I love winter but...
#1
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I love winter but...
Not when there's no actual freeze. Not when it's ******g soggy outside for weeks at a time. Not the winter paunch from lack of daylight and lack of activity. If it would just freeze and stay frozen, it would be so much nicer.
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OTOH I hate winter!!!! My type of riding is in just a T-shirt and shorts. I hate riding with anything on my legs. I will ride off on a cool morning with a sweat shirt on tho.
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Yeah! Bracing for 3"-5" of rain for the next two days. Flooding instead of riding through snow. Looks like the indoor trainer for a few days. Smiles, MH
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Waiting for Spring, wondering if it'll be a moist one with how Winter has been...
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I'm a weather weenie, so no riding in the rain for me. Sucks out loud. We rarely get snow but plenty of sleet/hale and ice. So much ice. And when it's not raining and/or overcast (which is most of the time) it's clear and freezing. The lack of light doesn't help anything. grumpgrumpgrumpygrump
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Was sleet in the face on my way home tonight....i don't love that so much.....it's quite painful!
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Snow allegedly on the way for this part of the state. Pretty rare here and half our population is from SoCal, so, driving will be interesting. Might be a good time to stay inside...
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I hear you. Wet days in the 30s is pretty much the worst.
Once it stays frozen, I can start trail riding again.
Once it stays frozen, I can start trail riding again.
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I'm in the honeymoon phase. I get out there and I feel like I'm in high school playing football or hockey or sledding or skiing or something. It's invigorating. But I can see how it gets tiresome. I sort of don't like the idea of getting all cold when I'm warm in the house. But once I do it I love it. I'm only going 2 miles though so it's not a huge deal to enure for that little bit of a time. 15 minutes or so.
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But not enough snow this year, need more!
Tim
Tim
#11
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Winter hasn't started yet here in Maryland - did a 40 mile club ride yesterday in 65 degree weather! Windy and damp, though.
Plus, it is always dry and in the 60s in my basement and on Zwift...
Plus, it is always dry and in the 60s in my basement and on Zwift...
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Agree completely. Quite apart from the general unpleasantness of commuting in the rain the incessant wet weather and bad road conditions are taking their toll on my bikes and kit.
I'm oiling the chain almost every day, and spending time every weekend to strip and clean it, I've had broken spokes on three bikes, and I've had to strip and clean the wheel bearings on every bike I commute on. I'm lucky in having several bikes set up for commuting with mudguards and fairly hefty tyres to spread the load.
I'm also rotating two sets of gloves, shoes, overshoes, and rain jacket. The velcro straps on one pair of my shoes have come unglued with the constant dampness, as have some of the padding strips in my helmet.
I really haven't gone through a winter as wet as this before - there's been very few days when I've not ridden into work or home in the rain, and I don't think the roads have dried out at all since November.
One ride home in December stands out - the rain started about lunchtime, and was a torrent by late afternoon. The rhynes by the roads had been filling up over the previous few days, and by 5 on this afternoon had overflowed onto the roads and fields. Quite a few places were several inches deep, with the occasional dip deeper than the bottom bracket, and in pitch darkness with rain hammering down. Not enjoyable in any way, and I drove into work the next day.
I'm oiling the chain almost every day, and spending time every weekend to strip and clean it, I've had broken spokes on three bikes, and I've had to strip and clean the wheel bearings on every bike I commute on. I'm lucky in having several bikes set up for commuting with mudguards and fairly hefty tyres to spread the load.
I'm also rotating two sets of gloves, shoes, overshoes, and rain jacket. The velcro straps on one pair of my shoes have come unglued with the constant dampness, as have some of the padding strips in my helmet.
I really haven't gone through a winter as wet as this before - there's been very few days when I've not ridden into work or home in the rain, and I don't think the roads have dried out at all since November.
One ride home in December stands out - the rain started about lunchtime, and was a torrent by late afternoon. The rhynes by the roads had been filling up over the previous few days, and by 5 on this afternoon had overflowed onto the roads and fields. Quite a few places were several inches deep, with the occasional dip deeper than the bottom bracket, and in pitch darkness with rain hammering down. Not enjoyable in any way, and I drove into work the next day.
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as we have seen with new drastic climate swings (in each direction) enjoy this now, cuz the flip side is coming, maybe not this winter, or next, but a bad polar vortex with a series of "training" blizzards, one after the other, is coming ...
Last edited by rumrunn6; 01-13-20 at 02:07 PM.
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by the time a flipside might happen, most of us might be cycling around in wheelchairs or "E"chairs.
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already had one, winter of 2014-15. mid-January thru February. was up to my shoulders in snow drifts/piles back of my house where I dug paths. snow was just a foot shy of my bird feeder. squirrels were just walking up to it, no climbing required. our condo development lost our insurance master policy cuz the company dropped us due to all the claims for ice dam water flowing into units. I was raking my roof but my neighbors had truly ridiculous depths of snow on their roofs
#18
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I used to love winter until I moved to minnesota.
Now I just hate minnesota.
… miss southeast Wisconsin so very much...
Now I just hate minnesota.
… miss southeast Wisconsin so very much...
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I wish I had brought the GoPro on my ride yesterday. Most of the ride (in my velomobile) was through about 1/2" of snow, but there were some deeper sections where I was spinning the rear tire quite a bit. When I stopped for a light, I was sitting at a light, I thought I might have to get out and push. The rear spun a couple times before I started rolling.
The way home, much of the snow had partially thawed and refrozen, so it was like riding over very rough roads, with a little bit of slipping. Even with full suspension, I was bouncing around quite a bit.
I know what you mean about just wet/cold though. I lived through three winters commuting in Seattle. There's no salt up there, though, so it wasn't particularly hard on the components. I did spray the drive train down every day though. It's a bit more work on a recumbent, since I'm running about the equivalent of 3 bike chains.
One of the things I really love about the velo: my drive train is entirely enclosed. The wheels on the other hand.....
The way home, much of the snow had partially thawed and refrozen, so it was like riding over very rough roads, with a little bit of slipping. Even with full suspension, I was bouncing around quite a bit.
I know what you mean about just wet/cold though. I lived through three winters commuting in Seattle. There's no salt up there, though, so it wasn't particularly hard on the components. I did spray the drive train down every day though. It's a bit more work on a recumbent, since I'm running about the equivalent of 3 bike chains.
One of the things I really love about the velo: my drive train is entirely enclosed. The wheels on the other hand.....
#20
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I often get wicked earaches while riding when temperature is below about 65 degrees, This I can prevent with earplugs or a half hat which is essentially a beanie with the top cut off and fits over the ears. The other concern is if I'm breathing hard in cold air, I get asthmatic like symptoms and I starts whistling. Not sure if a wrap around my mouth would remedy this.
T
T
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I often get wicked earaches while riding when temperature is below about 65 degrees, This I can prevent with earplugs or a half hat which is essentially a beanie with the top cut off and fits over the ears. The other concern is if I'm breathing hard in cold air, I get asthmatic like symptoms and I starts whistling. Not sure if a wrap around my mouth would remedy this.
T
T
Cheers
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You could try a balaclava:
https://www.amazon.com/AstroAI-Balac...s%2C219&sr=8-7
https://www.amazon.com/AstroAI-Balac...s%2C219&sr=8-7
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SE Michigans due to get hit this weekend. 3-6 inches, depending on where you live.
There is ONE good thing about winter. Bike upgrade time. I use the slower bike season to start making repairs, changing components, cables, alignments, tires, etc. Testing upgrades while on the raking up miles on the trainer. Waiting for that eventual thaw in March/April
There is ONE good thing about winter. Bike upgrade time. I use the slower bike season to start making repairs, changing components, cables, alignments, tires, etc. Testing upgrades while on the raking up miles on the trainer. Waiting for that eventual thaw in March/April