noglider 

Yesterday's storm was worse than some predicted, particularly taking by surprise the governments responsible for keeping the roads safe. Many people commuting by all modes were very delayed, sometimes for five hours. In West Orange, NJ, some kids had to sleep at school. I'm not sure conditions were slicker than usual because of the nature of the storm or because there was no sanding or salting. I'm glad I didn't take my bike!

We had heavy rain overnight, and the temperature steadily rose at the same time, so here in NYC, the snow is almost completely gone. I played it safe, but I think I could have cycled. It's just as well. It's very windy. Lots of trees were downed or broken.

Chinghis

More power to ya. I've ridden in sleet, but that was way before I moved to Southern California. I enjoy reading about people who do it regularly, however!

As opposed to yesterday morning, on last night's ride home and then this morning's, had good encounters with other commuters. Last night it was a doctor, who said that he sees three times as many bike accident patients as motorcyclist patients. We also lamented how virtually no one rides here, given our weather. He's only been out here three years, maybe he'll learn.

This morning, I had a good head of steam approaching Chinatown, but then noticed a cyclist on the side of the road with his wheel off. I stopped, and it was another commuter I'd met before. (Oddly, he works at a hospital, too ...) He had somehow ripped a hole in his tire, and was looking for something to patch it with. Since I generally carry a small workshop in my pannier, I gave a him a piece of sandpaper that he thought would do the trick. It's always nice to help a fellow cyclist in need.

rhm

My 5.5 mile ride home from the station usually takes 20 or 25 minutes. Yesterday it took 55. I could have ridden it all, but there were several stretches where the roadway was too narrow for both me and all the cars, so I was obliged to walk. Where cars hadn't messed up the snow I was able to ride well enough, though traction was starting to become an issue. But the worst was the actual road, where the snow was crushed into an uneven layer almost like ice. I could ride on that, too, where it was even, but it was often uneven enough to steer the bike out from under me. So it was slow.

I saw a beaver swimming in the canal, though....

kellichou

Those poor kids (and teachers and other personnel who stayed with them) in West Orange! I hope it was fun for them. Apparently they started serving French toast at 5:30am, and they were able to get all the kiddos home by 9am that next morning? I'm sure NJDOT was working hard to get the roads cleared so they could get those kids home. Man oh man!

mgw4jc

Crazy situation with the early snow and ice up there. I didn't even hear about it until this forum this morning.

We had a nice weekend with cool mornings and warm 60+F afternoons. I took advantage and gave the bike a good cleaning on Saturday. It rode nicely this morning and I slowed way down for any puddles to prevent mucking it up on the first ride out. A cool 39F was comfortable. It is supposed to be over 60F again today. Great fall weather here!

wphamilton

I DROVE in today, although I'm going to regret it this afternoon given our beautiful weather. I just felt like reminding myself that I ride because I like to, and have a choice ... even if it's been 3 or 4 years since the last time.

Tundra Man, now you have a chance to catch me since you're still keeping count of consecutive commutes. Just hang in there another 6 months or so!

arsprod 

34 and rain - yuck. I'd have preferred a couple degrees colder and snow

acidfast7

cold today. 2C (35F) and windy. clear skies.

nice seaside winter day actually.

pdlamb

Glad to be back on the bike after five days off (day-long soaking rain followed by a business trip). Were the city streets this bad when I left, or did I get soft driving all those days?

Pretty nice ride in, though I was running late and the recovery ride... wasn't. Upper body is dealing with aftereffects of dealing with leaves. A lady stopped yesterday while I was working to ask my permission (!?) to take a picture of the maples -- they're beautiful trees in the fall, red on the bottom, golden in the middle, and yellow-green up top. But they drop a pile of leaves!

HardyWeinberg

32F, fog, fortunately no black ice

Chinghis

I need new tires on the minivan (AKA "Bike Transporter"), so I drove it to my favorite cheap mechanic, and had a nice long ride to work along the LA River. Nine miles instead of the five or so that I usually do. Wore an LA River Ride jersey in honor of the route, and was rewarded with lots of birdlife. Three Great Blue Herons, which have always been one of my favorite birds. Canada Geese, Mallards, Coots, and Black-Necked Stilts to round out the morning viewing. Would be fun to take that route every day.

wphamilton

Oh man, driving home, stalled vehicles blocking traffic, sitting at lights cycle after cycle, line jumpers, people creeping forward when there's no place to go, creeping forwards when they SHOULD be going somewhere, drivers that can't merge and drivers that just merge regardless of what's there, buying gas, and getting home later than if I'd have ridden it even with 4 miles on the highway, all reminds me of why I hate to drive to work and back.

pdlamb

Nice ride this morning despite the overcast, it beats the heavy mist on the ride home last night. We went from early autumn to late autumn in about 10 days -- most of the leaves fell last week, but there are a few maples hanging on to limbs of bright yellow that light up the (otherwise drab) landscape.

Tundra_Man 

Consecutive work commute number 652:

18F this morning, which was actually warmer than my ride home last night. I put on an extra sweatshirt between my windbreaker and my work shirt, which felt great when I left the house but was a little too much by the time I arrived.

The wind was blowing from the south, which meant a tail wind. For some reason though, it didn't feel like a tail wind today. Just didn't feel much of a push out of it.

Brought an extra saddlebag. My Ortleib bags are so huge that normally I can fit everything I ever haul into one, so the other one just stays at home. Every year my workplace gives out Thanksgiving turkeys to all of the employees, so I brought the second bag in which I can haul it home. And yes, a 15 lbs turkey easily fits in an Ortlieb saddlebag.

noglider 

Sunday night, I had trouble sleeping, as it seemed I was developing a cold, and my sinuses were too clogged to breathe through my nose. I breathed through my mouth in my sleep, which was very uncomfortable. Fortunately, it's very damp here and cool, and the riding seems to have helped a lot. The interiors of buildings are too dry, so thank goodness for the humidity outside. At this point, I don't think I got the cold. I slept better last night, and I was careful not to use too many blankets in bed. I need to get the humidifiers out of storage.

HardyWeinberg

27F, blinding sun, then blinding fog

arsprod 

32F and wet but not raining. My last day of the week - happy Thanksgiving!

davei1980

Cold. Low 20s, but that did not stop the Gonzaga men's crew team from rowing practice this AM on the Spokane River!

wphamilton

Much better today, perfect for no-changing, no-cleanup commute. Only the hills were a challenge for my single-speed, trying to stay between getting over them at a reasonable speed and starting to sweat. I'll take the longer flat route home, and probably take it easy.

Bikewolf

32°F / 0°C in the morning nowadays.

Today reminded me how few layers one needs, no matter how cheap.

kellichou

That sounds amaaazing! I love herons! Sounds like an excellent commute.

I get to ride along a segment of the Platte River in the Denver/metro area, and I'm always impressed by the birds that live and migrate through that area.

KCBikeCommuter

I drove yesterday because I stayed up too late watching MNF... to see my Chiefs wind up losing to the Rams. Yes, they lost, but what an epic game... but I digress. So my normal 30-min drive home took an hour yesterday evening. No wrecks, but it sure was slow. Happy to be back on the back today, where the trip takes over an hour and I just don't care. :-)

pdlamb

Very heavy frost this morning, almost looked like a light snow on the grass, and it was brilliant in the sunlight. My wife was grumbling about scraping her windshield; I may have felt smug, but I had the sense to keep quiet. I might end up having to move the bikes onto the porch and sleeping with them so she could park the car in the garage.

I think I had to scrape almost a dozen times last winter. I had to scrape twice last week while out of town, and then Friday when I got home. Does that mean winter's a quarter over already?

HardyWeinberg

42F, heavy drizzle. Supposed to get ~4" this weekend, but seasonal over a few days not just one warm pineapple express dump over some hours.

davei1980

that thing is a monster