Darkest week of the year
12-16-19, 06:19 PM
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Darkest week of the year
For many of us who are not working that much next week, this week in general and Friday in particular will have the fewest hours of daylight. It's all up from here! I am not much of a holiday guy but THAT's something to celebrate!
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12-16-19, 07:11 PM
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Re: “this week in general and Friday in particular will have the fewest hours - something to celebrate!”
— yeah lots of ppl do lots of stuff for the summer solstice — so why not!?
— yeah lots of ppl do lots of stuff for the summer solstice — so why not!?
12-16-19, 07:17 PM
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longer days,
bring on the Summer
12-16-19, 08:06 PM
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Commuting on a bike gives me a primal connection to the changing of the seasons. It's an unexpected, but treasured, benefit of traveling by bicycle.
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12-16-19, 10:12 PM
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Today was the first time I can think of this year that I have had no encounters with anyone whatsoever on the bike trail portion of my ride
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12-17-19, 12:59 AM
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Every year around mid-November I start counting the days shorter. Yes, this is double the days to solstice but it counts down twice as fast.
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12-17-19, 02:16 AM
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Yes, well, up here where it STILL hasn't really started raining yet, I have a feeling we are going to pay dearly in the coming months. Unless this is all just global warming, in which case our weather is now awesome!
12-17-19, 06:45 AM
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Well, now that things are looking up with the daylight situation, we just need to brace ourselves for the winter to come.
12-17-19, 06:46 AM
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We've less than 8 hours of daylight here, often heavily filtered through dark grey clouds so you hardly know the difference. I'm celebrating that the worst is over and it's moving in the right direction again, as I'm sure people in the past without electric light and limited reserves of food and wood did. For me it's just about the mood.
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12-17-19, 08:13 AM
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It is also my wedding anniversary... shortest day... LONGEST night!
12-17-19, 08:29 AM
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If you're a an evening person, the days already got longer
I think it differs a bit geographically, but sometime around December 12-14, the sunset starts getting later. (Sunrise continues to get later until the solstice.)
Granted, this probably isn't helpful if you're an early riser...or if you're so far north that there's no way to avoid two commutes in darkness.
I think it differs a bit geographically, but sometime around December 12-14, the sunset starts getting later. (Sunrise continues to get later until the solstice.)
Granted, this probably isn't helpful if you're an early riser...or if you're so far north that there's no way to avoid two commutes in darkness.
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12-17-19, 09:17 AM
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All I remember growing up here is that it was dark when I left for school and dark when I was coming home--I did not like that very much.
12-17-19, 10:15 AM
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Oh, wow! I haven't kept count, but I don't think I've encountered another cyclist on the bike trail more than maybe two dozen times this year.
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12-17-19, 10:24 AM
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If you're a an evening person, the days already got longer
I think it differs a bit geographically, but sometime around December 12-14, the sunset starts getting later. (Sunrise continues to get later until the solstice.)
Granted, this probably isn't helpful if you're an early riser...or if you're so far north that there's no way to avoid two commutes in darkness.
I think it differs a bit geographically, but sometime around December 12-14, the sunset starts getting later. (Sunrise continues to get later until the solstice.)
Granted, this probably isn't helpful if you're an early riser...or if you're so far north that there's no way to avoid two commutes in darkness.
12-17-19, 11:39 AM
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So I quit, since then I'm very much more aware of the positive effects of daylight on my mental condition, it's not only good for my mood but also for concentration, energy and initiative. Of course people get together a lot this time of year to compensate lack of light with human warmth and I'm sure that works for at least the mood, but you've got to make that happen.
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12-17-19, 02:40 PM
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i did night shifts in this time of year once, at the post service which was very busy with christmas cards. We often went to a bar afterwards for a few drinks but i didn't stay long enough to go home with daylight, when i got out of bed it was dark again. I'm mentally very stable and upbeat, but after two weeks of hardly any daylight, not even through a window, i wasn't doing fine. Not sad, depressed or whatever, still upbeat but extremely indifferent about anything.
So i quit, since then i'm very much more aware of the positive effects of daylight on my mental condition, it's not only good for my mood but also for concentration, energy and initiative. Of course people get together a lot this time of year to compensate lack of light with human warmth and i'm sure that works for at least the mood, but you've got to make that happen.
So i quit, since then i'm very much more aware of the positive effects of daylight on my mental condition, it's not only good for my mood but also for concentration, energy and initiative. Of course people get together a lot this time of year to compensate lack of light with human warmth and i'm sure that works for at least the mood, but you've got to make that happen.
12-17-19, 04:19 PM
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Darkest week of the year.
I have previously posted about partitioning the Winter to endure:
Commuting on a bike gives me a primal connection to the changing of the seasons. It's an unexpected, but treasured, benefit of traveling by bicycle.
Well, now that things are looking up with the daylight situation, we just need to brace ourselves for the winter to come.
Winter is long enough here [in Minneapolis] that I mentally break it into segments.
1. Late November through December
2. January
3. February to Mid March
4. Mid March ->
January gets it's own segment because it can be so brutally cold and I mostly ride in the dark. By February I'm starting to get some daylight on both ends of the commute and though we can get really cold weather in February too, the temps tend to moderate and the side roads start to thaw.
Usually by Mid March (or not long after) we've had at least one extended thaw where a lot of the snow melts. We may get major snow storms and cold weather after that but those come in between warmer stretches.
April is often a mixed bag. 70 or 80 one week, then snow the next but it's possible it won't snow at all..
1. Late November through December
2. January
3. February to Mid March
4. Mid March ->
January gets it's own segment because it can be so brutally cold and I mostly ride in the dark. By February I'm starting to get some daylight on both ends of the commute and though we can get really cold weather in February too, the temps tend to moderate and the side roads start to thaw.
April is often a mixed bag. 70 or 80 one week, then snow the next but it's possible it won't snow at all..
The above is a pretty good description of the winter progression here in Boston, though the temperatures and snowfall are less brutal than in Minneapolis.
I would add that the Christmas lights of late November through December along with the slightly higher temperatures, and some residual training effect from summer and fall make that segment enjoyable. The quick disappearance of Holiday lights in January further exacerbates the gloom.
Visits to Virginia and South Carolina in March and April have convinced me that Spring in Boston is about one month behind the South, particularly for an early morning commuter.
I would add that the Christmas lights of late November through December along with the slightly higher temperatures, and some residual training effect from summer and fall make that segment enjoyable. The quick disappearance of Holiday lights in January further exacerbates the gloom.
Visits to Virginia and South Carolina in March and April have convinced me that Spring in Boston is about one month behind the South, particularly for an early morning commuter.
I dont’t think of a cycling season, but rather a cycling year with a cycle of seasons.…Not to sound religious, but I like to think of Ash Wednesday as my “New Cycling Year’s Day.”
It occurs usually still well into the Winter and I use that forty-day period of Lent as a marker to define a tolerable length of time to go into a rigorous dietary and training mode to shake off the winter blahs, even though I ride during the Winter anyways.
By Easter, Spring is making itself known and I’m particularly ready for it.
It occurs usually still well into the Winter and I use that forty-day period of Lent as a marker to define a tolerable length of time to go into a rigorous dietary and training mode to shake off the winter blahs, even though I ride during the Winter anyways.
By Easter, Spring is making itself known and I’m particularly ready for it.
12-18-19, 02:05 PM
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Regardless, this time of year, the short days are definitely on my mind during my bike commutes. And I still approach Winter in the same way. I think of it in distinct chunks.
December with the Holidays, goes fast
January can be a slog
February evening commutes start to get bright again about mid-month, even if the weather doesn't change. That's huge.
This year more than in the past I've been aware that I'm not going to be doing this forever. I've entered my last decade of regular bike commutes. The office is negotiating a 10 year lease with the building which means there's a good chance my commute won't change much before I retire. That's a good thing. I can work from home more often now. A few years ago I might try and cycle through a big snowstorm. Not so much anymore. A couple of fresh inches is fine. Beyond that I'm staying home or walking to the train. Still bike in extreme cold. Would rather do that than walk to the train.
Funny, I just noticed my avatar is from a triathlon I did over a decade ago. Time flies ! Still have that bike and still commute with it now and then.
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12-18-19, 03:09 PM
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Thanks for trying to cheer me up, but it didn't work. The day when daylight hours start increasing is the first day of winter, so it means colder weather and lots of it. I'm holding up well to low temperatures, so my big concern is precipitation that leaves the surface too slick to ride safely. By the time February rolls around, I start to notice the longer days, I'm fully sick of winter but it won't be ending soon.
Still, I find that a bad day on the bike is better than a day off the bike, so I keep riding whenever possible. It was above freezing today, but it felt damned cold because the wind is strong. I just spoke to my wife, and she said she rode from Times Square back home (about 2-1/2 miles) on Citi Bike, and she rode along the windy river. Brava to her, especially she's the type to get cold easily.
Still, I find that a bad day on the bike is better than a day off the bike, so I keep riding whenever possible. It was above freezing today, but it felt damned cold because the wind is strong. I just spoke to my wife, and she said she rode from Times Square back home (about 2-1/2 miles) on Citi Bike, and she rode along the windy river. Brava to her, especially she's the type to get cold easily.
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12-18-19, 04:45 PM
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Thanks for trying to cheer me up, but it didn't work. The day when daylight hours start increasing is the first day of winter, so it means colder weather and lots of it. I'm holding up well to low temperatures, so my big concern is precipitation that leaves the surface too slick to ride safely. By the time February rolls around, I start to notice the longer days, I'm fully sick of winter but it won't be ending soon.
Still, I find that a bad day on the bike is better than a day off the bike, so I keep riding whenever possible. It was above freezing today, but it felt damned cold because the wind is strong. I just spoke to my wife, and she said she rode from Times Square back home (about 2-1/2 miles) on Citi Bike, and she rode along the windy river. Brava to her, especially she's the type to get cold easily.
Still, I find that a bad day on the bike is better than a day off the bike, so I keep riding whenever possible. It was above freezing today, but it felt damned cold because the wind is strong. I just spoke to my wife, and she said she rode from Times Square back home (about 2-1/2 miles) on Citi Bike, and she rode along the windy river. Brava to her, especially she's the type to get cold easily.
Some people say stuff like "You are complaining about 25F? it's -10 here!" but really, anything under 40 can feel REALLY cold and uncomfortable, especially depending on the conditions.
I rode to work today when it was 28F and felt great compared to one ride home last week when it was PISSING rain and 40F.
I have good clothes (lined leggings, good jacket, gloves, bar mitts, bib) to keep me warm and it doesn't bother me TOO much except the extra time it takes me to prepare at both ends.
Sounds like you and your wife are riding mostly in plain clothes, which would be a challenge for sure!
Last edited by davei1980; 12-18-19 at 04:59 PM.
12-18-19, 08:12 PM
#23
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Plain clothes aren't much of a challenge in winter. It's really tricky in summer for me because it's hard to wear the same clothes to be comfortable and efficient on the bike but I want to be presentable after arriving.
After tonight's rehearsal, I found snow on my bike! It gave me a chuckle because I assumed the 1/4" film was going to be the end of the story. The streets barely had a dusting. But as my ride home progressed, the snow became heavy, and I took a route through midtown streets rather than the river path, so it was tricky. Interestingly, though I encountered hundreds of vehicles tonight, no one did anything boneheaded. I was pretty shaken up to see the news that, this morning, the 29th cyclist had been killed this calendar year. The pedestrian and cyclist deaths have spiked this year, despite efforts in the city to reduce or eliminate them. There's a lot of bad driving going on. Recent years are the only period -- ever -- when overall road safety has worsened, and it's all because of worsening driving.
Anyway, I was careful enough not to slip, and no one threatened my life, so I ended up enjoying the ride. I'm really faring better than I do in some other winters, so there is lots of reason for gratitude.
After tonight's rehearsal, I found snow on my bike! It gave me a chuckle because I assumed the 1/4" film was going to be the end of the story. The streets barely had a dusting. But as my ride home progressed, the snow became heavy, and I took a route through midtown streets rather than the river path, so it was tricky. Interestingly, though I encountered hundreds of vehicles tonight, no one did anything boneheaded. I was pretty shaken up to see the news that, this morning, the 29th cyclist had been killed this calendar year. The pedestrian and cyclist deaths have spiked this year, despite efforts in the city to reduce or eliminate them. There's a lot of bad driving going on. Recent years are the only period -- ever -- when overall road safety has worsened, and it's all because of worsening driving.
Anyway, I was careful enough not to slip, and no one threatened my life, so I ended up enjoying the ride. I'm really faring better than I do in some other winters, so there is lots of reason for gratitude.
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12-23-19, 12:36 PM
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the extra daylight in the afternoon & morning may be minuscule, but I swear I can tell!
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12-24-19, 11:17 AM
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Maybe we should have DST in the winter too so the sun won't set so early.
DST is already eight months of the year. Why not all of the year?
DST is already eight months of the year. Why not all of the year?