First chilly dark fall commute in 3 years
 

This week was my first cold and dark fall commute. I like being able to commute to the job I had back in 2021 but the job has changed and a lot of stressors are present.

just wanted to share my experience with commuting again


At least the bike commute brings some rhythm to life the days I get to do it.

37°F and pretty dark.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2da20d277.jpeg
Large quarry truck tire and my Salsa!

Yeah it's gonna be dark both ways pretty soon.

And the rain is coming. Here in Portland, winter is pretty much 45F and rain, and either dark or grey. With occasional dips below freezing, but never for long.

But here's the tip they don't tell you before moving to the PNW. If you come from the east, you think rain means, well, rain. Here, rain is often what back home we'd call a mist. Or a sprinkle. Actually more like a sprinkle with more drops, like a super dense sprinkle. In other words the drops are small but there are a lot of them. Sometimes a light drizzle. Occasionally it does actually rain, and occasionally for a long time. Very rarely, though, is there what we'd call a downpour or a gully washer. So really what we're looking at is six months of dark wet commutes and grey wet days.

But at least it doesn't get stupid cold.

I love chilly-dark-fall commutes!

Commuting season is basically over here for me. Just not enough daylight, even with lights on my bike. Under 11 hours of daylight, and 12-14 miles, all on the road, and thru some school zones.

"Nothin' could be finer than to be in Carolina ... freezin' my heinie off." :speedy:

It's dipping down into the 30s overnight, in my area too. We'll be getting frosts soon. It's dark until about 7:15-7:30am now, until the dusk hour becomes bright enough to see ... at least until the time change (Nov 4/5).

Great video. What lights do you use? They seem to do a very good job.

I saw 32F this morning. I think I could have switch up the tights and been a bit warmer. I still got 20.8 miles on the way in.

My headlight is a fairly modest Niterider Lumina Boost 900 (900 lumens)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...54e118ed9a.png
Monkey Lights on the front wheel, An old Battery Planet bike 5-led blinkie on the rear, and an old Cat-eye 2-LED blinkie on the front.

Plus a small LED flashlight and blinkie on the helmet.

Super sweet setup, thanks!

Gods, I do not miss big cities. Thanks for the reminder.

decided to take the bike into the shop yesterday. Driving to work anyway since I have kid dropoff duty plus working extra at work. I figured it was good timing before winter. I will be getting my commuter back with new chain, cables and housing, rear brake pads, and bar wrap. It could feel like a new bike haha Hopefully it will set me up for being able to get through the winter with it.

My Father traveled from here in Maryland often to Seattle for business and this is how he described it.

I like to say, it only rains in Seattle once a year, for about nine months.