Getting a little head start on this one. On 1/1 I'm doing the local Polar Bear Ride, plus riding there and back, which should be a little over 50 miles total. Next week I hopefully will be back to the usual commuting schedule. I'm about sick of these relentless north and northeast winds we've been having.

as it pertains to this thread; pics are cool, right? Some days I find myself snapping pics if I see something interesting, or if the scenery is just plain nice. I enjoy seeing pics of others commutes too. That said, I didn't ride today....the grind starts again tomorrow. Here's to a safe 2015!

Rain and soggy snow falling, mushy snow and puddles on the route, 34*F is not how the weather is supposed to be for New Year's Eve/Morning in Anchorage AK. Really missing 18*F temps because it is less messy to ride.
Justin

Pictures are fine - even encouraged!

Good... 'cause I'm going to post a couple of pics.



Today we had our annual New Year's ride... where the number of miles we ride is based on the number of degrees(F). Today was around 20F when we started, so the plan was to ride around 20 miles. However, the group was feeling pretty good, so we stretched it out to around 30 miles.

I noticed my handlebar stem was a little loose during the ride, so I used my multi-tool to give it a quick snug. After I got home I decided to take a closer look... and found the stem was completely cracked/broken where it enters the head-tube. The only thing holding the stem together was the threaded bolt. Glad I didn't hit a big pothole or bump, 'cause that might have caused an unfortunate situation. Anyway, it all turned out okay, and I just need to replace the stem. Hopefully I'll have it fixed before my Monday commute.

Happy New Year's everyone!

Glad you caught that; holy smokes!

Another year of commuting begins 37F / 3C Still, dark, and almost nobody out. I made it into the office in less than 30 minutes.

I had the tire repaired at the lbs on New Years eve day. I was able to bike commute this morning where the temp was double what it was NYE day a whole 24f degrees this am. It was a nice uneventful commute in, I even saw a fox crossing the road.

Got off to a good start for 2015 with my first commute of the year, after getting rained out at the end of 2014. I'm not totally convinced that I will make it home this afternoon without hitting rain, but it was worth a shot. Also went on a New Year's Day ride with some friends but they were kind of wimpy and only wanted to ride 20 miles or so. That was OK, however, because I rode 51 miles on New Year's Eve.

The ride in this morning helped clear out my sinuses, which had been bothering me since yesterday afternoon. About 28F when I left, supposed to get up to 35F this afternoon. Beautiful day, clear skies, light breeze.

It was 28 degrees when I started; crisp, dry, and beautiful. I really didn't feel like riding today; my bed was warm and cozy. I thought about getting that extra 60 minutes of sleep, and driving in, but as usual, as soon as I got out the door and in the saddle, I was happy to be riding.
Here's a pic of the major ice event of the ride....lol

the ride home should be perfect and in the upper 50's. Happy New Year!

*sigh* I skipped out on the New Year's Day ride, because of cold temps, body aches, wanting to go out to breakfast w/ family instead, and threat of rain. If I had ridden to the ride and back, I would have gotten soaked with rain at around 38 degrees.

I hate that I missed out on that 50+ miles, but I would have been miserable so it's all good I guess. Hope to get back at it on Monday!

*edit* thermal insoles for my SPD shoes came in today. Largest size I could find on Amazon was Men's 8-12, and I wear size 13. We'll see how they go. Hopefully they will help my freezing/numb toes issue.

My commute today was only to renew the car insurance. Just a few minutes away. As fast as driving and free posting next to my agents desk!

I might get ambitious and go down and get my passport application handed in.

You don't get automatically renewed every 6 months? I do with Allstate.

Yeah that would have been miserable. I would have made the same choice.

I bailed on a ride to the local ski hill to meet friends for tobogganing with the kids. It was gorgeous out so just lazy was my excuse.

No here you have to go into the office and sign a bunch of stuff and get a license plate decal. I can do my other policies on the phone. Also I was negligent and it expired at the end of the day.

Oh, must be a CA thing haha. Here we have separate plate registration renewal (sticker issued by county and state), visual inspection sticker for $5, and then auto insurance which in my case renews automatically every 6 months, and a pay a couple dollars extra to make monthly payments on that policy.

I got my first commute to work in this morning, and my first ride home from the GFs on the first. I haven't driven yet this year!

It is likely a BC thing. Since the province runs the insurance system they just do the registration and insurance at one time and you need to come in to do it. The old office of my company across town used to offer a neighborhood drop off service. They knew us would always offer to stay late or drop it off since I was a few minutes from the office. I never took them up on the offer since I felt like it was an inconvenience for them and it gave me an excuse to skip out early. But once they did just swing by to drop off the new tenant policy stuff.

If I recall in NY I could do insurance over the phone and registration and DL (if you had a recent eye exam) online or through the mail.

good commute this AM. The first few snowflakes were falling as I arrived at work. It's raining now.

forecast called for freezing rain overnite. When I left at 4am it was 31f/0c and light rain. The road was slippery in spots, mostly over bridges and overpasses. The afternoon ride home was 45f/7c and pouring rain. The new glacier gloves I treated myself to, worked good in the cold rain. Buyer beware, they fit small. The rest of me stayed warm and dry thanks to the gear I have. The only part of me that gets wet is the part of my face that isn't covered by my visorgogs.

You can break an elbow or collarbone real easy on a wooden surface that's frosted over or has ice on it like that. You folks in SoCal don't get that kind of stuff often. But that is one dangerous situation there and you've got to be aware and take it easy or you'll bust you ass good.

I've had a bad hip for a while but I tend to forget about it when I recite my litany of ills. I checked the 2014 thread, and I had hip injuries keeping me off the bike in January and October. I might be starting this year the same way. Today has been miserable, if tomorrow morning is no better I'll drive.

41F /5C...WINDY Brutal headwind the whole way in and temps will drop 10 dergrees F over the course of the day.

Lot's of NYRR's out there this morning....(New Year's Resolution Runners)

I'm on page 1 of the 2015 thread. Woo-hoo!

First commute of the year for me as I was off last week. I got some new gear for Christmas. Things to keep my feet warm and things to keep me warm (jacket) and visible (reflective suspender type straps).

Nothing too exciting about this morning. About 41F rising to about 50 for the ride home this evening. Let's all have a safe and fun 2015!