yesterday was all rain, rain, rain. i got a flat on my ride home.

few things in this world are more fun that fixing a flat on a dark chilly november night in the rain. yee-haw.




today is all wind, wind, wind. 30 mph gusting to 45 mph for my ride in.

when i got to downtown, the extremely strong vortices and downdrafts coming off the tall buildings were straight-up dangerous trying to stay upright on my bike.

at least it was fairly warm, 45°.

and no flat tire this ride!!!


it's the little things....

The forecast for this evening is partly raincloudy with thunderbolts, with a 50% chance of .01 inches of rain... which to me means there's likely going to be nothing. But SWMBO has dark fantasies about me being struck by lightning right in the pacemaker, so she forbade me to ride. Also, we need bog roll. So I drove. :-/

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 853:

The snow storm predicted to start yesterday morning didn't arrive until about 4 PM. As a result, by the time I rode home last night there was only about an inch of snow on the ground. The wind, however, was as brutal as they predicted. It took me an hour and 15 minutes to ride the 8 miles home straight into it.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...df9e78e432.jpg


This morning the temp was 30F. We only received about 3 inches of snow (compared to the 5-7" they were predicting.) I got up early to snowblow the driveway. Headed out on the bike a few minutes early as well because I knew the unplowed streets and MUP would slow me down a bit.

Today was the first time I really got to use the fat bike for what it was intended. It really smoothed out the frozen ruts left in the snow from tire tracks and foot traffic. There were a few stretches where I knew from past experience that my old winter bike would only be able to go 4-5 mph, and I looked down and the fat bike was doing 7 mph. Still pathetically slow, but a good percentage faster.

I probably could have ridden even faster, but the brutal wind was still there and once again I was heading straight into it. A couple gusts brought me to a complete stop and forced me to put a foot down to keep from falling over. I arrived at my desk at 7:59 so I left at about the perfect time for the conditions.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...41fb63e4bb.jpg

Well. so much for that forecast that said the rain in SoCal was going to move in on Wednesday afternoon. By the time I woke up and looked at the radar one big band had already passed through, and another was on the way. Could not time it right and had to get to work, so ended up going out into the rain. I don't mind getting caught in the rain, or having to ride home in it ... but going out into the rain is somehow mentally different.

It wasn't too bad, and I think I had a tailwind for most of it. The old rain coat is now pretty much just a coat - my teen-age son says, "I've literally never seen you wear that, Dad." "It never rains in California, son."

But it pours. Man, it pours. Hopefully, everything or at least most of it will have moved through by this evening. Otherwise it's gonna be cold, dark, wet, and windy. And traffic-y.

1pm: downgraded to "mostly cloudy"

:-/

Evening commute - 11/27/19 50°F 20 mph wind with 35 mph gusts, this was a pain in the *** and that wind kicked my *** However, I learned a Kroger prime rib Thanksgiving dinner for four can be carried in a single grocery pannier. (We've been having the apartment fumigated, and the kitchen was not ready in time. My wife is crushed about not being able to cook her Thanksgiving dinner this year.)
Forgot to record this one on Strava, so my mileage is going to be off again this week.

Morning Commute - 11/29/19 39°F Cloudy, roads were remarkably clear for Black Friday. Didn't even bother with actual cycling gear just wore my work clothes with my cycling jacket.

Rode to work before the rain came on Wednesday was dark, rainy and gross until it was time to ride home then just the roads were wet. It was a bit warmer so I put on my waterproof sock and rode through puddles along the greenway home. I really enjoyed the ride home. Lights were charged, gear was dialed, fenders kept me dry. Great day to ride.

Got up to ride in this morning and it felt cold in the house. It felt cold outside. It upper 20s for the most part but I rode 16.2 miles... trying to make sure I reach my goal for November. I am in a tough spot to get my mileage goal for the year. I hope December is kind to me.

Evening Commute - 11/29/19 44°F

Morning Commute - 12/2/19 35°F windy, but not severe (12 mph winds) roads were still a bit wet from some "winter mix" we got last night but nothing major. Even though I didn't need it this morning here's a bad pic of me in the new rain gear.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...732a89e490.jpg

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 854:

We had about 3" of snow overnight on Sat/Sun, with really high winds that caused plenty of drifting. The city didn't pretreat the roads, or plow anything but the main arteries. Not sure why, but I'm speculating they're trying to save money at the end of their budget year. I know with all the snow last spring they already used up all the plowing budget for the year and had to ask the city council for additional funds.

As a result, the side roads are an icy rutted mess. They did plow the MUP (different budget) but they don't use ice melt on the MUP so there was lots of ice there as well. I rode the fat bike. There was enough ice that I probably should have ridden the winter bike with studded tires. But there were enough snow ruts that the fat bike handled better. Even if I did ride the winter bike I would have been saying "I probably should have ridden the fat bike."
.
I went slow, trying to pick the areas on the MUP that looked least icy and going real gentle around corners. I kept it upright the whole way to work so it's all good.

9F this morning, but there was no wind so it really didn't feel too bad temperature-wise.

Back to the Monday grind after a long break. Not too cold in the low 40s. Main obstacle on the roads now is leaf piles - either man-made or wind-made. Leaves on top of leaves create a slippery situation and you never know what could be lurking under those leaves either.

Heavy snow falling in central New Jersey as of 10 AM Monday. It only started about an hour ago, so I definitely had time to get to work before it started, but I didn't go. The evening commute is predicted to be a mess.

Stiff if spotty NW wind this morning kept things interesting (nice riding down the 3 mile due south stretch!), but not as bad as the 30+ mph gusts yesterday. Dark and cloudy except for about three minutes when the Bright! Glaring! sun made itself known. Between the clouds and the 25 degree drop from yesterday, it feels like winter's here.

I saw the right turn going green from 150 yards back from the Really Long Light and "sprinted" -- as fast as possible on a pretty well loaded touring bike. The going straight light turned green for me, and then went back yellow as I was half way across -- victory! Not two blocks later I had to pull off to let an ambulance go by. He cheated and used his siren and horn to get through that light. Humph.

I rode down my street to the south then turned into the wind and fought the strong wind all the way to work. Currently 44 but feels like 38 with the 14MPH winds from the northwest. i hope it speeds me along this evening

Took last week off for a trip to the cabin. Snow, rain, sleet, 20-40 MPH winds all week. Firewood never dried out. Crappy vacation weather, but it would have been brutal commuting weather.

Cold but clear all week starting today. Streets and MUPs are mostly dry; a few isolated patches of ice. The weird weather somehow prevented the lakes from freezing yet. On the MUP along the lake (same location as photo # 2 in post 1713 - https://www.bikeforums.net/21204578-post1713.html ), there's a bass boat with a couple dudes in plaid flannel fishing from it. And yes, in December, that's definitely "not something you see every day".

I don't have classes on Monday. I had an ear exam in Chinatown. It was 34ºF and snowing but had just started to stick. I decided to take the subway. I brought my helmet in case I decided to take Citi Bike back. I did just that. Later this evening, I'm going to do my volunteer work at the bike coop. I will take the subway there. I could survive on a bike, but I don't want to get wet and cold and ride where I can barely see, risking falling or whatever. So far, it's still slush on the ground, but it might turn into some real accumulation.

Calm and easy weather here compared to the storm that went through the north. About 33F this morning, but clear and no major wind.

I had a "must get in front of bike" driver trying to pass right before a stop sign. Most traffic, including me, turns left there, so I signaled and took the lane while he was pretty much straddling the double yellow lines just behind me. Luckily (for him) there were no cars trying to turn in at that time and I was able to go pretty quickly.

Last night, I took the subway to the bike coop since the weather was nasty. Riding would have been unpleasant and dangerous. Going home, the subways were terrible. The city is doing major work on the L line, so service is spotty at night. First, a train that terminated before Manhattan came and went, and maybe I should have gotten on it. Then a work train passed. Then they announced that the work train was stalled in the tunnel. Jeez, what went wrong, and how long does it take to fix that? Then two more work trains passed. Were they hoping to fix the stalled one? I imagined a pile-up of disasters. But eventually my train came, nearly an hour after I got to the station! And the platform had a cold breeze going across it. And there was the smell of poop. I'm not kidding. It was a long journey. In a way, I regretted not riding Citi Bike back home, but if I had done that, I would not have known what was happening on the subways, and either way, I would regret my choice. Life in New York City is always an adventure. I love/hate this place.

I'm not saying anything about the weather - it's so much worse other places! I'll take the cold and no snow

A windy couple of days. to work yesterday was tough avg speed was 13.8. normally 14.5-15 something. Ride home averaged 15mph but I was going with the wind for most of it. I saw 26F this morning


I have been reporting streetlights out along one road. you would think the energy people would just check the entire road one night and be done. I have reports 3-4 more today. I will like it when it when they are all fixed. no more dark pockets of riding.

I brought my bike indoors this morning to install the fenders. About the same time one of the 2.8yo twins woke up - the boy. He's just like a bear cub, his sister is the kitten... anyhow I had the bike propped on the couch and he kept trying to climb over the back of the couch and onto the seat. I imagine this would have been adorable but I also imagined he and the bike hitting the tile about half a second later, so I laid the bike down on its side to work on it. First ride for me since last Monday due to weather, holiday, and obligations.

the bad: a razor blade in the street put a big old gash in my rear tire this morning. instant blow-out. tire more or less destroyed. a shame because the tire is only a couple of months old.

the good: i was only 4 blocks from work when it happened, so i was able to just walk the rest of the way.

Why didn't I read the weather report before heading out? This morning, I dressed as if it was still snowing and windy. D'oh! It was sunny and bright today. I took the subway to college, and I could have ridden my bike! Oh well, I'll take Citi Bike to my evening rehearsal, and I might take it home, too. I didn't bring my helmet, but I did bring my mirror.

Alot easier! Had a flat yesterday so fixed it last night. While putting the back wheel back on spun the tire and noticed I could barely spin it. Not sure what's going on with those bearings. Changed everything over to another rim and all was good until I hooked the brakes back up. The back brake pad on one side had a small lip that would make it catch everytime.

I thought it was odd I was so tired and just plain worn out from riding.. I'm kicking myself for not checking it out. Going to rebuild 6 wheels this weekend and will make it a yearly PM.

Nice ride in this morning. Just between cold and chilly, but clothing choice was sufficient. On one back road I saw a deer wander onto the road about 100 yards up. There were no cars from either direction. He paused in my lane and stared at me riding toward him for a good 5 seconds before deciding to turn around and get back off the road. Or should I say she? No visible antlers.

Sunny this morning, if frosty, calm wind, it all made for a nice ride in. I've been wearing progressively heavier gloves and jerseys the last three days, and I finally got it dialed in as I left home. Of course, that meant it was too warm by the time I got to work. So it goes...

I saw two trees with leaves still on them -- some of the last holdouts of deciduous trees around here. The second was the expected black oak, but the first one looked like a gum tree!

That got me thinking. It's a good frost in December, does that make it winter? The grass quit growing last month, and we had some cold, frosty mornings, but that was in November so it's late fall, right? There's still pecans falling, when they stop is a fallible sign of winter since it was after Christmas a few years ago. All my leaves are down and raked up. If I waited for snow to declare winter it'd be every 3-4 Februarys until that happened.

Do you go by astronomical dates for the start of winter (December 21 this year)? One of the "indicators" listed above? Or is there something else that makes you say, "It's winter today"?

My wife picked me after work so we could do some shopping. I left my biking shoes in the car overnight making them a bit cold and stiff to put on this morning.

The past three mornings I have seen a Hummer at about the same time and place. It has Christmas lights covering the roof and back. It's so festive! Maybe I can get a picture of video of it one of these mornings.

The bike gods smote me today and I deserved it. I recently put an ebike kit on one of my bikes - after nearly a decade of full time winter commuting I'm finally sick of sub 30's temps and snow and ice. I've been pretty good about not riding it when temps are above 20 but today I was feeling lazy. About a mile in it quit, as in totally, nothing worked and I ended up riding the remaining 10 miles on a 50lb bike into the wind. And I get to ride it home - yay!

Today's commuting adventure: The bunny.

On my ride home, roadie guy passed me at an intersection on the MUP, which is cool - I wasn't feeling up enough to try to get some fun draft stuff going. But I'm like a dog, I'll chase anything. I was keeping pace at a respectable, non-creepy distance, going 22-23 MPH, when WOAH! A rabbit ran across the path, and he clipped it. I saw some fur and yelled WOAH.

Roadie guy slowed down, I asked him if his bike was OK, and explained what happened. He knew he'd hit something, but wasn't sure what. Bike was fine, nobody crashed, and he went back to go check on the rabbit. I saw it running off, so I'm guessing it was fine, too.

Just another day commuting in the dark...

With yesterday's ride home I rolled over 5,000 miles for the year. I looked back and saw that I did not ride any miles that were not with a purpose to get somewhere. In fact, the only non-commute ride I did was at lunch one day to a dentist's office about 4 miles away.

Happy Friday commuting! I left early and went to the gym this morning. I kind of like the quiet, dark roads at 6:15am.

And the best bonus so far today - Krispy Kremes in the kitchen! Is it okay if I just take a whole box to my desk?

Been a bit busy the last couple of days, so haven't been posting, but here goes:

Evening Commute - 12/3/19 40°F winds between 12-20 mph

Morning Commute - 12/4/19 37°F winds in the teens again
Evening Commute - 12/4/19 49°F even more wind

Morning Commute - 12/5/19 29°F calm (Yay!)
Evening Commute - 12/5/19 47°F, Clear, humidity 66%, Winds 5 mph from SSE - started using klimat.app to add the weather details to Strava.

Morning Commute - 12/6/19 light rain, 46°F, humidity 71%, winds 6 mph from SSW - Multiple wrecks this morning for me to get around it's like every body in the city forgot how to drive overnight.

The completely bipolar KY winter has me carting around multiple sets of clothing just so I can deal with temps the go from the 50's down to freezing, and then back up all within a single day.