, and in the winter the issue isn't being warm enough (that's easy), but being cool enough that I don't sweat and wet my insulation on the climbs. I try to start cool, and warm up on the ride.

Since the weather changes gradually usually), I can learn as I go a few degrees at a time. Otherwise, I just add enough and see what happens. Actually, my biggest issue is large temperature swings during the day, where I might go to work correctly dressed for 40° and get surprised having to ride home at 25°,

If you're new to it, don't make yourself crazy, do the best you can and have a bailout. For instance, I can take a bus which gets me within walking distance at either end. If I ride in, and it's pouring, or sleeting in the evening, it's a bus day. (personal rule, I'll ride in the cold, or wet or dark, or even 2 out of 3, but not all three.