Mark Stone

So I'm all broken-hearted over not being able to post my daily commute in the 2011 thread, waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting for someone to start the 2012 thread. Finally I thought well heck, I'll just go ahead and start it myself!

32 Degrees this morning pre-sunrise, no wind - crisp, fresh and quiet on my side streets. A bit of a headwind on the way home, but not a problem. First 2012 commute was a peaceful success.

DVC45

It was 20 degrees here in North Chicago when I head out and very windy. Not too bad though, as I made it to work on time.

dude72

wet and windy, but the temperature was quite high for january (6 degrees Celsius).

JeanSeb

Came back from work just before midnight on the highway. Low traffic, -3C, the moon was out... just magical.

wwiding

My ride wasn't too bad. I actually enjoyed the ride in, the ice on the trail was choppy so I didn't slide. I'm still using my semi-slicks since I can't afford any thing else right now. It took me an hour to get to work, I'm ok with that even though I work ten hour shifts.
The ride home was a bit worse, I had to chip all the ice off the bike(we can't keep it inside at work), and it was slow going on the way home. An hour and a half.... I have permission to keep my bike under the awning at work so when I get there I'm going to use a little cleaning brush to wipe off all snow and ice, so it doesn't freeze.

Hendricks97

20 degrees, windchill of 6, side roads are slick. Not what I had in mind for my first commute of the new year

fletchh

It probably would have not been too cold, but with the windchill, 17 F (-8C). I ran into a headwind on the last couple of miles of my ride. The wind is supposed to continue, so we shall see what the ride home is like.

Mark Stone

The first few posts of the 2012 thread sound like a meeting of the Polar Bear society hahahaha

Telly

Even though it was supposed to be mostly cloudy and cold, the third day of the year turned out great! The temperature's around 16 degrees Celsius (around 60 Fahrenheit), not a cloud in the sky, and to top it of, I've taken the week off work!

Wow, I grew up in NY and I sometimes forget how cold it gets during winter... everywhere except here; I miss the snow!

Here's a snapshot of my morning ride...

dcb23

Yikes...what a cold and strong headwind the entire way in. Temps in the mid to upper twenties. My gear kept me warm especiually the combo wool socks and Merril Winter Mocs. I am very pleased with this choice of shoes.

Unrelated: All of my pants feel tight after the holidays.

tarwheel 

Coldest day of the winter for my first commute of 2012 with temps in the mid-20s and a wicked NW wind. Fortunately I had the wind at my back much of the way. My water bottle was slushy by the time I got to work. It's been very windy here for the past few weeks, and that bothers me much more than the cold. Hopefully the wind will die down some by this afternoon or my commute home will be very tough.

beaglepgh

Cold. Windy. Nice morning light. How is it that the wind seems to be in my face no matter what direction I'm headed in?

MNBikeCommuter

Boy, what a long start to the new commute year: 10F and icy roads made the 24.5 miles take two hours. It beat being at work, however. :-) It should be about 30F with a nice tailwind going home though!

bored117 

Cool nice. 42F ride in. Keep thinking to myself... something is fishy with weather. This winter, I saw as low 22F in So CAL (no... not mountain... just normal low desert) and also saw 87F yesterday afternoon. Even saw temp swing of 52F in a single day.
It should be nice... a little too warm ride back on the way home. Probably tapering off a little from 85 to 75F.

HardyWeinberg

40F, misty, there was a sunrise above the cloud ceiling but pitch black below, pretty much.

DogBoy

Temp was 7 F, but basically no wind. Lots of ice still on the roads. I passed my boss coming in and she kind of shook her head at me, but no comments from anyone. The hardest part for me is waking up early enough. After that, I'm good.

wphamilton

20 is pretty cold from my perspective but it wasn't as severe as I remembered from last year. Maybe my fairing is more effective this year.

neil

Pleasant enough. Yesterday was better, as many people were still on holiday, but traffic was back this morning in full force. My mandatory student bus pass from last semester made bussing too easy, so I haven't been riding as much as I'd like this winter. Now that that's expired, I'm looking forward to doing better for the rest of the season.

The weather has been a problem. It's been a very warm winter, and there's still enough ice around to make me want my studs, but I'm riding probably 95% on bare pavement, which leaves me a bit leary of how long they'll last with this kind of abuse.

Hendricks97

one mile into mine, I had to go back and get my car. My legs and toes were frozen. Guess I need to read all the threads on winter clothing and go spend some money

volvostephen

Very cold - coldest of the winter but also my first commute since Dec 23rd (holidays) so I was very glad to get back on my bike. Did an extra 7 miles just to break in the new year. There was what looked like steam rising off Lake Ontario. Never seen that before - look like clouds floating on the lake.

billyel

First actual cold day all winter at 6F, practically no wind and light traffic. Added one layer of top and bottom fabric and good to go. Might need to get some outer mittens for the real cold days...

SuperDave

Today will be only my second sub-freezing commute of the season. The temperature is no bother - the coldest it ever gets here is about 20F. I live at the shore, a flat, windy area, and my biggest worry is black ice. My commute home is at 11PM, and in the dark you simply cant see a patch of black ice if it forms. That's a problem, so when it gets this cold I start looking closely at humidity and potential precipitation. I'll ride in the rain if it's above 40F, but around here you don't ride in the wet when temps get below 35.

crazyfishor

Very mild day here in Eugene, mid 40's and sunny. Beautiful day for a commute! I wore my new Novara Stratos 2.0 jacket I got from the REI garage sale this weekend, I'm excited to try it out in the rain soon!

Zrane

Wicked crosswind from the south, made me work.

Also, I overdressed some due to the weather site saying it was 25, but it actually being 35 outside. Was pretty sweaty when I got in. I should have gone back in and shed some layers, but I was already running late and didn't want to be any later. The close it gets to 8, the worse traffic gets.

jeffpoulin

It was treacherous riding in today. It rained all day yesterday and was 2C when I got up this morning, so with the roads wet and above freezing, I didn't take the studded tire commuter. However, about 5km into a 35km trip, I noticed the temperature had dropped quite a bit. We live on a mountain side, so usually it's colder at home than at work (which is 300m lower in elevation). However, this morning, there was a temperature inversion, so I ended up riding on black ice for about 30km. Not what I had in mind. Fortunately, I didn't fall, but had a few moments where the tires slipped. I cursed myself for not taking the studded tires, but I also knew it would be a sunny and warm afternoon and I hate riding on studs when the roads are clear and the temps are well above freezing. The ride home this afternoon was great and I was glad to have my normal tires! Clear skies, clean roads, and 5C. Got to take advantage of nice winter afternoons like this.