spivonious

Sounds like a lot of excuses to me...

Seriously though, unless it's a downpour, rain isn't going to hurt anything. Just bring a change of clothes and your bike clothes will be dry by the end of the work day.

Darth Lefty 

I live in a mostly-sunny place and commute for my own enjoyment. I would not enjoy that.

PatrickGSR94

Well yesterday was a bit of an odd one. First time I've turned around and went back to the house after leaving on the bike.

I woke up at 5, checked the weather, and was like nahhh and turned over and went back to sleep until 6. Got up at 6 and jumped in the shower, then started thinking I might go ahead and ride in anyway. Trouble is, I had no clothes or shower stuff at work, which meant over-stuffed backpack. And I needed my heavy boots and heavy coat for a meeting outside at a job site in the afternoon.

So I got all suited up like usual, but had to stuff my bike shoes in my backpack for the afternoon ride and wear my boots. I've been wanting to try that anyway to see if my feet stay warmer than if I'm clipped in. I wore a long-sleeve tech base layer, long sleeve jersey, and then this very heavy coat, and my backpack. I could barely move my upper body. By the time I got out of my neighborhood I was already sweating like crazy, and it was already 7 AM. Would have been way past 8 when I got to work.

So I said nope. Turned around and went back. Changed, got in the car, and got to work about 7:55.

Would have been a super nice ride home in the upper 40's with a nice tail wind. That makes 2 solid weeks no with no bike commutes. Only got in 1 commute day this entire month Hopefully next week will bring some better opportunities. By golly I'm going to bring my next day's clothes to work on Monday or Wednesday whether I think I'll ride or not, JUST IN CASE!

spivonious

I didn't mean to come across as pushy, but you did say it was a goal of yours. It's hard to meet a goal if rain in the forecast is enough to kill it. Living in an area that gets a normal amount of rain (averaging about 3" a month), I'd be taking days off almost every week if I only rode on days with no precipitation. I actually enjoy riding in a light rain in the summer. It keeps me from getting too hot and can be very refreshing.

I only meant to witness that riding in the rain can still be enjoyable.

PatrickGSR94

I agree, a light rain in warmer weather can be quite nice, other than my shoes filling up with water. I need some SPD sandals or something.

Rainy weather below 50° is just miserable when you don't have any real rain gear (I don't).

wphamilton

I can't wait to try some of my hills without all this extra weight weight holding me back.




Clavicle steel.

MEversbergII

Ah, all healed up, then?

M.

OrionXavier

All the streets were iced over, cars abandoned all over the place from sliding out of control. Some cars flipped. That wast last night. This morning pretty much the same, but I just made a trip to the grocery store about 2 blocks away. I actually used my bike as a brace (I have Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires) as I got out of my house, otherwise I was sliding all over the place trying to walk. The Schwalbes are amazing on ice, not so great on most snow, except for fresh snow (up to 4 inches). Plus they're almost puncture proof which is good because I'm in a bad neighborhood that routinely breaks their f'ing bottles on the sides of the roads, as if it is a pastime.

Cars were still sliding all over, one was stuck in the middle of one of the parking lot lanes at the grocery store. Almost ran me over as I started biking past him. Why he decided to start moving again after seeing me, I don't know. Nearly crushed my bike against the curb.

Got to the grocery store and people were doing a "double take" when they saw me; my bike. Apparently people don't know that you can buy ice/snow tires for bicycles lol. One man was describing to his daughter (presumably) as I passed, how they make spikes on bicycle tires.

wphamilton

Yeah, I've had the hardware for a year and a half almost, put it off until this January for insurance purposes. It's just been a constant annoyance. The surgeon took one look at it and said with his trademark bedside manner, "Haha, that looks like it's about to burst through your skin, yep gotta come out."

I just realized that I had the choice of doing it last Monday. I would have had a perfect excuse to sit out the whole Atlanta Snow-Zombie Apocalypse and been out riding in this beautiful weather today. But I have to plan it for weekend recovery to not miss work. What a waste.

I think the sutures will be healed enough for the Monday commute, the bone will be weak of course until the holes fill in but that's going to be weeks. I think as long as I'm careful I'm good to go. Doc wouldn't like that idea but he didn't actually order me off the bike, not while I was conscious enough to remember anyway ... it's simple really, boils down to "don't fall".

MEversbergII

Lots of good bone broth. That's the ticket!

Or so the old folks used to say...

M.

dcb23

38F 3 C, one week ago I was freeaing on the way in...today it was sheets of rain, buckets of rain, or just plain rain. I liked it actually, cleaned the streets and my bike from the road salt.

wilfried

Slushfest! But slush is OK on a bike share bike, with big fat tires and all. There's a couple of inches of muck on the ground, but it's above freezing, so it's mostly melted. You still have to be careful near intersections though, where plows and tire tracks have missed. It was a slow slog, but otherwise not too difficult. I looked like a snowman by the time I got to work though.

tarwheel 

Bonus commute today, but I am paying for it. I expected to drive today because forecasts were calling for heavy showers due to a cold front passing through, but the front was slow in arriving and it was warm with no rain when I got up. The front is supposed to pass through by mid-afternoon with no rain after that, so I decided to ride after all. Well, I didn't get rained on, but battled monster headwinds all the way to work -- it was like a continuous 14-mile climb. The wind is supposed to shift 180 degrees after the front passes, so it looks like I'll be battling headwinds all the way home as well. On the plus side, I'll be getting a heckuva workout today and should stay mostly dry.

Ky_Rider

3-4 inches of snow and still falling this morning so I took the wife's car. There was a stranded motorist at the bottom of my drive that I had to help out. Fun morning. I'm missing the ride today.

thechemist

Patches of ice here and there. No commute for me and I actually stayed home. Hoping to get a ride in this afternoon

Darth Lefty 

Flat this morning. I couldn't find a thorn but the tube had a wrinkle, it may have rubbed itself raw. I will check later... the backup tube is holding.

My only bike commute this week, heading out on business travel the rest of it.

spivonious

No work today, driving or riding. 6" of heavy, wet snow, and a lackadaisical plow team means the roads were pretty much impassable until around 3PM. Depending on condition, I may ride tomorrow.

Fizzaly

Prepared for snow....of which not much stuck... Pretty nice day though, was 28f this morning and 35f and sunny this afternoon and it's soo much better now that the inversion has left the valley and we have the SUN once again!

Mr. Hairy Legs

Great rides today. Just below freezing but clear and windless. It's supposed to get colder this week.

duckbill

This morning was colder then my poor toes can handle. - 30 Celsius with the wind chill. My face and chest was covered in frost upon my arrival at work but my electric gloves saved my hands yet again. The rear derailleur froze in the 16 T but that seemed to work for all but the steeper hills. If it gets any colder, I'm back on the bus.

dramiscram

First bike commute since the 16th of january. I could've ride yesterday but I didn't because it looked icy from my window, but it wasn't ...
We have a real winter this year so it's harder to commute by bike in my area but still only one less commute than last year at the same date.
So this morning was gray, -12° celcius with a little tail Wind, a bit of snow but nothing to slow me down, the legs felt great after more than 2 weeks off the bike.

mtessmer

I'm glad I'm not the only one, it's been since the 17th for me. We've had 33 days below -0 F so far this year and the most snow we've had in thirty years. I rode yesterday and it felt really good. I pretty much picked up where I left off. Maybe the x-country skiing and snowshoeing has helped.

arsprod 

Great ride in today, but that might be because it's the first since early last week! 19F and roads and trail are clear. I might pay for riding because we're under a winter storm warning starting at 1p - good excuse to leave early!

Mr. Hairy Legs

Tough ride home today, quite a bit of headwind and cold but I was dressed in wool from head to toe and felt about right. Somehow cold air feels like more work to ride in.

tarwheel 

Drove for the second day in a rain due to cold rain and fog with temps in the 30s F. When I got up, it looked like there would be a window in the showers, so I packed my bike up and get dressed in my cycling gear, but then the rain started coming down heavier and I bagged it. I spent a couple of hours cleaning my bikes on Sunday from all of the accumulated grime from riding in the rain over the past few months and didn't feel like undoing all of my hard work, and -- quite frankly -- I'm sick and tired of riding in cold drizzle. I was able to dodge the showers on Monday, but it was one of the toughest commutes I have ever had with brutal headwinds in the morning and afternoon. I was totally wiped out Monday night and I was snacking all night, presumably replacing all of the calories I burned. The weather is supposed to finally clear up on Thursday and Friday, so I should get in a decent week of commuting in total.