kellichou

I love the civil discussion between our friends @noglider and @robertorolfo. To each their own. I consider the smears of grease on my riding clothes a badge of honor, heh. Although since now I roll with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, I haven't had a flat in quite some time--but I still roll with a couple of tubes, a multi-tool, CO2 inflation, etc. I should consider nitrile gloves (which I carry) to see how it works with changing a flat.

I got up extra-early this morning so I could ride, and as always, I'm glad I did! Beautiful ride. Although I need to check into more hip intrinsic stretches--my left side has been bothering me. I don't want it to get worse.

pdlamb

Light shower when I started out. I had to swing by to get blood drawn, the rain had stopped when I got out though it tried to get wound up again. Surprisingly warm, even while wet; surprisingly dark; surprisingly windy, with a strong south wind to load us up with Gulf moisture before the cold front hammer comes down tomorrow night.



Now you've done it! As the Brits say, you just invoked the p*ncture fairy.

arsprod 

Same for me though a little spitting rain. More rain predicted for this evening but right now it's beautiful. I wonder if I can justify leaving early because of perfect riding weather?

HardyWeinberg

38F, gray, clammy

Stadjer

It was a nice sunny day, but -8C. That isn't that bad, but the wind is really menacing at 5 Beaufort. That combination is quite rare around here, we have some Russian weather front paying a visit this week, so I don't really have the gloves for it and a pair of long johns would be nice too.

noglider 

How does such a small amount of snow cause such big problems?

Here is a shot of the Columbia University campus as I left work yesterday. What a glorious place this is.



I had forgotten my music for my rehearsal. D'oh! I had to ride all the way home, 6.5 miles, pick up my music, then 5 miles back uptown. It would have been 2 miles from work to rehearsal. Oh well, I got some extra miles in. Heading home and then back home from rehearsal gave me a killer headwind.

Lucky that wind was still going strong this morning, so I got a big boost on the way into work this morning. I didn't let it make the pedaling easy. I took the boost from the wind and pedaled hard and managed a high average speed. It was a thrill.

robertorolfo

Gloves are always nice for bike (or car) work, but changing tubes/tires seems to subject them to more risk of tearing than most other activities. Sometimes they get pinched, sometimes they just get cut as you are running your fingers around the bead or something. But still, they make a big difference, especially if you can't wash afterward.


I realize most people in here have different commuting scenarios, where fixing flats makes sense and is almost necessary. But with noglider and myself, there is almost always a subway stop just a few blocks away. For me it's just too convenient to ignore, and I'm already carrying enough crap around (locks, clothes, lunch, keys...). Besides, I know I'll be back commuting the next day, so I'm not really missing out on much.


Just last night I got to do the ride I missed last week because of the flat. It was great, and riding through Central Park at night was particularly enjoyable. More people hanging out/walking around than I expected, but no other bikes on the road (circa 11:30pm).

Darth Lefty 

Well, no rides this week. Tuesday was it for clear weather and my schedule precluded it.

acidfast7

it never snows, so there's no equipment for removal.

one motorway is shutting down and people will sleep in their cars overnight

Drivers stranded amid red alert for snow - BBC News

https://stv.tv/news/west-central/140...-snow-hit-m80/

Tundra_Man 

Wow!

Even with no snow removal I would have expected 4 inches to just slow things down a bit, not cause people to sleep in their cars.

acidfast7

traffic is very dense in the UK and one accident causes havoc.


not a major, major road but 2 lanes each side an 60k cars/day.

still idle now as we speak and I assume people will be stuck in their cars overnight. hundreds ended up sleeping in their cars.

1000 autos stuck at one point.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...freezing-water

acidfast7

that's how you get "the beast from the east"

3" of snow, no equipment and inexperience

noglider 

I was in southern England when that happened way back in 1980. It was almost funny. It was if people stopped their cars before the slippage started, out of fear their cars couldn't move in snow. I was crossing London which was totally snarled. I had a heavy load on my bike, so it was tricky for me. The passenger in a lorry dropped his head out his window and said, "You're mad, you know." I said, "I know."

acidfast7

still snowing up north:


people surfing down here in the south...

arsprod 

Thunderstorms and high winds predicted for afternoon - I wimped out and drove

kellichou

Oh I know! My hubris!

rhm

Pretty warm lately, with a bright but hazy moon overhead in the morning. It's almost light when my train gets to the city, which is cheerful. Sun just rolling along the horizon in front of me on much of my ride home. Really feels like spring, but I know winter isn't done with us yet.

noglider 

No winter is not done. It was 60° at lunch time today. We're due for 2-3 inches of rain and very high winds tomorrow, with a small chance of heavy, wet snow.

joeyduck

Yucky weather.

Tom, congrats on the new job! Also, you're looking great in that photo!

noglider 

Not such yucky weather for a duck. We just walked home a mile in the heavy rain, and now I'm drying off.

Thank you and thank you. The job required a picture of me for the picture board, so my boss shot some pictures outside. She's pretty good.

Stadjer

Experience would help, but a lot of today's drivers have lost connection with the workings of a car. But in the snow it would help to understand the machine you're operating.
dumpert.nl - Waarom kom ik niet vooruit met kettingen?

acidfast7

I love Dutch ... 33% German, 33% English, 33% Swedish.

Yeah, that's pretty stupid.

I find that in the US/UK people are less mechanically inclined than those Germanic. I find that people in AUS are more dependent on machinery (more rural in parts) and are much better than the average American/Brit.

acidfast7

Come 'on guys! That's not how you use a gritter. The cycle lanes will never get cleared at this pace.

ptempel

D'oh! Driver asleep at the wheel? Sheesh...

I took today off from the bike. We have a decent rain storm that will dump about 1 inch of rain and have winds up to 30 mph later on. So took the train today. Also checked and the GWB sidewalk was closed this morning. To all those in the NY/NJ/CT area that rode this morning, I salute you!

Edit: @noglider, I also like the new photo.

Stadjer

Can't say that's how I experience it, allthough I don't speak Swedish.

Austria or Australia? I believe rural people anywhere are more mechanically inclined than city people. I'd blame modern cars, and not just because some modern Mercedes are FWD.