jrickards

Although I'm disappointed that about 2 weeks of car commuting will have passed by the time I am able to bike commute again (not health issue, logistics issue with the car in the repair shop and only I can drive the rental), I am somewhat glad I didn't bike in today (walked instead). The roads had some black ice on them and I'm sure I would have ridden as if there wasn't any. The conditions came about because the last few days have been a few to a dozen degrees below freezing but last night was mild and humid and all of the road and sidewalk surfaces were frosted up. Salt was put down in a few spots but not everywhere or every road.

dramiscram

Lucky you, still very windy around here.

arsprod 

27F and wicked, evil headwind. I hate cold headwinds

PatrickGSR94

Coldest commute so far, computer readout showed 24°F at one point. It was mostly around 26-28 during the ride. Very little wind, though, which was nice. Took 10 minutes longer than Tuesday morning when I had a huge tail wind and it was 15 degrees warmer.

I wore the same stuff as Tuesday except added arm warmers, and I actually was a little chilly. Toes froze again as usual. Tried to keep a scarf over my face but as usual it wouldn't stay, so I let my nose freeze also. Gotta get some kind of balaclava or something.

noglider 

I haven't ridden yet today, but I plan to. I'm dropping my car off at the repair garage owned by BF member aixaix. It's about 19 miles away, so I'll ride back. I walked the dogs this morning, and it's cold and windy. The weather is forecast to warm up, so I'll have to bring lots of clothes.

tarwheel 

Second day in a row with morning temps in the upper 20s F, but the wind was milder today and the afternoon high is supposed to reach the 50s. My new commuter bike started shifting funny as I was leaving work yesterday so I swung by the bike shop and they adjusted the cable tension. Apparently the cables had stretched since getting the bike built last week. Nice having a bike shop on my route that I can stop at, which is one reason why I chose that shop to build the new bike.

Adjusting to standard time and having to ride home in the dark, while my morning commute is daylight again. I had installed some Conti GP 4000 25s on my new commuter because they have reflective sidewalls but I may have to go with some wider tires based on my ride yesterday. I've been commuting mostly on bikes with 28s and 32s for a while, and the Conti 25s were a little dicey at times when I hit some rough pavement that was not easily visible in the dark. My commute route is very hilly so I have to balance the advantages of wider tires against their added weight.

jrickards

It might be easier to adjust to a slight increase in weight than the roughness of the ride on narrower, harder, faster(?) tires.

spivonious

I wear something similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/Seirus-Innovat...=face+mask+ski

It works great. I originally got it for downhill skiing. As far as your toes, try wool socks with unvented shoes (I wear some lightweight hiking boots). My toes are nice and toasty on my 7 mile ride.

daihard 

It wasn't bad. Started to rain right after I left home, but it didn't come down much harder during my commute. Thank goodness.

tarwheel 

Oh, I can adjust. I just like to ride as fast as possible many days.

groovestew

Yesterday's commute was good for clearing the cobwebs out of my legs and head. Today felt better - similar conditions as yesterday (slightly above freezing, negligible wind) - but better energy, and more interesting. By interesting, I mean descending and ascending hills on glare ice. Yes, I have studded tires, but they're not exactly a silver bullet. Lots of slippage going uphill (stalled once on a particularly steep section where pedaling gave me no forward motion), and legs out and rear brakes feathered going downhill. Arterial roads were okay - they looked icy from the rain yesterday, but you could still get traction. Some residential areas are a little dicey. Today is supposed to be sunny and stay above freezing, so hopefully that will clear a few areas up. Just in time for tomorrow's snow.

starla

30F, no wind. The coldest morning so far this season. I tend to get cold easily (product of being born and raised in Texas!) and I did ok...kept my body, ears, and hands warm, but my toes were chilly and numb at the end. I think my shoes are too tight for cold riding. The frost was very pretty though!

Darth Lefty 

I had a great ride. MTB commuter is still broke down pending decision whether to bother with it, so I donned a backpack and took my Paramount. It is MUCH faster and a sweeter ride. Running late so the temperature was very nice. I hit the peak of my heart pills or something, actually got out of breath without any chest pain, that hasn't happened in ages. Saw a white egret.

iamjethro

24 here this morning. Had gloves, but hands still got a little chilly. Mid 50's by going home time.

timvan_78

Last night was interesting. Conditions were great: dark, warm 48degF and small tailwind!

Jackass looked right and then turned very quickly left out of a Lordco driveway, right towards me. I have lots of blinking lights/reflective gear--he just wasn't looking. I swerved left into the centre of the empty road, and he slammed the brakes and skidded to a halt right in front of me. I ripped into him & wanted to kill him. I don't usually do that.

Got a flat (shard of metal punctured the Gatorskin!) and I didnt get the entire shard out, so I got a second flat. I pushed to a well lit area (service station) and took my time repairing it properly. All good.

Almost got hit again: cab driver in a Prius slowly rolling down a quiet residential street while looking at his phone. I saw him well in advance and stopped, but it scared the **** out of him. Good. i yelled at him too.

Stopped at a (new to me) LBS to repair my BMX pawls/spring. SUPER helpful, didn't try to sell me new stuff I don't need. Great place: Ride On Again (Main St. at 19th)

FBinNY 

All that in one night. Please don't tell me it's par for the course.

timvan_78

Heck no! That's the crazy part: I have a really great 10 mile route and usually just sit down, shut up and pedal and enjoy the ride without incident! (like this morning)

dcb23

Beautiful red early morning sunrise clouds as I pedaled past the Lincoln Memorial. Temps very bearable 37F/3C.

tarwheel 

Temps in the low 30s F seemed mild after a couple of mornings in the 20s. Wore my new winter jacket, a Showers Pass Elite, for the first time and I think it's gonna be a winner. I started wearing my other rain jacket (Craft) a lot last winter and found that it worked well for general cycling in cold weather but it is not very breathable when temps get above 50 F. Showers Pass is supposed to set the bar for breathability as well as water resistance, so I splurged and bought one while they were on sale. I'll find out how breathable it is this afternoon as temps are supposed to reach the upper 50s.

Also wore my new cycling glasses for the first time. I had some money left over in my medical savings account (Flex), and you lose it if you don't use it by the end of the year. So I bought some really nice cycling glasses, Rudy Projects, with Transition lenses and scratch resistant coating. They are much lighter weight and don't fog up as easily as the glasses I had been using (Maui Jims). I had Transition lenses on my Maui's and they are the perfect solution for commuting and cycling in general, IMHO. The lenses adjust to light conditions, so they are clear when you are riding in low-light conditions and darken in the sunlight.

daihard 

I should have ridden all the way in. I cheated and carried my bike on the bus so I can ride home. It turned out to be a cold but non-rainy morning!

spivonious

Wore my regular shoes since it's supposed to warm this afternoon (mid 50s) so my toes got a bit frozen on the ride in (upper 20s). When is the weather going to make up its mind?

Otherwise a good ride in. A few hairy points on the ride home last night. I really need to get a better way of signaling turns that will work in the dusk/dark; it seems that cars aren't seeing my gloves.

ShartRate

Balmy here this morning! Sunny and probably about 34F. Earlier this week it'd been a little unseasonably cold, like high-teen temperatures. Even if it was actually warmer than that at times, wind chill kept it pretty cold. But, I powered through that, which is encouraging to me because it isn't THAT much colder than that for TOO long here during the winter. I imagine I'll be back on the bus at some point but I don't imagine letting up any time soon.

Standalone 

Got the folder back on the road after drop bar conversion. Not totally dialed in yet-- it's always a risk to make a maiden voyage out of a commute. I hate adjusting triples. Especially when I only partly true up the chainring....

I'm also out of shape. Something about the hills on the commute to the new nearer train station knock me out more in 1 mile than 3 miles all the way into New Haven. I also get there to find out every time that the train is leaving from the inbound track rather than the outbound-- a fast climb over the overpass is always in order....

I love the new station, though!!

Idkutet

Nice tailwind out of the south made me forget about the cold & drizzle this morning at 5. You take what you can get around Tulsa... it'll be dry & the 70's on the way home

Rick@OCRR

Good temp. for the commute this morning, 61 Deg.F when I left the house, down to 58 by the time I got to the Metro station.

Metro Train (Green Line) not too crowded today, no issues. Getting light (a bit) just as I rode from the Harbor station to work. Should be in the mid 70's by the time I rode home this evening. Have to remember to refill my TAP card!

Rick / OCRR