rhm

We got about an inch of snow overnight. It had stopped by the time I got up, but with temps in the upper 20's, it wasn't melting. The travel lanes of the streets were clear, the shoulder not so much; but I ride to the station before there's much traffic. I was able to take the lane the whole way. The canal towpath had a lot of animals' footprints (fox, I guess) but no human tracks, no bike tracks unitl I went by. Pretty nice.

But my train went out of service at Newark. Had to change to another train.

And it was snowing when I got to NYC! Citibikes covered with snow. Again, no big deal... though I kinda hate it when I get a big snowflake right in the eyeball while I'm riding.

arsprod 

25F this morning with a slight tailwind. Ride home yesterday was brutal. I left early thinking I could miss the predicted precipitation - of course that meant I rode right into it. Combination rain and snow with 30-40mph winds. Even though they were mostly from behind me the gusts were downright terrifying - I felt like a ping pong ball and thank goodness most of my ride is on an MUP. "Headwinds are hills dipped in evil!!" @jrickards

jrickards

ptempel

I took today off and used the train to Penn Station. Also will meet my brother-in-law and the wife in Brooklyn after work. So that's another excuse besides the snow. I did see some guys on citibikes when I got to midtown manhattan. Maybe one of them was @rhm? I cyclecommuted with a guy yesterday that also takes the citibikes when it snows. He mentioned that they're heavier, have wider tires and you don't mind as much if you hit a pothole or two. Good excuse to keep going in inclement weather.

robertorolfo

I rode this morning, although I'm lucky and don't have to head out until 10am, so all the roads were clear. That said, there was some snow on the path to the ferry landing, but it wasn't an issue.

As for using citibikes in the snow, wider tires are not better in that case. Thinner tires will "cut" through the snow/crud better in an attempt to reach the asphalt, and grip, below it. It's all about pressure and surface area.

HardyWeinberg

Been not biking for a week now (stayed home last Thurs, Friday, drove every day this week). My own hip is feeling much better, so that is something, and my son's concussion has stabilized enough that I don't expect him to text me for an emergency ride home from school, but I really don't like driving. I can dress for a winter bike ride successfully, but I'm not working out how to dress to scrape a car, drive, and then walk 30' to the office. Which is also different from how I would dress to x-c ski into work, if I still lived somewhere that is feasible.

Phamilton

Crappy! Woke up 90 minutes late, was just over 2 hours late to work since I had to stop every 15 minutes or so to warm up my hands, despite 2 pairs of gloves. 15f/10f windchill, coldest I have done yet. Zero time to get ready, threw clothes on and out the door I went, tired, achy, hungry, and not caffeinated. I am really glad that my schedule is flexible and I can make up the hours this weekend in the comfort of my own home on the laptop. Wish my employer would consider letting me work remotely 2 days a week or so during the winter months but when I look at it from a 500 foot level, I got it pretty nice.

arsprod 

Working from home today so of course, it's a perfectly calm, no wind day. Thinking of riding to the office just to see what it's like

jrickards

Coldest commute this month (so far), -20C/-4F, but I was well dressed and enjoying it immensely: I even toyed with the idea of going further than work to my favourite coffee shop, sitting to have an Americano, then return to work but I looked at the time and it was too late to get that all in.

rhm

17 degrees F on my ride to the station this morning.

pdlamb

Last night was surprising. I checked the weather just before I left, supposedly 50F. How about below 40? Had to do some hard pedaling to generate enough body heat.


This morning was colder, of course, but I was expecting it.


Fun part was hearing a train coming just a few blocks from the house, then racing it. (No, I have enough sense not to cross the tracks in front of an oncoming train!) Depending on my route, I can parallel the tracks for about a half a mile. I expected it to block the first intersection (making it easy to cross). Nope, crossed on left turn green, light traffic but no train, although I'm hearing it again. Maybe the next one? Nope, I'm still in front. Two blocks on? The lights are flashing and gates are coming down as I cross that street, but no train yet. Last chance before I turn away from the tracks, and the train beat me to it. Mixed consist, running a bit slow, perhaps, but I got a half mile of fun in.


Yes, I'm easily amused sometimes.

robertorolfo

Sometimes you can catch a subway car running parallel to the 59th street bridge. Queens-bound the bike path is downhill, so you can match the speed for a bit depending on how fast it's going. Pretty fun.

rhm

Yup, I've done that

I've matched the speed of the cable car, too... or am I remembering that right? I remember looking up at the cable car and seeing people looking down at me... odd feeling.

____________________

Yesterday I had a dentist appointment after work. The way the train schedule plays out, I had 30 minutes to do a 40 minute ride, but the dentist's office receptionist had told me no problem if I got there ten minutes late. Cool.

But when I got off my train, it was seriously snowing, already an inch of new snow on the ground, and by the time I was halfway to the dentist's, the snow was building up fast even on the streets with traffic. It was kinda fun riding, except for all the cars, and some of the drivers were behaving erratically... seemed they were freaked out by seeing a guy wearing sunglasses and riding a bike through a snowstorm. I didn't mind the snow, but the cars started worrying me.

So at the halfway point I called the dentist's on my cell phone and they were happy to reschedule, it meant they could leave early. So that's what we did, I just rode home.

mgw4jc

I took off work Friday to take my son to see Star Wars. Good flick as usual.

40F this morning with a high of 62. I wore tights from home to the gym, but then left them in my locker there as it felt warm enough to not need them. Then when I got to work the guy who unlocks the door was a bit late so some folks were waiting in their cars and others were grouped around the front door. I walk up in my shorts and tell a co-worker, "It's too cold to wait outside, I'm going to go back to my bike where it's warmer." He laughed and said, "Good luck with that." We got inside about 2 minutes later.

arsprod 

Downright balmy 42F this morning, wet and foggy with a bit of a headwind. I'll take it!

Steely Dan

44 degrees, damp & misty with a HEAVY overcast.

not too bad for the week before Xmas.

Abe_Froman

Should have been a very nice commute...but due to personal stupidity/lack of forsight...it went south a bit.

Last week I took the fenders off my 700c main commuter to try and fit them on my 26" MTB with studded tires...thinking if there was anymore precipitation, it would be snow/freezing rain, and I'd be on the MTB anyway. They fit the MTB fine...but wrong hardware. Never bothered to put them back on the 700c commuter because again..didn't think I would need them till spring.

Well....I was wrong. Mid 40s this morning, so I took the fast 700c bike without fenders. Road was very wet though minimal rain....got the rooster tail from hell. We've got a dryer at work so I threw my pants in there while standing next to the machine for 15 minutes in my boxers. Pants are now dry (though not my boxers...), and I've got the worst rooster tail on my pants I've ever seen.

I look like I crapped myself

Tundra_Man 

December 18th and I took my road bike to work. Crazy weather this year in South Dakota.

We've only had one snow which happened 2 weeks ago. Temps were normal that week (teens and lower) but outside of that week we've had temps about 10 degrees above average. Last night as I was preparing my gear I thought, "why shouldn't I ride my road bike if the roads are clear enough?" So I did.

Had to ride around a few icy patches but it was well worth it to cruise along at 16-17 mph without even trying.

rhm

Very mild, for a change. Feels like December again.

joeyduck

I always enjoy @dramiscram and his tagline of "Tabarnac de vent!!!" My French is crummy but I know what this means.

joeyduck

Ice Racing, that sounds fun! If I could get my wife on board would be the other question.

I really wish fat bikes were around when I was a kid growing up in the Upstate NY snowbelt. (Near home: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...est/957924001/).

HardyWeinberg

Good day to be off the freeway today

HardyWeinberg

I actually saw one of those in person a couple years ago, looks like the exact same bike

mgw4jc

41F again this morning, but man I hit a couple of cold miles at the low point of the ride. My face and thumbs got cold. It had to be almost 10 degrees colder for a bit. But we may get up to 70F this afternoon. Warm!

jrickards

That's good too.

I haven't heard from @dramiscram lately, is he still around?