rhm

It was cold. First mile, my only complaint was that my torso was cold. By the time I got to the station, my torso was warm enough but my hands were almost painfully cold. Might be time to break out the heavier gloves.

Scummer

Last couple of days have been cold. And two days ago the fog now started to move in as well. I'm looking forward to a little warmer weather. 20F every day is getting old.

Darth Lefty 

I realized I was plumb out of heart meds. My wife will be stopping by with a rescue dose and a cappuccino for me on the way to her job, which starts in the afternoon, so the pills can be metabolizing by the time of the evening ride. Feeling guilty about having to ask her.

PatrickGSR94

beta blockers? Ugh I ran out over this past Labor Day Weekend. I had forgotten to pick up the Rx, pharmacy was closed Labor Day, and I only had one pill left that was sitting on my desk at work. I felt pretty wonky.

Darth Lefty 

Nadolol and disopyramide, yeah. They don't feel good but not having them feels worse

Abe_Froman

Eek, not one but 2 prescriptions I've not only not heard of but can't pronounce I am assuming is not fun.

ammarolli

It was warm in Reykjavík compared to normal December and I wish I had the guts to ride my crossrip inside of my commuter with studded tires. It's usually icy and snowy at this time of year. Do to few icy and snowy days all the bike paths are full of sand.

rhm

I've been riding the same route to the station, with only the most minor variations, every work day, for over fifteen years. But I still see something new once in a while.

This evening, about 4:30, it was drizzling lightly, getting dark, I'm riding my half mile stretch of the Delaware and Raritan canal, and I see a large round thing at the edge the canal where there hasn't been one before. Large, like a couple feet long, over a foot wide, sticking out of the water be almost a foot, dark gray... and as I rode right by it, I saw it was an animal. Furry, wet, and preoccupied. It didn't see me. I stopped and looked back, and it still hadn't seen me, so I went and got a closer look. Beaver! Intently chewing on a piece of wood. Then it saw me and vanished with a sploosh, stayed under a little while, then surfaced and swam away in no particular hurry.
This is suburban New Jersey! Okay, I've seen some beaver damaged trees, but this critter was almost tame. I've seen something swimming on the canal before, but it was very shy, never let me get a good look. And I've seen woodchuck in that area. Woodchuck are not supposed to swim, but I wasn't sure. Well, this beastie was much bigger than any woodchuck... And it was gnawing on a piece of wood.

joeyduck

@HardyWeinberg

I have also been getting some nice weather and sunrises.





There was some snow in the air today, but not really any on my little island or paradise. When I left work yesterday there was a few inches on the ground, which is something the area is apparently not accustomed to; they haven't seen snow like this in five years. It wasn't a problem with my snow tire equipped van and slower and more cautious then normal driving techniques honed over winter on the Tug Hill Plateau of northern New York.

My cycle commutes have been regular, almost everyday! Which is saying a lot from about two years ago. Though they are only about 1 km. It is not far from the house to the dock. The boat ride has been really nice though (see pics) I have finally invested in quality Helly Hansen PVC rain gear and good rubber boot with boat tread, it is very nice, although I have a hard time not overheating. I have been towing the kids in the trailer and then usually a umbrella stroller and shopping carrier (granny basket).



Anywho I have been working as a sub for two school districts, though most of the work has been in one school. That has given me a chance to get to know/recognize a lot of students. My wife and in laws were a away for a while so the work schedule was on a rough start and then I got a call from the HR head to see if I was committed. It didn't help that (I let) my daughter tumble down the stairs at the playground and crack a rib and collarbone, while my wife was out of town. The girl is only 18 months but a damn trooper; she cried for maybe 90 seconds, popped her soother back in her mouth and kept going. I finally took her to the hospital the next morning since she was just not feeling right. I knew it wasn't major, but I just wanted to be sure and knew what I was dealing with.

Otherwise we are very happy with our move, living next door to the in-laws has been (dare I say) great. For a few weeks while mom in law was busy working I was cooking for them almost every night, which was very appreciated.

I miss posting here but I have not had much to report on the 2 km round trip commute, but I have been lurking and reading everyone's posts.

I hope everyone stays warm this time of year.

dcb23

This morning a large owl scared the living daylights out of me with a loud "screeeeeeeyyaaaacccch". I thought there was a lunatic up in the trees on the dark early-moning Mt. Vernon-DC trail.

esmith2039

Eh rough ride in. Don't know if the Specialized is just that much different from the Trek or if there's something wrong with it. Did the same thing without the studded tires. Just seems like a slug maybe a tire out of whack. Hopefully it'll snow today though! That'll make my day better.

mgw4jc

After yesterday morning's wet ride in, my clothes had mostly dried out by the end of the day. The thin gloves which should have been quick drying were probably still the wettest. Therefore my hands were a bit cold on the ride home.

Quite the foggy morning and a cool 40F today. The moisture from the fog froze to my jacket, tights and gloves. I had silvery patches along my knees and shins that looked kind of cool in my opinion.

tarwheel 

Nice commute this morning with mostly dry roads and temperatures in the upper 30s. It rained all day here yesterday, so I drove and was glad that I did. Nothing much worse than riding in cold rain, IMHO. The rest of the week looks pretty good weatherwise, although it is supposed to get much colder and windier on Friday. We finally seem to have broken the drought that has plagued the Southeast for months, and the wildfires supposedly are totally contained if not completely out.

Wolfhaven

Been windy and cold the past couple of days. More like normal. Yesterday the temps dropped during the day so I carried a mid layer for the ride home into the 15-20 mph headwinds. Eased the effort to keep from sweating too much and my clothing choices were perfect. The icearmor gloves were on the warm side so I took them off to cool the hands some. Glad for the studs after having to ride over a lot of ice.

The wind howled all night which was a bit foreboding. 20 mph tail/cross winds for the ride in at 19 degrees. Wore the mid layer again was actually a bit too warm so I had to back off the effort to keep the sweating down. Toes got cold at the end so I'll up the thickness of the wool socks. If that doesn't work tomorrow I'll breakout the muck boots. Big and clunky but should be warm.

Tundra_Man 

Consecutive work commute number 195. The probability of seeing 200 in a row is becoming a real possibility.

Seems like every time I set a goal like this something happens (usually a blizzard) a couple days beforehand. The first time I had a goal of 100 days I got stopped at 98. A year later I hit 100 so I set a new goal for 150. That time I was halted at 147. This year I managed to break 150 so I set a goal of 200. We'll see if my tradition of "close but no cigar" holds.

Winter is definitely here. 9F this morning with a 25 mph head wind, which calculates out to something like -11F wind chill. I put on an extra layer, which turned out to be just a little too much. Removing the extra sweatshirt between my base shirt and my windbreaker probably would have made things about perfect.

Abe_Froman

Yikes that is cold. ^^

26 and breezy here, but clear. Nice ride other than goggles fogging up a bit and toes getting chilly. I need to get the more serious boots out when the temps drop much more.

Steely Dan

25 degrees this morning with an annoying 15 mph west wind bringing windchills down to 14 degrees. it was my first really cold bike commute since last winter.

next week they're forecasting some overnight lows in the single digits/below zero (actual temps). that's when the men really get separated from the boys.

wphamilton

If you want an alternative, something like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002P9WPO8 works for me to about 10° which surprised me because I always got cold toes. I've found also that just a thin plastic bag underneath it makes it considerably warmer, though doing that I sometimes need to change socks afterwards.

This morning I was asked if I planned on riding in Friday. Uh sure, why? Well, he said, it's supposed to get really cold and lots of wind ... checking the forecast, about 26° and breezy It's been amazingly mild so far this winter.

Abe_Froman

Thanks. I've got some pretty heavy duty thinsulate boots I wore when it was 0 degrees out working as a land surveyor that will do the trick though I think.

I'm so jealous of people that live in the south and have a really long pleasant riding season

Abe_Froman

I'm more boy than man, but I'll be out there with you nonetheless

Darth Lefty 

On my way home yesterday I had what I can only call fatigue pangs. Not bonking, not chest pain, but a sort of go-to-bed feeling. Wife and I have not been getting enough sleep lately, she's 7mo pregnant with twins and I'm staying up late to pick up the chores. So we are getting less than 6 hours a night, including interruptions from toddler and pets, sleeping on the recliners since she's uncomfortable in bed. It caught up with me.

PatrickGSR94

Was tired last night, didn't get ready, so once again did not ride this morning.

Arctic blast near the end of this week. It's looking more and more like I won't ride at all this week. I really just hate the cold.

HardyWeinberg

21F, frosty! But, nice mountain views (clear enough to see the snow blowing off the top). Today, wore same as yesterday (fullfinger gloves, tights, longsleeve shirt under coat), but also a short sleeve shirt under the long sleeve one. My 12 yr old wore a bandana over her mouth/nose. 15 yr old has a balaclava and ski mask but didn't see him leave so don't know if he used either.

HardyWeinberg

Outstanding, great to hear you're back at it! I have a pair of those Hellys and also some xtratufs but they don't enter into cycling much for me. Umm, where are the pix? And, are you boating to or from Nanaimo, wait, based on substituting, I assume into town.

Wow I lived in Ithaca for 8 yrs. Good place to learn that sort of driving! On the other hand it's harder to get on the road with people of unknown skills (except you know they didn't learn there, mostly)

joeyduck

Thanks! My wife also gave me the go ahead to start riding with her work group. Which is a very big step for her.

I'm boating between protection Island, in the Nanaimo harbor, and Nanaimo proper. I was going to get a pair of Xtratuffs but they don't l have many in Canada. My Alaskan friend swears by them and calls them his Alaskan slippers. So I went with Viking.

I've been having a hard time getting pictures to load on the site. I'll keep trying. This link is what I can do.

https://goo.gl/photos/6s2ywYR7rJyrJoYH9

It's always the other people that worry me on the road, especially out here.