pdlamb

Glancing at the thread title, I had a thought.

The weather this year is like playing peek-a-boo with my grandchildren. "Where's Winter? Where did it go?" "Oh, there it is!"

rumrunn6

cute! how old?

CrowSeph

and then disappears again , i bet.

rumrunn6

they say we'll get some of the white stuff today/tonite. I'll believe it when I see it

MNBikeCommuter

If I remember the stats the weatherperson blurted out yesterday, the Twin Cities got 15" from this week's storm. That brings our total to 45" for the season, the most this early since '91-92. That season started out with the infamous Halloween Blizzard. My daughter was born at the tail end of that one. It was a stressful storm for us. Our annual average is 51" so we're almost there with plenty of winter left. And my bike miles this winter are below average.

Like I said earlier, bring your bikes to Minnesnowta for some winter!

rumrunn6

just might do that. we are expecting 2" between 8am-11pm ... pathetic

that looks like snow on the radar but what we are getting is barely that & at a temperature hovering around freezing

our Son was born during an epic northeast blizzard 25-30 years ago in the beginning of January. we always grew to expect lots of snow this week. but those days/years are getting fewer & fewer

pdlamb

3 years, 18 and 6 months.

Yep, earliest October frost I can remember in nearly 40 years, warm November, just before Christmas the coldest weather we've had for at least 5 years, back up to 60. Where's winter? There it is!

rumrunn6

aww great, that's quite the spread!

gecho

This winter has been pretty typical for us so far, with an above normal amount of snow. On some main streets without medians the city has been plowing the snow to the center and the pile are getting tall enough you can barely see traffic on the other side. Great weather for the next 2 weeks with the daytime highs all above -10C and reasonable winds. Yesterday I got a nearly 50 km ride in, which took about 4 hours including stopping to fix a snapped chain. I've snapped my 11 speed chain twice this winter. They really don't like it if the chain slips a gear while you are standing.

rumrunn6

darn, that's no fun. I snapped one this summer. took me while to get it back together roadside. wouldn't want to do it in cold weather! kudos to you!

gecho

I broke the chain on a fat bike group ride last fall and an LBS mechanic showed me the quick way to engage a stubborn quick link. Hold the rear brake and give the pedal a kick.

While I was riding today I noticed another one was half broken, but made it back home. When I changed the chain I found a total of 4 broken links, on top of 2 I broke previously.

rumrunn6

you beast!

this summer my situation was "simple". my quick link separated. can't imagine how. all I had to do was locate all the parts on the ground & put them back together. took a really long time. tried a new one in my trunk but I couldn't make it snap in place. went back to the original parts. I was carrying a chain tool for a while for this exact rare occurrence but I had left it at home for our vacation trip. anyway, got it back together & we finished our ride of the day. bought a new chain right away but it was late in the week so I didn't try to install it until I got home. couldn't get the quick link separated w/o my tool, which I had misplaced at home. so I never changed the chain. heck if I can't take it apart then it should be fine, right? I don't ride a lot & it was replaced a few years back. 2 days ago I found my chain tool. decisions, decisions

parkbrav

I'm feeling proud of myself because yesterday I took advantage of the higher temperatures and washed the bike. I noticed a lot of road-sand but not much evidence of salt.

rumrunn6

sand is amazing, it gets everywhere

gecho

Someone asked me what model the chain was so I went to my Amazon order history. Clicking on the listing I looked at the reviews: counterfeit, fake, counterfeit, .... Mystery solved. Yet Amazon is still selling it, I'll have to see if I can correct that.

Noonievut

We had a slight return to Winter last night with a couple cm of light, fluffy snow. And temps look cold for a couple days but ride again late Sunday. From Dec 30 to Jan 11 I got in 9 road rides (snow and salt free). I’m still looking forward to renting a fatbike and there is sufficient snow...but not sure when that will happen

1989Pre 

Same in southern Maine. Glad the birds are getting a break, but I moved up here to get some weather! Harumph!

GrainBrain

rumrunn6

gorgeous

rumrunn6

the calm before the storm

we might get 1"-4" ... good grief

GrainBrain

Nice we're getting snow right now, 4" easy when it's done. We've had a couple hours so far where it's down pour snow Even better it's heavy so it'll stay nice and even.

rumrunn6

instead of blowing around & drifting?

GrainBrain

Yup, last big event we had there were 25mph+ winds for a few days with fluffy snow. Huge drifts in spots and scavenged bare ground in others. Looks like at least 5" here and it's the perfect kind for groomed trails. I'll be curious to see how I do on ungroomed trail - my winter tires aren't super aggressive so 4" fluffy snow was my limit, but I'm hoping even at 5" this snow will pack and ride better.

rumrunn6

that's winter, right? picking & choosing where to ride based on daily changing conditions I have 3 diff. bikes but haven't taken the fat bike plunge yet. love watching what you guys do!

rumrunn6

ooh pretty colors

kinda lame, but we'll take it!