ZIPP2001

Now that the hot humid days of Summer are gone, I'm saying let's skip Fall and go straight to Winter. I would rather have only two seasons Summer and Winter, but alas the wife won't move. I sure hope it's a short Fall and Winter is filled with snow and ice. I have to get my Fat bike back from a friend who I let use right after last Winter season. He knows I'll be coming to get it, and a quick tune up and a couple of rides to shake it down and I'm ready. Come on Winter !

delbiker1 

I would be okay with only 2 seasons, but they would be spring and fall. Personally, I cannot fathom anyone wanting to skip fall. I can do without the extreme heat and humidity and the extreme cold and winter storms. Here on Delmarva, the heat and humidity hurts me worse than winter weather. Fall is absolutely the nicest time of the year, IMO.

gecho

I like weather where I don't need to wear a balaclava. Fall can be difficult to dress for. I mostly do evening rides which start off warm, then the temperature can crash as soon as the sun goes down.

One thing I do like about winter is that the snow smooths out the bumps. Cracked and broken pavement becomes super smooth. There are some single track paths that don't get enough foot traffic to pack them smooth and the grass clumps can be brutally bumpy without snow.

Noonievut

On weekdays I ride early, before work. Forecast for tomorrow morning is 3 Celsius (0 windchill). First time in over six months I’ll be wearing the tights, jacket, etc. That went fast!

rumrunn6

I like winter too. hoping to stay upright on every ride this year. the view is much better that way

rumrunn6

looks like you've got a battery pack on the bars?

ZIPP2001

Just my phone and my mobile gopro attachment.

rumrunn6

you're not alone






lots of you nuts out there

gecho

The switch to cold is about a week out for us. Decent the upcoming week, then just above freezing after that, maybe even a little wet snow. Pulled the fat bike out of hibernation and did some maintenance on the brake calipers tonight.

pdlamb

We're supposed to get below freezing tomorrow morning, about a week before the "10% earliest freeze" date. Can't I get another week or two of fall first?

rumrunn6

some here are still swimming & fishing! this was 2 days ago

gecho

Incoming snow for me going into Monday. A little bit early, but not unheard of. It hasn't been getting very cold at night yet and nothing iced over. Will likely end up being a wet sloppy mess.

Noonievut

On Thursday morning I rode in -2C temps, today it was +22C (summer kit).

gecho

Slushy mess from yesterday's snow, so I'll give it a day or two to melt before I go ride again.

With wintery weather returning I'm contemplating my clothing options. I'm found myself wanting a little more core warmth in the second half of winter rides without overheating early on, so I'm going to make myself a heated vest out of an old full zip jersey. For my first attempt I'm going to try limiting the wattage to what a single USB-C power bank can put out. 14-15 watts using 12V will give me 200 cm of total heating loop that can get to 70C and maybe run at full for 2 hours. The peak temp sounds high but its a bit misleading. Carbon fiber heat rope has practically no thermal mass and your body can suck the heat out faster than its generated, so it doesn't actually get that hot.

rumrunn6

sympathies

pdlamb

Can we just skip winter and go straight to spring?

gecho

The roads and paths dried off quickly after the last snow, but the dirt stayed persistently wet forcing me to stay away from some of my usual shortcuts. Snow in the shade was very very slow to melt, its almost entirely gone now except a few places were it was piled.

Next Monday we might get some snow that ought to be here to stay. The daytime highs will be solidly in the below freezing range. Not a lot of cold yet, creek and ponds still haven't iced over.

MNBikeCommuter

Yesterday we had a record high 76F, shattering the old record of 72F. I didn't mind a bit. Each winter gets a little harder to get into so the longer it's put off, the happier I am.

For contrast, 31 years ago we had about 28" of snow on the ground and a low of -3F. I brought my wife and new born daughter home that day. We'd needed a neighbor with a four wheel drive pickup to get the two of us to the hospital the day before. We had an hour to spare before our daughter was born. And this is in the Minneapolis/St. Paul proper area. Not much was moving after the infamous Halloween blizzard.

gecho

Got a blast of winter last night. Rain turning to snow, then a temperature drop throughout today along with 80 km/h wind. The is a wet layer just above the pavement that would quickly turn to ice when shoveled, driven or stepped on. Wind won't die down until tomorrow evening. Another 4" of snow tomorrow. Riding would probably be more fun without that extra snow, as the ice stuff would be nice and crunchy.

rumrunn6

nice! we brought our 1st home at the tail end of a blizzard. my MIL was out trying to shovel our walk but drifts were up to her hips. I just trudged thru it with the new kid in his car seat, then went back for Wifey it was quite the scene

Noonievut

Had my first ride of the season with snow. It was around -1 to +2 (Celsius) and as such the snow only stuck on the grass and cars. My 700x40 WTB Ventures (set up tubeless) continue to impress me. Great grip, but reasonably fast (no sluggish feeing). And a bonus is how they disperse water. Roads were wet for the 2hr ride and I get home and the bike is basically clean (and no fenders).

ironwood

I guess you got what you wanted. The other days I was wearing shorts and a tee shirt. Them....it's winter.