mgw4jc

Microwave the wipes maybe?

arsprod 

Not my best commute - 27F, snow, and at about 3 miles into my 11 mile ride I got tagged by an SUV crossing an intersection. The good news is she just got my back wheel so the bike is fine. Bad news is I'll be off the bike at least for a few days. I have to admit that technically it was my fault - I should have stopped and waited, but the car coming the other direction stopped and I'm lit up like a Christmas tree on steroids. The young lady driving the car said "I guess I didn't scrape my windshield well enough." Well I guess you didn't!

Darth Lefty 

noglider 

Take care, @Darth Lefty!

mgw4jc

Scary stuff @arsprod.
Even scarier stuff @darth_Lefty. Do check in and let us know how you're doing.

A cold morning today at about 24F. I was good for the first 40 minutes and then my toes got cold. I only had about 2 more miles at that point. I think the part about my winter commute is the last 2 miles going home. It's dark and on a bit busier section of road with no shoulder. For some reason when it's light out the rest of the year that part doesn't seem as bad.

pdlamb

Cold here as well, and frosty. Hurray for bike commuting, I don't have to scrape the windshield! (Sorry, honey...)

Not as bad as what others had to go through, but I think the frost got on my shoe soles this morning. Coming into the building, I had to stop short as somebody came flying around a corner in the hall, and my shoe lost traction. No fall, I was able to balance on the rear foot for a second, but I've only had that happen when the shoe soles were wet.

harrysachz

23*F when I left my friend's apartment this morning, now its about 42*F so my commute home in three hours will be a little warmer! I love commuting in Chattanooga, my only complaint is there seems to be an abundance of broken beer and liquor bottles on our city streets. It is like the freaking Trailer Park Boys live around here sometimes!

mgw4jc

A bit warmer than yesterday morning, though still under freezing. Of course cold temperatures mean I dress warmer. Cold temperatures also seem to mean that I have to pee more urgently upon arrival at either work or home. It's not so bad on the ride, but once I start transitioning from awesome bike rider to normal desk jockey, I gotta GO!

Big winter forecast for North Carolina this weekend. Several inches of snow and/or ice starting late Saturday night and continuing all day Sunday. I have a feeling my office will be closed on Monday as a storm like this generally shuts everything down around here. I anticipate schools will be closed at least Monday & Tuesday, probably Wednesday too.

pdlamb

My personal view is that 35 degrees and raining is the worst possible bicycling weather.

It was a whole 5 degrees warmer than that.

It's a light shower instead of a heavy rain.

And back to standard time, so it wasn't dark.

Oh, and I made it in just fine (if a little damp). So that's four good things about riding to work today.

I was surprised to see two other bike tracks on the MUP this morning. I thought I'd be the only one riding this way today!

noglider 

Agreed! It's worse than snow falling. And rain at that temperature is made worse if the wind is high.

This morning's commute was hard. I took Citi Bike. I had a strong crosswind which was slightly from the front so it felt like a strong headwind. The bikes make you sit upright, and they weigh 50 pounds. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. My average speed for 6 miles was 9.4 mph, much lower than normal.

gtharv

I just bought a surly ogre for everyday 39 km work commute.. I love it. Despite heavy still very comfortable ride

Tundra_Man 

That's not much fun, but I would argue that sub-zero temps with a 30+ mph wind is worse.

Thankfully, I had neither of these today. 18F and a light wind. Most of the sheet ice has finally evaporated. There's still enough of it that I have to ride studs, but I'm not constantly on ice now.

noglider 

I've never cycled when temperature was below 5°F, and I've found it to be quite difficult when it's below 15° or 20°. So yes, sub-zero (F) sounds worse than 35° and raining, but I have no experience in it.

Chinghis

I took the day off yesterday. I won't say I wimped out or anything, but it was raining, and I needed to be at work to meet other folks for a field trip. Of course, in the rain, it took forever to get to the office. I would have been fast (but miserable) on the bike.

Wednesday was the beginning of the storm, so I got a little wet on both ends. Nothing too bad, but I did break out the helmet cover on the ride home. Put my bike in the van, locked it up, then proceeded to leave the keys in the car as I closed the (locked) gate. So there I am in cotton and nylon, trying to get hold of my wife as the rain got worse. She eventually brought me a key, but it wasn't fun.

pdlamb

Probably so, but around here, that kind of weather hasn't happened for 30 years and when it did, we all stayed inside and prayed the power wouldn't go out until the roads melted; took about three days, IIRC.

RidingMatthew

I attempted to ride yesterday. It was 19F according to the app when i left. I rode down a hill hitting 32mph THAT IS COLD but i felt good until i attempted to stop at a light at the top of the next hill. My rear disk brake locked/ froze up. I had to call my wife to come get me. I sorta got it lose but it was causing some serious drag. Rolled fine from the back of the van to the garage.. I took it to the shop and they did not see anything wrong. Rode this morning most of the ride was under freezing temps but new insoles kept feet toasty and it was a good ride.

essiemyra

It was a cold 17 f degrees with clear dark starry skies this am. It has been quite a while since I have been able to commute by bike and the ride was pleasant yet uneventful. I think this is the only day this week I can ride to work but I will take what I can get at this point.

esmith2039

Back on my regular commuter.. it's so much easier to ride I almost want to hug it! Unfortunately it's also faster and since it was 20 degree's had to add another layer! Weather looks good till Friday.

Tundra_Man 

Consecutive work commute number 664:

Not much to report for this one. 13F with a light cross/slight tail wind. Trees were glistening with frost. Drivers were relatively calm. Rode the winter bike with studs, although there was only a 1/4 mile shaded patch on the MUP where I really needed them. The rest of the ice patches could have easily been ridden around.

pdlamb

10 degrees too warm for snow this weekend, although my wife spend hours watching streaming webcam of the snow in Boone, NC.

You'd have thought this was the Monday after Thanksgiving from the traffic and red lights this morning. Damp, cool, and overcast. I was a bit overdressed so I took it easy to compensate. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

noglider 

28°F looked like a low temperature when I headed out, and I saw that I would be facing a headwind, so I bundled up more than ever, knowing it might be too much. Well, it sure was, and every part of me was very warm except for my toes. I'm still wearing summer cycling shoes with cleats. I didn't feel like peeling layers off, so I just kept going slowly so as not to build up much heat.

I record all of my rides on my phone. Somehow, my phone shut down in the middle of the ride. The battery indicator said 60-something percent, and then it suddenly went to zero. Second time in two weeks this happened. I think I need to get it repaired. What a pain. So it thinks I rode only 4 miles instead of 6.5 miles. Not a big deal, really.

This week at work will be very stressful and difficult. Even the ride didn't make me feel particularly good.

HardyWeinberg

40F, gray, wet

mgw4jc

Snow and sleet hit us starting early Sunday morning and into the afternoon. Schools in many counties around are all closed. More snow was coming down when I got up. My office originally announced they would open on a two hour delay at 10am. I knew I wasn't biking and also decided to hold off and go in at noon.

I drove my bike route to see the possibility of biking tomorrow. It is mostly clear of snow, but the roads are quite wet with the melting runoff. That will most likely freeze tonight and make the morning bad again. Probably another delayed opening they already told us. Most likely I won't be able to bike tomorrow either.

OmegaWolf

16F with 15 MPH headwind in light snow/freezing fog this morning. Lots of pedestrians in dark clothes walking the dark MUPs this morning. 22F with 12 MPH headwind tonight coming home. I just can't win.

Today was my first day trying CopperFit sleeves on my bad knees. There was almost no pain while riding, at work, or now that I'm home. There seems to be more swelling than normal though, so I'll see how they do long term.

pdlamb

Freezing fog frosted the landscape this morning. Lots of variations in the roads; some were clear, some were wet, and a half mile looked like it had had a quarter inch of snow. I don't know if it was there (either light snow or frost falling off the trees), or just the cold fog along the ride, that I collected a fine dusting on the front of my panniers, jacket, water bottle, and gloves. And maybe my glasses, though that melted.

The fog made me aware of a couple things. First is how nice it is to turn your lights on in low visibility (especially when everyone seems to drive gray or black vehicles!). The second is how far ahead I'm used to seeing. I've been riding this route for 20 years, and I know it forward and backward in sunshine, rain, and dark. But today, with visibility down to about a block, I was lost until I saw the bike route sign. I don't know if my autopilot flipped off unexpectedly, or I'm just used to seeing houses (or lights in the dark) for 2-3 blocks, but things looked much different in the fog.