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-   -   2019! The “How was your commute?” thread! (https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=1163199)

Darth Lefty 01-30-19 12:47 AM


Originally Posted by Tundra_Man (Post 20769579)
I didn't really notice a problem with that, but then again I didn't really do anything requiring a suspension fork.

I keep the springs set as tight as they will go. If this fork had a lockout I would just leave it on. I've actually considered replacing the fork with a rigid one, as in certain temps this one likes to squeak.

one other forum rat has suggested that a suspension fork should help a lot with rutted ice. Don’t know if that is your situation. It seems like an air fork might have some trouble... ideal gas law. A coil fork, would depend on the oil.

Skipjacks 01-30-19 07:22 AM

It was 16 degrees this morning.

It seemed like a shame that I paid for a car with heated seats and a heated steering wheel just to leave it in the driveway all day....so I drove.

16 is just a little below my absolutely minimum for riding.

mgw4jc 01-30-19 07:29 AM

Clear and cold at 16F to start, warming to about 20F during the ride. I paused to soak in the sun while taking a selfie.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d56a90701c.jpg

Of course my glasses were completely fogging up while trying to take the picture. And I'm facing the low sun and could barely see if I was even getting me and the bike in the picture. So considering, not too bad.

Tundra_Man 01-30-19 08:36 AM

New record day! Kinda sorta.

So my wife really gets nervous when I ride with the temp below zero. Last night on the ride home it was -11°F , and the temp was falling rapidly. By the time I went to bed it was about -20°F. Woke up this morning to -26°F with a wind chill somewhere south of -50°F. The coldest I'd ever ridden in previously was -14°F air temp, so I wanted to try and ride today. My wife wasn't enthused about this idea at all. So we compromised.

Due to the cold temps, the city bus system was waiving fares this week. So left the house and rode about a mile to a bus stop. When the bus arrived I threw my bike on the rack and took the bus downtown. Then I got off and rode the remaining 1/2 mile to the client location. I got to ride and my wife was satisfied with the compromise.

When I was riding, I was actually surprised that it really didn't feel noticeably colder than yesterday's ride, probably due to the wind dying down a bit. However, my goggles iced over and became useless almost immediately. I think it was less than 1/2 mile from home when I couldn't see a thing and had to pull them off. Also, it felt like the bike itself was giving me a lot more resistance than normal, like all the grease in the wheel bearings didn't want to move.

It's supposed to warm up to -13°F by 5 PM, so I'll probably just ride the whole way home versus taking the bus.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...998444b276.jpg

RidingMatthew 01-30-19 09:04 AM

Today, 19F and 30-45 mph winds today! We had a bunch of rain and it was 30F when I rode home. So my wife asked me to drive today. I rode yesterday when it was a 100% rain yesterday. Just a few drops on the way in but a beautiful sunset going home. #winning haha I made it past my goal to do more miles than last January.

acidfast7 01-30-19 09:18 AM

Very cold and icy for England!


not where I am!

blue skies and time for a pint on the crisp blue seaside!

http://www.resortcams.com/de91e22a-af52-4999-b156-903bd866e1da

HardyWeinberg 01-30-19 10:44 AM

27F, clear as a bell and then shift to fog.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...deab646243.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0264cddbca.jpg

I just got a $50 gopro knockoff and brought it into work today w/ the manual to figure out how to operate it, but this am would have been a perfect ride to record to capture the transition from daylight to fog. Dang.

ps-> for you polar vortexers, it should be up in the 50s this afternoon for my ride home...

madpogue 01-30-19 11:34 AM

Got down to -26F last night. Only gone up to -24F, and the wind is up, so wind chill is pushing -60F. Building where I work is in "weekend" mode, since most offices are closed. I'm telecommuting. IF (and that's a big IF atm) it gets "up" to -15-ish, I might catch a bus in.

+30s and rain this weekend. On top of the snow/ice cover we already have. The storm inlets in the streets, that allow storm water to drain to the rivers/lakes, are frozen and covered with plowed snow. The mayor dropped the f-word (flooding) yesterday. City Engineering is asking residents to help with opening up the inlets.

HardyWeinberg 01-30-19 11:42 AM


Originally Posted by madpogue (Post 20771204)
Got down to -26F last night. Only gone up to -24F, and the wind is up, so wind chill is pushing -60F. Building where I work is in "weekend" mode, since most offices are closed. I'm telecommuting. IF (and that's a big IF atm) it gets "up" to -15-ish, I might catch a bus in.

+30s and rain this weekend. On top of the snow/ice cover we already have. The storm inlets in the streets, that allow storm water to drain to the rivers/lakes, are frozen and covered with plowed snow. The mayor dropped the f-word (flooding) yesterday. City Engineering is asking residents to help with opening up the inlets.

Yikes! Does weekend mode mean the furnace is off?

Theycallmegio 01-30-19 11:42 AM

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...61e5557918.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...64629f81bd.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...80e3dab129.jpg


-22 with a windchill of -48* in Chicago

tjspiel 01-30-19 12:08 PM

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d9b86487a7.jpg

Short commute to a Caribou Coffee today since the office was closed. Worked there for a couple of hours before heading back home for lunch. Wind dropped a bit since last night so even though it was colder, it wasn't quite as nasty as last evening's commute home.

Bright and sunny though!

Bonus picture of my naked flesh not freezing instantly as some news outlets are claiming will happen. ;) I did put mitts on though before the actual ride.

mgw4jc 01-31-19 07:52 AM

Weather app said 16F again, but I think it warmed up faster. I was a bit overheated by the time I got to the office, partially due to pushing a bit as I was running late.

I saw Venus, the moon and Jupiter all lined up pretty cool this morning. No time or decent enough equipment for a proper picture.

RidingMatthew 01-31-19 08:10 AM

Should have worn thicker socks or two pair of socks. everything else was okay. I tied my already lowest commute 13F but it was right at 13.0F before I noticed my Garmin turned off and has yet to restart. Not as cold as some people but not to shabby for North Carolina

Tundra_Man 01-31-19 09:12 AM

-6F this morning. Which was 20 degrees warmer than yesterday morning.

It's actually supposed to get above zero today for the first time since Monday. I'm going to feel like a wild man for the ride home.

HardyWeinberg 01-31-19 10:27 AM

31F, sunny

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c09ff162fe.jpg

Skipjacks 01-31-19 11:28 AM

You people who do these subzero rides....

Wow. You guys are tough! I don't know how you do it.

I can't do under 20. I just can't do it. I don't even like walking outside at the 10 degrees it is right now.

More power to you!

RESPECT!!!!

OhLylo 01-31-19 01:21 PM

Yesterday it was pushing 70F on the way home. Polar vortex? What polar vortex?

I moved up to 4th all-time on one of my Strava segments on my commute. Feels good, man. I'm 45 seconds behind the 1st place person on a one mile segment, so I've got a ways to go before I'll even be thinking about overtaking.

Today I rode slow, only 12mph average. My legs are quite tired today, and the forecast is for rain on the way home, so here's hoping cars are feeling friendly on the way home because it's gonna be gloomy and I'm gonna be slow.

OhLylo 01-31-19 01:26 PM


Originally Posted by HardyWeinberg (Post 20771123)
27F, clear as a bell and then shift to fog.

I just got a $50 gopro knockoff and brought it into work today w/ the manual to figure out how to operate it, but this am would have been a perfect ride to record to capture the transition from daylight to fog. Dang.

ps-> for you polar vortexers, it should be up in the 50s this afternoon for my ride home...

Which gopro knockoff did you go with? I've been thinking of going that route myself.

HardyWeinberg 01-31-19 01:33 PM


Originally Posted by OhLylo (Post 20773100)
Which gopro knockoff did you go with? I've been thinking of going that route myself.

This one

Also, here is this morning's commute, sped up 4x (so I am not passing the schoolbus on the right as fast as it looks...) In the end I don't know how much of the optical artifacts in the little movie are from the camera or from the program (Lightworks) that I used to stitch the segments together and increase the speed, and compress it some more.

I have learned from watching the movie to tilt the camera up more to get more of the view that I want...

mgw4jc 01-31-19 02:05 PM

I like to think I cycle to work and recycle home.

noglider 01-31-19 02:42 PM

I can't believe people are riding today.

I rode to a blood donation appointment yesterday before the cold weather stormed in. I got lucky again and got a Citi Bike e-bike (Cit-E-Bike?). These things are pretty fast. I confess that I enjoy them.

My donation took hours, partly because the center was having an administrative backup and partly because I donate platelets, which takes a long time. By the time I was done with my donation, the cold weather had arrived, and it was snowing. I didn't feel like getting cold or wet, and my arm was hurting me, so I took the subway home.

davei1980 01-31-19 10:28 PM

Averaging 14.5 MPH on the way to work and 14.0 on the way home when I am tired and more traffic/uphill

acidfast7 02-01-19 06:26 AM

cold for us over here.

bike is running great regardless of surface rust

mgw4jc 02-01-19 07:51 AM

Overheated this morning. Temp on phone said 21F, so I dressed for it. Not sure if it was actually warmer or if I'm getting used to it. I slowed down quite a bit and unzipped my jacket. But at 2 miles to go I was going to be quite sweaty, so I stopped and shed an upper and lower layer. Then I was borderline cold, but much happier.

A couple of miles into the ride a truck passed me unsafely. Not really unsafe for me, but on a curve and car came around from the other direction. Truck had to cut back pretty quick while the other car braked suddenly. And honked at him, then honked again at me. The honk came across like a whiny, "Heyyyyy." Not sure why they honked at me when it was the truck driver going into their lane.

Happy Friday!

RidingMatthew 02-01-19 07:53 AM

rode yesterday and today. Yesterday my Garmin shut off about 10 miles in. It would not restart or anything. I charged it when I got home and did a hard reset. It then asked if I wanted to save my activity.

Today all electronics worked as expected on the way in and it was according to weather app 13 degrees warmer but GPS said 18-19* on the way in. So not really.


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