Shooting for 7500

[lph]

So I made up my mind yesterday - I did some numbercrunching, and found out that with the weekly mileage I have going at the moment, and with the weather staying bikeable, and IF I stay healthy and flu/bugfree... 7000 km this year is gonna be too easy. So I upped my goal for 2007 to 7500 km.

Just wanted to brag :D

Posting it here because almost all of the miles to go will be commuter miles. I'll be needing some motivation in the dark mornings coming to not just sleep as late as I can and bike the shortest way in, hoping this will do it! :)

Anyone else set some final goals for the year?

[Melalvai]

Not a goal so much as instituting some common sense. Until I get better clothes, 25 deg F is my cut off. At or below that I won't bike.

Last year I biked through the winter and nearly put the bike away after the coldest couple weeks. It just doesn't get so cold here that I'd wear extra-cold-weather gear very often, and I can't justify the expense when I have bike repairs waiting for money. Maybe by this time next year I'll cold weather clothes and rain clothes.

[RoadRaven]

Worthwhile brag, lph
Well impressed!

I was aiming for 4500km this year (thats 2663 miles) but I think I'm gonna fall short - I was at 3462km at the end of October.

I am really looking forward to being able to commute more when my kids no longer need rides to high school... but I am not looking forward to them all growing up and being gone...

Way to go, though lph... those commuting miles are not only excellent miles... they are green miles too and that appeals to me on so many levels :)

[Voodoo Sally]

Nice, lph. I have really gotten into bike commuting this year. Lately I've been breaking the old barriers, by riding in the dark, rain, and now cold. I've even been figuring on "icebiking" later on. I hope to have done about 1,300 commuting miles (2,100 km) by Dec. 31.

[coyote]

Wow, lph that is a lot of riding! Great job. If it weren't for commuting, I probably would not be riding at all. Do you stop bikeing when it gets really cold (what is really cold there)? Or do you stop because of ice or snow? Here winter is the best time to ride but the days are so short.

[onimity]

That's awesome, lph.

I'm at ~3,750 miles right now and figure that I can probably make it to 5,000 since I'll be cycling in South America for the entire month of December and commuting until then.

I am not sure what % of my miles are commuting vs. non-commuting, the majority have to be the commute, though.

Hopefully this thread will motivate me through the dark commute home until I leave. :)

Anne

[Tri Girl]

Wow LPH, I'm seriously impressed!!! That's some monster miles on your bike. I bow down to thee, the ultimate commuter... I want to be you when I grow up- or when I finally decide to commute all the time

[Geonz]

I'm committed to commuting since a car hasn't found me yet and I am too lazy so far to figure out which bus I'd have to take. Still don't know if I'll make my ridiculous goal that will require more than commuting (have another 1.5K to go).

[lph]

How nice to have a place to brag :)

Melalvai - I know what you mean, riding when it's cold can be ok but it does require really good clothing. If you already run or xc ski in the winter you'll have most of the stuff, but if not buying winter bike gear sure does make it a lot more comfortable.

My goal requires commuting the long way (but not the Really Long Way :p ) to work every day between now and Christmas, and one ride in the weekend, but it accomodates the short way home and one day off a week. I have this all tallied out in a really nice spreadsheet... :rolleyes:

But I might get sick or the weather might turn really nasty, so I'm trying to work up a little headstart now that everything is peachy. We rarely get snow (that lasts) before January, so I'm kind of counting on that. I don't try too hard to ride below -10 deg. C, it's possible but I have to put on yet another layer and my bike has been real cranky for a while by then. Oslo gets cold snaps down to -15 -20, but they don't last more than max two weeks, and usually in February. The last few winters have been depressingly mild and wet!

Now the next numbercrunching I have to do is to find out if I can afford that nice Gore rain jacket I've decided I'm worth... :D

[onimity]

For what it's worth, my Gore rain jacket is absolutely wonderful. We get a lot of wind and have unpredictable weather so I wear it almost every day, I just wear a couple of layers and my down shell under it if it is particularly cold. It was *so* much more than I wanted to spend but it is a very versatile/packable jacket. I much prefer it to a ski jacket because it is so good for layering and is long in the rear for when it is wet!

Anne

[kfergos]

...and IF I stay healthy and flu/bugfree... 7000 km this year is gonna be too easy. So I upped my goal for 2007 to 7500 km.

Just wanted to brag :D OK, I admit, I can't resist throwing in my $0.02. The last year I estimate I've commuted 4,500 miles (7,242 km). That includes all winter last winter, in down to 10 degrees F (-12 F). BRR! This year I expect to do more than that with a 26 mi/day riding schedule and a somewhat nicer bike.

About riding in the cold: You don't need that many special clothes. If you have long spandex pants, layer those up and you can ride well into the 20s. Same thing with gloves -- put on a pair of $10 Old Navy fleece gloves overtop your regular riding gloves, and you'll be all set down to about 20 degrees, too. Jackets are pretty expensive, but if you get one with lots of zippers and breathebility, you'll be able to wear it in warmer weather. It's not so much about high-tech, expensive clothing (although a high-tech bottom layer helps for wicking sweat), but just layering up a TON and being willing to look like an Eskimo.

[lph]

Way to go kfergos! And everybody else riding for that final finish line :) (I'm in AWE of Geonz here)

yeah, I'm fussy about bike clothes. I like wearing as little as possible if I can get away with it - I sweat a lot and hate having to peel off layers of wet clothes at the other end. I LOVE my Gore Phantom jacket for winter riding, but it's not very waterresistant, especially now that it's been through the wash a few times. I know I'd use a real rain jacket very seldom, but... it sure is a nice jacket...

My dh laughs at me, because I'm very frugal when it comes to everyday and work clothes, and he often ends up buying me stuff just so he can see me in something different, but I'll spend any amount of money on biking clothes that promise to give me a better and more comfortable ride. ;)

Recently it looked like I was going to overshoot my 7500 goal by a bit, so I tried working out how much I'd have to add to reach 8000 (which is 5000 miles as well, another nice number!). That would be a stretch, so I don't think it'll go this year. And suddenly it's time for studded tires, and the Long Way to work feels like a *really* long way. And both my commuter bikes are starting to mumble about the cold, and shift gears when they feel like it... we'll see.

[kfergos]

lph, so you've used studded tires in the past? Last winter in Massachusetts was very mild, so I didn't need to switch from my slicks, but who knows what this winter holds. I'd be interested in hearing how the studded tires work and feel.

What is it about cold weather that makes riding your normal distance feel excruciatingly hard? I ride the same route every day, and some days, it's a (relative) breeze; then when the thermometer drops, it's this slow agony. Also, why do bikes not work as well in the cold? After a certain temperature, I just can't shift as well. Plus lately my steel road bike has been making this sort of creaking noise when I ride it in the 20s; I'm hoping that's just adjusting to the cold, not some horrible indication it's going to go kaput on me.

[lph]

Well I can't remember minding riding with studded tires in the past, but suddenly this winter it feels like a HUGE effort. Part of it is due to that I've gotten my first road bike and inherited a lighter mtb from my dh this year, so I'm spoiled with riding faster. The studded tires are on my old Trek 6000 commuter bike, which is significantly heavier than the other two even without the studs. But having two mtbs I can switch from studded bike to non-studded bike to bike with studs just in front in a matter of minutes in the morning - oh joy! :)

Studded tires weigh more and corner badly, but they can keep you biking blithely up hills you can't walk up. Just don't stop and get off, falling over and skidding down to the bottom is so embarrassing... :D I ride Nokian Extremes front and back, and they're held through more than 5 winters.

I find that when I drop below a certain speed I don't want to even try to ride faster, I just settle for grinding along slowly. Icebike has an excellent article on why winter riding is slower - I find it really noticeable commuting and doing the same stretch every day.
http://www.icebike.org/Articles/SlowerWinter.htm

[helena]

Nice going with the distance lph! That's hardcore.

I'm going to chip in on the studded tires subject: I got slicks this summer for my mountain bike for the commute to school and I didn't realise what huge difference they made until I had to go back to studs - it sucks!

I actually prefer riding below -10C/14F because that layer of "water" on the ice that makes the roads slippery freezes so you have more traction. Any colder than that though and the grease in my hubs starts complaining and it's more like pedalling a lawnmower. Apparantly industrial type grease that they use in cars has a lower freezing temperature - haven't tried it yet but I've heard it makes a difference.

We had freezing rain today - I was sooo glad of my tires

[bikerHen]

Hmmm Iph, I've been trading the number 10 TE club spot with you on BJ lately. Just noticed tonight your up by 48 miles. Your goal of making 7500km is going to make me try harder too! Maybe even pass you. :rolleyes:

My studded tires come first of next week, just in time for the first forecasted snow. I guess I'm going to have to continue with my daily commuting, no matter what the weather throws at me. I really am enjoying my cold weather riding, I just hope the studded tires keep me riding upright on the ice and snow.

I was happy to hear I'm not the only one finding it much harder riding in the cold weather, I've also adopted the "just grind along" motto. My evil commuter hill was starting to be my friend, but the last couple of weeks it seems to have gotten a lot steeper and longer. :D I've got my big ol' mt bike tires on my Surley now, I hope the studded tires don't slow me down even more. bikerHen

[lph]

You're on, bikerHen :) A little competition is fun.

But 10th? When I look at my ranking I'm around no.20 (and around 1000 overall, which puts things nicely in perspective again ;) )

It's just below freezing here, and I'm having trouble with the gearing on both mtbs. I think I fixed one yesterday, but it's hard to tell until I've ridden a while on it. While fixing it I noticed that one of those little plastic wheels in the rear derailleur (jockey wheel?) would barely turn by hand. The joys of cold weather. I guess it would help if I kept them a bit cleaner though ;)

Ok, breakfast then off for a ride. DH is sleeping in, we were at a party last night but I came home early and he stayed.

[bikerHen]

And I took the day off riding, to quilt a quilt top, darn! Guess I'll spend the rest of the day cleaning my bike cause it sure needs it! Tomorrow is my day off but now I'll have to take a spin around the block. :D bikerHen

[Geonz]

I had to ride around the block a couple of times over hte holidays just to keep my consecutive streak going. I only hit 9000 yesterday so it'll be a challenge to get to 10K... and we're on teh "rain snow line" for a mess coming in this weekend so it seems no matter what it's not going to be NICE.
HOWEVER! I, too, have found that it's not bad riding in cold if you've got the layers, especially since my top one is Gore-Tex (a hand-me-down). Monday's 33.2 degrees in the rain made me laugh because I *knew* I looked miserable, and I knew other people *were* miserable... but it was a most euphoric ride. Today wasn't even as pleasurable. Maybe it's my swimming background but I *like* the feel of spray on my face and it's physically pleasurable to ramp up the heartrate and feel the furnace kick in and radiate all over that cold stuff.
I've watched other people turn blue and shiver and would love to know exactly how much of it is controllable. I do know the extra bits of subcutaneous insulation help :D ... and then when I don't wear as many layers, people tell me how much weight I've lost - NOT :) :D )

[bikerHen]

... so it's that subcutaneous insulation that's helping me stay warm. And here I thought it was the extra rpm's. :D I like the spray on my face too. But I always wonder what's coming off the road in that spray. Looking at the nasty stuff I have to clean off my tires it can't be good. :eek:

I got my studded tires yesterday, put them on the bike and totally wimped out on riding to work this AM. We got about 4" of snow last night, and after hearing about all the slide offs and accidents on the morning news I decided it would be prudent of me to let everyone remember how to drive in the snow before I venture out to join them. I do think I'll take the bike out around the neighborhood tonight and try the tires though. bikerHen

[lph]

Be careful out there, bikerHen! That ride on Sunday on gravel roads in the woods was exhausting, with a 4-5 inch layer of wet slush on the ground. Just enough to pack up in the treads of my rear tire and make it skid a few inches EVERY (insert expletive of choice) PEDAL STROKE!

I was very happy I wasn't out commuting that day. (But still a bit too stupid to just turn around and go home).

[Geonz]

4-5 inches ?!? I'm impressed!!
We'll just see waht happens if/when it snows here on a work day. There's a perfectly good bus line but I d on't know which one to get on yet. I might just get up a whole lot earlier for the adventure of the travel - that was my inclination when I had my car, but if I hadn't driven in more than two weeks I'd drive so the caterpillars and squirrels didn't move into the engine. And when it snowed it was a blizzard so I dind't have to go to work.
I have 981 miles to go... we'll see ;)

[lph]

4-5 inches ?!? I'm impressed!!
We'll just see waht happens if/when it snows here on a work day. There's a perfectly good bus line but I d on't know which one to get on yet. I might just get up a whole lot earlier for the adventure of the travel - that was my inclination when I had my car, but if I hadn't driven in more than two weeks I'd drive so the caterpillars and squirrels didn't move into the engine. And when it snowed it was a blizzard so I dind't have to go to work.
I have 981 miles to go... we'll see ;)

Uh - well, I can see why :o Sorry, I get my conversions mixed up sometimes, I meant 3-4 cm. Which isn't *that* impressing :rolleyes:

Today was a terrible commute. Icy roads, as in completely covered with hard shiny rutted ice, with rainwater streaming all over it. The perfect frictionless surface we used to read about in Physics class. I balanced myself carefully through the first few quiet roads, and happily got to the ice-free bike path without crashing. Then it started raining with a vengeance. When the rain stopped half an hour later, I hit another long icecovered stretch and very almost went down. Thankfully the final stretch down a busy road was icefree, or I would have had to balance along the narrow and bumpy sidewalk.

But still - after hanging all my soaking gear in the drying cupboard (we have one at work!! I love my job :D ) - I still felt I'd had a pretty neat start to the day...

750 km to go. Have to pick up my mileage as soon as this filthy weather gives me a break. Go, Geonz!

[Melalvai]

Uh - well, I can see why :o Sorry, I get my conversions mixed up sometimes, I meant 3-4 cm.
You mean you get your stories mixed up? ;)
Or you could be like my daughter--the amount of snow increases every time you tell the story!

[lph]

weeellll - I TRY to use inches and miles, so that I'm not totally out of it, but I forget to convert sometimes. Celsius and Fahrenheit are the worst, there's no way I can just guess what the equivalent temperature in F is.

[lph]

woop-woop! Passed 7000 km on my way in to work today :D

Forgive me if this thread is a bit/very egocentric, but it's just fun to write this stuff down somewhere. Last week's appalling weather has lifted a bit and it's now well above freezing, so taking slightly longer routes to work isn't too bad and some days downright enjoyable. And biking is just easier when the temps are above freezing, even though it can get a bit wet.

Still shooting for 7500, but I realized that if we were going to go away skiing for a few days around Christmas as planned I would look a bit too neurotic dragging my bike along too, so I have to amp up my daily mileage a bit to make it before Dec. 27th...

How you doing out there, bikerHen, kfergos, and the other commuter gals out there? I'm a bit scared to ask how much Geonz has ridden recently...:eek: :D

[Voodoo Sally]

Oh, man, I have been the loser here. I was doing great, riding in freezing cold and drizzle and late nights right up until last Friday. Then over the weekend it snowed and iced, and a big chill settled in and hasn't left. So, each day I have tried to assess the situation, from my car, and it seems like there's just too much snow and ice in the shoulders. The roadway has become narrower, and it looks like there's not enough room to ride. That and the patches of rock hard ice and snow here and there. So I feel a bit like a loser. How do you do it? I have ice tires which I will put on, but I can't seem to get over the narrowness problem.

[bikerHen]

We've had a little bit of everything weather wise lately. But, I've been able to get in almost 20 miles a day. Not enough to pass you, or even come close, but better than sitting around doing nothing. The forecast is calling for cold but no snow for another week so I'm keeping my finger crossed.

And I think your skiing trip should focus on skiing, not biking. That way I can creep a little closer to ya in the standings. :rolleyes: Besides, we all need to take a little break from our bikes every once and a while! :D bikerHen

[lph]

short answer VoodooSally - I don't. I'm lucky enough to have a choice. If the roads are narrow because of ice or snow I (try to) pick the route with a bike path or sidewalk, which is longer but still gets me there. The bike path will usually be in worse condition, but at least it's safe. If the ice is level and not too slick I can ride on it fine with studded tires. Sometimes I'll misgauge the situation, and end up just pedalling like a bat out of hell with a long line of cars behind me...

It doesn't bother me that much actually. I figure I'm not polluting their air, they shouldn't mind giving me a little time.

[lph]

Just me checking in again. I'm on schedule, I think, but it sure didn't look like it yesterday. I've spent the last few days swearing at my rear derailleur. It's really ancient (as in, it was on the bike when my dh bought it used at a police auction 8? years ago and is maybe the only thing that hasn't been replaced on that bike, and has seen a LOT of use) and I think the spring is just getting weak.

So I took my bike in at work yesterday (I LOVE my workplace, I can do stuff like leaving a snowed down bike to drip and draggle all over the floor), thawed and dried it thoroughly, than spent an hour trying to clean, lube and adjust all the appropriate points. Only to find out that it was the front cogs that are the problem, the middle one is worn out and is like touching a mouthful of sharp puppy teeth.

So. Spent an hour and a half biking home with a skipping middle cog, thoroughly discouraged and freezing cold. Turned out it was 10-12 F, and dropped to 5 F that evening. My dh tried to convince me that biking in this morning would be a complete waste of time, but I decided to switch the studded tires over to my other mtb and give it a try if it wasn't too cold. Lo and behold: 16 F this morning, vaseline on my face, homemade face mask (Buff with a hole cut in it ;-), closed my slightly too snug neoprene booties UNDER my tights rather than over, and I had a BRILLIANT ride in. Almost too warm! With a bike I could PEDAL on! Still floating in the adrenaline glow :D

Long story short - I'm back on track for my mileage, 89 miles to go and should make it fine unless something breaks on this bike too. :)

[sbctwin]

Wow, lph...great job on the commuting. I was determined to end the year commuting, but one fall on ice made me rethink the whole idea. I have parked my commuter for the year. As soon as I quit riding, I picked up a nasty cold that still has it's grip on me:( .

[Geonz]

I'm still impressed at cm, since that's about what I dealt with the first day of our mess and I was cowed :) Yesterday I got 19.5 (32 km) miles in and today I am going to shoot for 50 km or so... but it All Depends. It's also the night for the 'indoor traiing ride' at the bike shop. It's an even longer shot at making 10K but since I have the week off (and third-party "company" in the form of four children under the age of 10 at the house who whine a lot and their mother whines back so I honestly would just as soon be outta there for lots of hours when I don't have work:o :o )
A couple of things have come up over at bikejournal on the "ice bike" thread (which didn't exist last year so I think there's a genuine trend happening and mroe people are riding more in this kind of mess). One guy posted asking about when things get thick and the front wheel starts "hunting" (I love the term) ... is it better to put more weight on it or less? (My thinking is more.) And what about gears?
I kinda almost wish I'd gone for more aggressively studded tyres - I went for the "commuter" type expecting plowed roads, but thsi snowfall tested their (okay, my :) ) limits. ON the other hand, we could go the rest of the year without significant snowfall. I'm glad we had this string of nonsense to justify my big spending! -

[lph]

Sorry to hear it, sbctwin! A bad fall can be really demoralizing, winter clothes or no. Riding in sub-freezing, frosty/snowy weather is a lot easier than on slick ice around freezing.

Hope you make 10K, Geonz, that would be awesome :) Even getting close is pretty darn awesome.

"Hunting" front wheel: when I get caught in thicker than "just-crunch-through"-snow and have trouble keeping my balance or steering, I usually cope by sitting well back and keeping my hands light on the handlebars. That usually gives me a bit more oomph in my pedalling and a "stronger" back wheel, and makes it possible to correct my steering in front quickly without losing my balance forwards. In general I like to stand and pedal a lot, but in loose snow I try to sit down and back 'cos otherwise I do a face plant if my front wheel goes awry. Not too light gears, I need something to push against.

But I really try to avoid snow that thick. I'm out there to get somewhere, not to have "fun" :D And I hate hate hate falling. At least forwards. Falling because my back wheel slides out from under me is ok.

I have the 294 tires - they certainly have enough studs but I only need them 5 % of the time. Otherwise they're more a "ok, so I can cut that corner or that little hill"-type of "necessity".

Todays commute was brilliant. More, and photos later, when I'm not at work :)

[lph]

Ok, I'm going to try to post a few photos from my commute this morning, and see if they turn out ok. I waited and left a half hour later than usual, and got some lovely morning light!

First a photo from the "scenic" part of my route that meanders across the valley along a picturesque bike+ped path that is rarely if ever plowed. Then up on the other side of the valley, looking east. Two photos from where I cross the river Alna, now on my main bike path in to town. And one shot of what I looked like at work when I peeled my frozen face out from under all the head gear... :D