AdamDZ

No problems with the weather: 30F, sunny and dry but all the cars and zombies are back on the streets in great numbers after such nice, calm holiday period I worked over the holidays, I never take time off, save my vacation time for Spring and I actually enjoy the quiet time, and the commute was so peaceful during that time!

Adam

yarb

A little cooler than yesterday but dry - perfect, really, a couple of degrees above freezing. Moon very clear and bright in the South, a day or two under half. Got into work just as the sun was rising and my toes were starting to go numb.

caloso

It's been really hard to get out of bed lately. My work schedule has been crazy, my motivation non-existent, and the weather cold and damp.

Still, once I get on the bike I feel better and wish that I'd gotten up in time to take a long ride in. Oh well.

Kinesis

Monday I was just heading out and over -reacted to a car coming out of a driveway,jammed on my front brakes and my rear wheel flew up and threw me over the bars.I put my hands down to break fall,and twisted my wrist and banged my knee a bit.So I cont'd to ride to work(my knee hurt more at the time)got to work and my wrist /lower arm got worse,long story short radial head fracture at the elbow

Doohickie

Bummer!

Today was my first day riding to work this year.... in fact the first day riding to work in about a month I think. I was transitioning to a new position within the company, at a new site (with twice the commute) last month, and had to go back and forth between the buildings during the workday, making bike commuting impractical.

Today I went to a different building for an all-day meeting. One-way distance was 17 miles. I rode with a friend that works in that building when made the commute more pleasant.

CCrew

Positively balmy 27 degrees this am... almost like summertime it seems! LOL Great ride in, first morning without a lot of wind, and between the warmer temps and lack of wind I was overdressed. Have to peel a layer or to on the ride home for sure.

rumrunn6

when my alarm went off at 3:00 my throat was scratchy and I was still tired and went back to bed. Too bad I didn't actually sleep another 3 hrs, but I got some more sleep.

Breathing in the dusted road salt and sand must be carcinogenic and I got some big lungfuls on Monday and Tuesday biking. I have also found that on days I bike commute I get some mild laryngitis. I drove yesterday due to a work assignment and errands and didn't lose my voice.

It's gonna snow tomorrow and it's a 1/2 day for me so I'm gonna ride. I'm disappointed about today cuz I was gonna try my thin studs at MAX pressure. I doubt I'll use MAX pressure tomorrow, even if the snow is light.

fletchh

Not too bad this morning at 18 F (-7 C). No wind makes a big difference, and an easier ride. Hopefully, not appears before leaving.

wheel

For those following, the bra is still there, a little farther down the road.

Saw three cyclists which was rare.

A dog free commute is no more as of last night. Scared the crap out of me. A truck was passing at the same time so I couldn't veer. A couple kicks and yelping latter.


forgot my warm clothes, I know I know, not as cold as everyone else. Forgot my lunch I am so hungry. What can I say it is Monday.


Now I get to go home 45f cold and hungry.

Ok enough ranting I am alive and making money.

tarwheel 

Experimented with my clothes this morning since it was a little warmer than the past few days, 20 F compared to 17, 17 and 19. Wore my Craft rain jacket over a long-sleeve Craft baselayer, rather than my usual Pearl Izumi Gavia over the baselayer. The rain jacket worked well, but I was perhaps a tad cooler and sweatier. It is pretty well ventilated and wind-resistant, but the fabric is thinner than the soft-shell jacket I usually wear. It's a nice option for cool days when there is rain or a chance of rain, but I hadn't ridden with it in below-freezing temps before.

The highway crews sprayed a brine-salt mixture over all the major roads last night in anticipating of some snow expected tonight. So that means I'll need to give my bike a good washing this weekend to get the salt dust off, which I am not looking forward to since the high temperature both days is expected to be below freezing.

DallasSoxFan

A cold 25 degree morning with a strong wind. In Dallas. With rain last night. Plenty warm in my getup (sweating when I got to the work showers). Took it slow, enjoying the "this guy is crazy" looks.

Everyone who works for me drives in, some from LONG distances. Half my team is "working" from home.

2su

woke up this morning and there was ~ 2-3 inches of snow on the road... un-plowed/salted. I don't ride in that kind of weather. Plus we've got another 6-7 inches of accumlation expected through the day... so it was a train day.

boo... bad commute day. cheers to anyone in chicago that commuted. I just didn't feel like dealing with all that gunk on me and the bike... and also crazy drivers on unservices roads.

starla

Mid 20s with 20-30mph winds. I was kinda dreading the ride because of that. People around here thought I was crazy to even try it (hey, it's Texas). But it was really not significantly worse than any other commute, and better than riding at 35 in the rain. So I'm quite happy right now. Ride home might be worse since I'll be riding more into the wind, but I'm just gonna take it easy.

yarb

Another dry commute at about two above this morning. Spectacular yolklike sunrise; glass-fronted houses glowing gold and fuschia on the hillside.

Extra riding last night as I commuted homeward via Ukrainian Xmas dinner at the in-laws' place. Soft buttery homemade perogies, good wine, riding over the roaring dam at 8 p.m.

Really enjoying myself this week thanks to this brief letup in the rain.

HardyWeinberg

30F, very nice sunrise w/ Mt Rainier.

caloso

More fog. Getting pretty monotonous.

asphalt junkie

Single digits this morning. Fresh hardpack on the roads. This is winter cycle commuting. Didn't feel like I had really joined the club until today.

scoatw

asphalt junkie, How were your toes? What do you wear when you're in the single digits.

Thursday, January 7,10. Riding in was good. 22f. First major storm of the season for our area. They were calling for 2-4 inches. It looks like it might lean more towards 4”. Started snowing lightly around 9:30am and picked up steam around noon. At 2pm when I left there was about an 1” or 1 ½ on the ground. 161 was pretty bad. But I was able to ride on the shoulder safely. I took Linworth to Antrim Park and made my way to Proprietors Rd thru Worthington. I came home on Shrock Rd. The road was layered in snow with just the car tracks clearing the road. The bike lane was non-existent. It was mostly 3-4” of leftover snow from earlier in the week. And I just plowed right thru it doing about 8mph. But I had plenty of room from the cars and I was able to stay safely away from them about 4 feet. When no traffic was behind me I was able to move into the right tire track and make up some time. The side streets that didn’t get too much traffic were loose snow and turning into a quagmire. The City will have all night to clear the main roads. So maybe by the time I’m out there maybe some of the secondary streets will be cleaned off. But it all means having to leave about a half hour earlier than usual, and that will suck.

tcristy

Here is a pic of the bike ~2/3rd of the way through my commute home this afternoon. ~4" of snow by this point and still coming down.

bpeder

I have never ridden in such crappy winter conditions before. We had that heavy snowstorm at Christmas. 18 inches and then rain. That, with the bitter temperatures that followed, froze everything up.

We have had only a couple times since then that things got a bit warmer so that road chemicals could begin to work but it has not been enough.

All the side streets are still covered in broken sheets and stretches of thick hard pack that fossilized into ice and then got mirror polished by cars. Horrible ruts and bumpy, uneven washboard surface. It's like ugly humongous scabs on the road surface. Auto repair shops are turning people away and once again there are death threats being phoned in to our long-suffering transportation department, (MNDOT) by irate drivers - which also happened after our famous "Halloween Blizzard" back in the early '90s... The shoulders are not much better, and if you try to ride them you are in a constant state of fear that some chowder head over driving his conditions is going to spin out and cream you. I end up looking in my helmet mirror more than at what's in front of me!

The plows have not even tried to blade the shoulders. There are only so many heavy road graders - which is about the only machine that can handle getting the shoulders clean down close to the pavement, and even if they did the snow would just tumble back into the road. The banks are just too high. And because the driving lanes themselves are still so bad, they seem to have given up anyway and are waiting for warm weather so the chemicals can give them some help.

And as for the bike paths? The huge frozen "snow boulders" have made it almost impossible for the smaller equipment the cities and park boards use to clear them to do anything even close to the kind of job that would make them even somewhat ride-able... It's just dismal!

One bike path I need for my commute runs about 6 feet from - and parallel to - a busy street that has a 50MPH speed limit. So after a three inch storm like we had today they salt, which creates the horrid greasy-gray "soft pack" snow and then the fast plow throws it up onto the bike path where it freezes and resembles the surface of Mars. I had to walk the bike through that. I swear, that grungy soft pack is the worst! It keeps you riding on the brink of disaster all the time. Packed powder is a joy but that ugly poo poo is impossible. I only get relief when my mirror shows a break in traffic behind me. Then I can duck into the "single track" in the driving lane where cars have worn the snow down to the pavement. I love that crunchy sound the studs make when they are running on filmed pavement. It's most reassuring...

And my friggin' free hub keeps slipping! I'm almost considering bagging the ride until we get a thaw.

And Dog help us, the drivers! Crud like this always brings out the worst in them. They hate us at the best of times, but when they are already being held up by bad conditions and then a guy on a bike slows them down too? I have been yelled at more times in the past couple of weeks than in many other years combined... I fear that someday one of these creeps is going to think he's gonna teach me a lesson and cut by real close to scare me - but cut it too close and hit me. The former has happened before... It freaks you out so bad you can never get a license plate.

I could go on and on. Thanks for listening! It sure helps to have a place to go to rant, where people understand you!

buzzman

left the house this morning thinking I could have a leisurely ride in since I was leaving early and found my front tire was flat. Changed the tube and headed off with a little less time. Got to work five minutes "early" then found out I was actually a 1/2 hour early! The ride home tonight at 10pm- it felt warm at 28〫F and I decided to take the bike path home. Was glad I did it-it was well plowed- with a few sections of bushwhacking but more like fun than an obstacle with the studded tires and mountain bike.

skijor

The brown sugar ruts were very dense, tough to power through and super squirrely even with the Nokian W106's. I jumped on the sidewalk where possible.

wheel

Well keep trying, I salute you. I lived in MN for too long to know what you're going through.

Gee do I even dare talk about my commute :0

It was lovely nice 60 degrees, no dogs going in to work. I brought my lunch and warm clothes today. Going to take a different way home and record it.
Saw a cop blow through a red light and then attempt to put their lights on halfway through. A Papa Johns delivery got almost nailed the median by not waiting for me to go through the traffic calming. The bra was removed and replaced with a glove. The poop on the Ped bridge remains 3 weeks now. However they managed to paint over the graffiti on it.

When I get to work I have this story about my detainment. https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...2#post10241212

The commute home wasn't to bad yesterday. I only need to read these threads too figure that out.I really enjoy the ride home. Probably the best ride I ever had have coming home from work.

CCrew

1-2" of fresh snow. Obviously the first person on the W&OD and Custis trails this morning, because not a tire track or footprint to be seen. Last two miles were on street, but bike lanes were untouched also. WTF is it with cagers? Got honked at IN the bike lane. two blinkies running in the rear, reflective bands on my ankles and messenger bag, not like they can't flipping see me...

jhhall

Ha - I must have been the third on the W&OD this morning as there were only two tracks. However, the Custis had several. Very beautiful morning for a ride!

Sorry to hear about the cagers. I also get honked at every once in awhile on Fairfax Drive while in the bike lane.