Fall/Winter 2010/2011 Commuter Challenge!

[out_spokin']

We clearly have a critical mass to have a commuter challenge for the northern hemisphere's darker and colder months.

The challenge is on!

New folks are welcome! (So are southern hemisphere folks, if it's helpful.) Our parameters - set yourself a goal, write it down in this thread, and check in with your fellow challengees throughout the time from the September/Fall Equinox to the March/Spring Equinox.

So far we have:
me, out_spokin' - commute 75% of my office days, and a new try at more car-free days. I'm gonna start with 30% of my non-office days will be car-free!
bikerHen - 5 days/week through the end of 2010, and back at it as soon as possible after January shoulder surgery
uk elephant - at least 3 days/week, striving towards 5
Biciclista - riding some throughout the winter!
Melalvai – is in
blackhillsbiker –- shooting for 4 days/week, 5 when possible
kiwibug – is in
Tri Girl – at least 1 day/week, hopefully at least 2
pfunk12 – every day unless snowing or ice on the roads
7rider – no beating herself up when the forecast is wrong and she didn’t ride due to dire predictions of bad weather!
kfergos – ride all errands less than 3 miles, and every day to the office if that’s where she ends up working
girlsubobscura – going for every day through the winter
colorisnt – whenever healthy, not snowy or icy
shootingstar – maybe? Depending on location

And we’re off!!! Go US!

[Melalvai]

Guess I should set a goal. How about: Every day possible. The "possible" qualifier allows me to stay home if it is snowing, or get a ride if I'm having a migraine (ie, when I SHOULD stay home!)

Maybe my goal should be to stay home when I ought to, and bike the rest of the time.

Oh, I have one other goal. Riding 2 miles to work and home is great, but it won't get me in shape for the triathlon in September. So I want to continue my training until we get to the worst of the weather. That would be, run 3X, swim 3X, weights 2X, and at least one bike ride a week that is at least 20 miles.

[bikerHen]

Great! You start the challenge and I have a massive cold! I'll more than likely have to drive all week and of course we're having great fall riding weather too! :mad:

Melalvai, You sure have a great set of goals! Good for you! bikerHen

[colorisnt]

I have successfully commuted every day this week thus far! Going strong. Best commute ever today!

[Ambikes]

It's brutally cold where I live, but I refuse to buy a parking permit at the university where I study (it's a racket!).

My goal is to ride every day that it's warmer than -25C, walk when it's colder and/or really snowy, and only drive to campus 1x per week maximum. Depending on what type of winter we get, this may or may not be reasonable.

ETA: I have commuted by bike every day so far this week (except Monday, which was the Thanksgiving holiday here in Canada). The weather is really nice right now!

[colorisnt]

Didn't commute today. Too cold this morning and I had not found any fall gloves. And apparently NONE of the shops here carry anything small enough.

[Melalvai]

This week is looking like a failure on all counts.

Maybe not all counts...Bike Mo is Saturday, so unless something goes awry I'll get a decent ride in. I mention the possibility that something might go awry, because lots of things went awry this week, including my car. (I picked the car up today and they think they found & fixed the problem that has plagued our clutch since it was replaced 3 years ago.)

Definitely the "stay home when I'm sick" part was a FAIL. (The sick part contributed to the not exercising bit.) Instead of calling my husband to pick me up and take me home when I got a migraine Tuesday morning, I kept trying to do things. We had a big day planned with the rats, and my students are brand new, they don't know how to do everything. So I stuck it out longer than I should have, and I turned the migraine into the uber migraine from the hellmouth. The headache part of it lasted through Wednesday.

Between a UTI on Monday, and the migraine Tues & Wed, I didn't run/swim any of the days I planned, and I didn't do weights. Even though I'm finally healthy now, I decided not to try anything tomorrow, just call it a bad week and try again next week.

[blackhillsbiker]

I feel guilty calling this a fall/winter commute. It has been cold in the mornings (40° or so), and unseasonably warm later in the day. I've been able to ride all week this week. My bike has developed another random squeak, though. I'm really looking at upgrading within this next year.

Deb

[colorisnt]

This week is looking like a failure on all counts.

Maybe not all counts...Bike Mo is Saturday, so unless something goes awry I'll get a decent ride in. I mention the possibility that something might go awry, because lots of things went awry this week, including my car. (I picked the car up today and they think they found & fixed the problem that has plagued our clutch since it was replaced 3 years ago.)

Definitely the "stay home when I'm sick" part was a FAIL. (The sick part contributed to the not exercising bit.) Instead of calling my husband to pick me up and take me home when I got a migraine Tuesday morning, I kept trying to do things. We had a big day planned with the rats, and my students are brand new, they don't know how to do everything. So I stuck it out longer than I should have, and I turned the migraine into the uber migraine from the hellmouth. The headache part of it lasted through Wednesday.

Between a UTI on Monday, and the migraine Tues & Wed, I didn't run/swim any of the days I planned, and I didn't do weights. Even though I'm finally healthy now, I decided not to try anything tomorrow, just call it a bad week and try again next week.

You poor thing! Seriously, I can relate. I can't wait to ride tomorrow, but still battling the after effects of a migraine. I have been doing really great on hill climbs here recently and I figure if I can do those, I can do anything BikeMO can throw out.

I didn't even go into work today. Emailed the prof to tell him that my migraine was so bad that I could not drive/ride to school safely. He always understands because he knows I am there unless I am half-dead. So, fail, today, but I refuse to beat myself up over it. However, Truman was sad he didn't get to go out today and his sister is the one going out tomorrow. I will take him shopping Sunday I guess!

[Melalvai]

However, Truman was sad he didn't get to go out today and his sister is the one going out tomorrow. I will take him shopping Sunday I guess!
Is Truman your bike? And who is his sister?

[colorisnt]

Truman is my commuter. He is black and gold (hence the name haha).

Casser is his sister. That't my trek. She only goes out when she will not have to be locked up. And I call her casser (french for crash or bash) because of the bad falls I had on her learning to use my pedals!

[Melalvai]

MWF swimming: successful. Plus on Friday I swam a full 45 min and 27 laps (which is approximately the minimum I need for the triathlon which is 10 months away). One dark early morning biking to the pool someone saw me and knew from a long ways away it was me, because he heard my jingle bell. :D

T/Th weight training & running: successful. Thursday I ran FOUR miles, and Saturday I ran an even more amazing FIVE miles! Five is what I need for the triathlon which is 10 months away, and I did it in 52 minutes. However my left knee hurt the next day so I think I need new shoes before I try that again. I'll stick to <4 miles until I get shoes.

Long bike ride on the weekend: successful. Wind, hills, clouds. I was amazed that my tan deepened, this late in October I didn't think that was possible. Good to know I must have gotten some vitamin D.

Staying home while sick: N/A. However, there were a couple nights I skipped my core exercises, the day I did the long swim, and the day I did the long bike ride. After I read that other post about over training I'm glad I let myself skip those nights.

[blackhillsbiker]

Day 2 of 40-60 mph winds. Maybe tomorrow? I'm getting crabby with no bike rides. :(

Deb

[Ambikes]

The beautiful fall weather we had been having deteriorated badly over the past couple of days. It rained all day yesterday and was cold (5C) and windy, so I drove to campus because I didn't feel like getting wet and cold. Well, I should have known it was only going to get worse...

I woke up this morning to a skift of SNOW! and 45 km/hr wind gusts. I decided to commute by bike anyway since I'd wimped out the day before. Commute actually wasn't too bad...but it kept snowing and blowing all day long. The ride home was the one of the worst I've ever had. There was about 5cm of snow and slush on all road surfaces along with blowing and drifting that made a lot of places impassable by bike. And the wind chill was -10C, which wouldn't have been a big deal if I'd actually dressed for pushing my bike 2km through snow banks. I had been planning on, you know, riding on pavement. :rolleyes:

I did successfully commute today, though. I guess that's a victory.

[radacrider]

Count me in. Up to 12/20 hope to do 1 commute / week (30mile round tripper). starting 12/27 (after I get back from vacation time) my goal is daily commuting since our corporate office will have moved to a new building much, much closer to home (12 mile round tripper).

[colorisnt]

radacrider,

That's great news on your building!

I have done no commuting this week because of early mornings and now the flu! Life will NOT slow down, but I have to.

[Rebecca19804]

I'm in. I haven't quite formulated my goals for the season. Had arthroscopy on left knee yesterday, not allowed on the bike at least until I see the surgeon 8th Nov to get stitches removed. Then I'm starting physiotherapy at a place that specialises in cycling. :)

I've got an invitation to start riding out with a south London road cycling club (http://www.addiscombe.org/), as soon as the knee is okay. The only group I've been out with before is a social one - about 30 miles over 8 hours with lots of stops. That's becoming frustratingly slow for me. The club I'll be joining has several group levels, are no-drop and sound very supportive - well respected and recommended club. So I'm feeling very optimistic about improving my strength and endurance and generally 'raising my game', as I'd like to have a serious go at audaxing next year.

So - no firm pledges yet on what or how I'll do this winter. But I wanted to get a note down on this thread now, so at least I've committed myself TO SOMETHING -- haha -- and will be sure to come back in a couple of weeks and set out a PLAN. Yay!

You ladies rock and are a constant inspiration. Thank you!

EDIT - and our clocks don't go back til this coming Sunday... which buys me a little time til the TE Challenge starts properly, right? :)

[girlsubobscura]

It's starting to get cold and dark here, so it's scarf and mittens time, but it's not as rainy as I remember from last october, so looks like the waterproof panniers are working as intended: a city wide weather shield :)

[Melalvai]

...so looks like the waterproof panniers are working as intended: a city wide weather shield
Yes! That is how my magical goretex rain gear works! I bought it during the rainy fall 3 years ago, and after it arrived? I did not have another rainy bike ride for 3 months!

[colorisnt]

Gah! I bought rain gear, too (it was on sale), but I have yet to have a rainy day in months!

[Melalvai]

The week's not quite over yet but I wanted to report on it because I got really philosophical when considering how this week counts on the continuum between success and failure. I concluded that in some ways, it is more of a success than last week when I was really gung-ho and accomplished all kinds of things, like lifting tall buildings and leaping speeding bullets.

Specifically I want to swim MWF, go to the gym for weights and then run T/Th, do my core exercises every day, go for a bike ride on weekends, and of course bike commute during the week. Technically I did all that except Monday, when we were traveling, I did not swim (although I could have) or do my core exercises.

The problem is, the rest of the week I did a half-hearted job of the running and swimming. The reason I decided this was more of a success than last week's accomplishments is because it is harder to get out there AT ALL when you are having a rough week for whatever reason (I think I was having trouble because it got cold), than it is to do well when you are feeling really motivated.

So I gave myself credit for doing it at all.

I also gave myself credit for doing the core exercises every day. They count for more, to me, because I follow them up with my jaw and neck stretches, and so the whole thing counts more as "taking care of myself" instead of "training for the triathlon". (One is less selfish than the other in my head.)

Finally I gave myself credit for commuting. Not that that is difficult. In fact it is the easiest thing which is why I continued to do it. Each time I might think "It's cold, maybe DH will give me a ride", the next thought is "How will I get home?" and the logistics of that are so complicated that immediately I say "Screw it, I'll just ride, that's easiest". So this 'credit' was earned by the years of bicycle commuting that has made it a habit, and by the investment of ~$500 in cold weather gear three years ago (a lot of money but how much have you spent on your car over three years?), and by the fact that we never did buy that second car.

We're riding out to the corn maze this afternoon, and tomorrow I plan to run again.

Overall, this week was strongly on the "success" side of the continuum. And that makes me feel more motivated for next week's swimming & running.

[CommuterChick]

I'm with you! Problem is once I started working from home, the bike rides dropped -- I miss my commute! :) And I travel a great deal. But I'm pretty good down to mid-30s, as long as it's not snowy or icey.

So my goal will be to ride min 3x/weekdays -- to gym, to pick up mail at corp hq, those doable errands -- unless snowy, icey, or on travel.

Thanks! Having community like this helps when working solo.


marcy

[blackhillsbiker]

Today I had to dig out the wool longies and cap. I got some new gloves. My ride in was beautiful this morning. Frost on the grass, not a cloud in the sky. I had to use my light this evening for the first time. I guess the season has officially started.

Deb

P.S. Wish me luck. I have to go back to the Dr. to have my left leg checked out. I don't think the surgery was as successful as I had hoped (my right leg is great). If he has to do any more procedures, I'll be off the bike again for awhile.:(

[lilly99]

I am up for the challange! :)

I'm aiming to commute at last 4 times a week to work. Found this and have it stuck to my fridge to help keep me motivated....

http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/benefits.htm

Let's keep going ladies ;)

[out_spokin']

Melalvai, I like your philosophy of the "success continuum". I've been struggling more that I thought I would to get back some biking and core/Pilates momentum. And I haven't been on the commute much even -- for mostly totally reasonable reasons (like, hey, I've got a comp day, I'm not going to the office. Or hey, I've got a bike to pick up and it's impossible to commute to that.)

I'm doing OK but a little under my goal for commutes. The last couple I've done have been sweet, but COLD -- how did it get down to 18 the other morning when the daytimes have been in the 60s? So I'm still adjusting...but my ride home tonight was mild, started in twilight and ended needing my full-on lights, and just the best feeling of being free and happy on a bike to end my day.

[Melalvai]

I'm going to go ahead & call it for this week.

Biking, running, swimming, work out goals: big fail. I swam Monday, did the weight machines at the gym and ran on Tuesday. I did not swim on Wednesday because my back hurt, and the rest of the week I've had other things on my mind!

Ignoring the training when I ought to, such as after my daughter gets hit by a truck: big success.

I learned that I should only do my core exercises 2 or 3 times a week, not every day. Doing them every day caused an upper back injury (stiff neck/ shoulder). I think the neck & shoulder are still awfully stiff a week later but I haven't paid much attention to it since Wednesday.

[bikegurl]

I only go to work once a week, but still, it will be a challenge when winter really sets in....
I don't drive, so if I don't bike, I would have to arrange for rides from friends, and also, rely on buses. I don't feel like giving my money to the metro system (they increased the fare :mad:) and I am saving money for bike gear..... so, biking was the only 'sensible' :p option.
I just told the people I work with that I will try to cycle to work all winter, so....here goes!!!

Good luck on winter commuting!

[Rebecca19804]

my daughter gets hit by a truck

:eek: Whoa!!! Is she okay?

[Melalvai]

Whoa!!! Is she okay?
She's going to be fine: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=40444

[bikerHen]

Checking in with a "so far so good" report. I'm long over my cold/flu and riding my 5 days a week. Weather is definitly starting to feel like winter. Cold and almost snow type rain this morning. My evening commutes are now in total darkness. Gotta say I'm loving it! :D

Melalvia, I feel your pain with trying to fit in all the other "stuff" with commuting. Three days a week I ride to the gym, do weights, walk/run on the treadmill, ride to work then ride home at the end of the day. On the other three days I do weights at home then ride to and from work. On the seventh day we take the dogs for a long 3-4 mile walk. I'm looking forward to my surgery in January so I can take a few weeks off. But then as my shoulder heals I'm going to have to figure out how to fit swimming into the daily mix. I tell ya this getting into shape is not for the timid. It's darn tough!

[Melalvai]

This week is neither "success" nor "failure". The terms just don't apply in a crisis.

I didn't think of commuting as a goal for me, because it is just something I do all the time. But after my daughter's wreck last week I was scared to ride on That Road. So commuting did become a goal for me, and I am proud to report that I rode my bike today! Not as a commute but as a recreational ride with my dad. And not only did I ride the bike, I rode on That Road. Having done it once, I know I can do it again, even coming home and making that fateful left turn. (I might do it as a box turn the first few times.) I plan to commute as usual from now on, and I don't think it will be a problem.

I didn't even think about exercise for several days. I didn't care either. Then I read an article that PTSD can be improved with exercise. So on Thursday, I drove to the gym, did weight machines, and ran on the trail. It felt very strange to drive to the gym, but it felt really good to run.

Then on Friday I drove to the pool and swam, and that didn't feel so good because instead of getting into a good zone I got into a bad zone and got angry. Hopefully next time I swim will be a happier experience.

I did my core workout on Thurs, and I plan to do it tonight.

As far as taking time for myself for my daughter's health, and my own health, I did very well at that. As she got better I slowly got back into work and was even kind of productive on Friday. I'm looking forward to getting lots done next week, and then we go on vacation to Costa Rica!!

[malkin]

Good for you!!!!!

[blackhillsbiker]

4 1/2 days the week before last, 4 days last week. Today was sleet, wet and cold. I was glad of my wool layers. Still, I'm surprised it has been so warm up until now.

Deb

[radacrider]

gee, been posting some in the other commute thread :D

So far, I've been able to get my 1 commute per week in. It's given me some trial and error on my lights, clothing layers, night traffic. Even with the weather getting wetter and cooler, still enjoy the time on the bike.:)

[out_spokin']

I took this week off from the main job, so no commutes. Beauty of a day though so I better get out and ride! :cool:

Hey Melalvai - take good care of yourself and daughter. One step/day at at time! Hang in there!

Keep it up everyone -- enjoy the deepening dark quietude!

[pfunk12]

4 for 4 this week. Tomorrow is my day off so no commuting. Still trying to get use to the dark ride coming home. I want my dark mornings back! :D

[7rider]

2 for 5 :(
Out for a few days with a bad back. And this cursed running program! :o

[Melalvai]

Gym & running on Tues/Thur: success

Swim MWF: Partial success. I skipped Friday

Long bike ride and/or run on weekend: probably a fail here. Today I need to pack for Costa Rica and tomorrow we leave at 4:30 a.m. to get to the airport to fly to Costa Rica. Did I mention we are going to Costa Rica??

Taking time off as needed: Probably success. I didn't have any physical health issues, still coping with some mental health from my daughter's wreck, and probably should have come home a couple hours early on Thursday, but I took a couple hours in the morning on Friday and felt a lot better.

I might throw this in with the other goals, but I had quit eating foods made with sugar (with some degree of success), and since my daughter's wreck I'm right back into 1-soda-a-day plus whatever crap food I feel like. That is no good for my moods and it will soon impact my physical health so I really want to kick the sugar again.

[bikerHen]

Don't think I'm going to get any rides in this week!
We've got snow, single digits and minus digits for the highs and lows and to make it all more interesting, wind to blow the snow around and make the wind chill factor really cold! Throw in the idiot drivers who have forgot what it's like to drive in snow and it's all just too much for this old bird.

I lower myself to a spin class this morning at the gym. I guess it's better than nothing. I hope this will all clear out in a week or so. I'm only 50 miles away for my yearly mileage goal.

On the plus side we might go snowshoeing this weekend!

[malkin]

Don't think I'm going to get any rides in this week!
We've got snow, single digits and minus digits for the highs and lows and to make it all more interesting, wind to blow the snow around and make the wind chill factor really cold! Throw in the idiot drivers who have forgot what it's like to drive in snow and it's all just too much for this old bird.


No kidding! Even if it didn't pan out, hearing BLIZZARD WARNING all day yesterday was enough to put me off.

[7rider]

No snow...no blizzards here in MD. And, my back is better.
Today, I had a hard time getting out of bed, and kept hitting the snooze button. :o
Wonderful ride in - Roads were empty. I guess everyone is off to go get groped at airports! :rolleyes:

[bikerHen]

((( sigh))) . . . It's starting to look like it's going to be another one of "thoses" winters. It's not even December and we're already starting to talk about feet of snow instead of inches. :( The snow plows are starting to fill up the bike lanes with snow and there's about a three foot berm of snow blocking the bike path. We had to dig a path for our short legged dog to go pee this morning! As much as I like snow . . . this much, this early sucks! Barring a sudden warm-up, it looks like my commuting days may be over for the year. :mad:

[Melalvai]

My report on this week's goals: vacation in Costa Rica! :D

I had toyed with the idea of renting a bike but I'm glad that didn't pan out. We had also intended to rent a car and I'm glad we didn't end up doing that either, we hired a driver for our 2 excursions. Costa Rica roads are crazy! So many cyclists and pedestrians and dogs on very narrow roads, every car drives as fast as it can in between speed bumps (muertos), and my heart just about stopped several times per mile from fear that we were going to hit a person or dog.

So, the only biking was one short trip this afternoon. I jogged a couple times, and swam in the ocean a bit, mostly I played with the tide in the ocean. I was excited to have a chance to practice swimming in open water. I walked a lot. I always woke up so early in the mornings that I had time to check my email and go for a walk or jog before DH & DD were awake, and catch a glimpse of monkeys.

Of course I didn't stick to any kind of regular training schedule. I did do my core exercises approximately every other night.

[blackhillsbiker]

Only one day last week. My bike was in the shop.:(

I decided to ride this morning despite snow, drifts and winds. About halfway there I was seriously questioning the sanity of that decision. I didn't want to turn around, though so I pulled my Buff up a little higher on my frozen face and finished the commute. The ride home was a little better (wind died down to about 20-25 mph). Some of the drifts were a bit extreme. I even had to walk a bit. Still, I was glad to be back on my bike.

Deb

[eofelis]

I want to join in!

I just started a new job and got the ok to park the bike in the office. No problem!

It's 4.5 miles, very flat. I'm going to start riding in tomorrow morning.

I'll be leaving at 7:30am, and riding home at 5pm. It's supposed to be 19deg tomorrow am so I have my heaviest clothes laid out to ride in. Got my Niterider headlight for the ride home.

I plan to ride 4-5 days per week, as long as roads are not too icy.

[blackhillsbiker]

5 for 5 this week. Began and ended the week with vicious high winds. The middle of the week was nice, though. Probably won't get any riding in this weekend – 'tis the season of Christmas activities.

Deb

[Rebecca19804]

Still not back on the bike after my knee surgery 5 weeks ago, but enjoying reading everybody's updates. Really encouraging! Can't wait to get back out there myself! :)

[Tri Girl]

2 for 5 this week. That's what my goal was, but if it weren't for sheer laziness I would have done 5. Some days getting out of bed 45 min. earlier when it's freezing cold is just hard. ;)
Enjoyed my two days, tho. VERY much!! It's in the teens and 20's in the mornings and I'm still not good and dressing cold enough so I'm not burning hot by the end of my ride.

[7rider]

The forecast for my area today:
TODAY: Partly To Mostly Cloudy; Windy; Isolated Mountain Snow Shower
WINDS: WNW 15-20 Gusts 35-40 m.p.h.
HIGHS: Upper 30s (WIND CHILL 20s)

It was 28 degrees (-2C) this a.m. when I left (not sure of the wind speed at that point, but it was blustery).
Yet still I rode. This past weekend (Saturday), it was a bit warmer, yet I didn't go out for a ride at all. I puttered in the house, did a home workout, and raked leaves (made brownies! :rolleyes:).

I'll commute in colder, windier weather than I'll ride in for a "social" ride. I wonder why that is...why I'm so eager to hibernate on a cold weekend, but I'll ride on a cold weekday to work. Is it because I know my commutes are shorter than my social rides, or what?? Is it because my bike commutes are usually the best part of my work day??

[Melalvai]

I'll commute in colder, windier weather than I'll ride in for a "social" ride. I wonder why that is...why I'm so eager to hibernate on a cold weekend, but I'll ride on a cold weekday to work. Is it because I know my commutes are shorter than my social rides, or what?? Is it because my bike commutes are usually the best part of my work day??
Me too, I'll brave anything to bicycle for transportation but my weather-standards for a recreational ride are much higher. For me, it's because transportation is useful. But a recreational ride is just for my own enjoyment. It would have to be one heck of a ride to enjoy it when the weather is bad.

My report for the week:
Very successful on the running, gym workout, swimming, and core exercises.

"Staying home when sick" didn't come up this week. Although I did skip the core exercises on a day I was supposed to do them, because I didn't feel like it and it occurred to me that rather than make myself do them I could for once listen to my body and let it go until tomorrow. Wild concept!

[hilaryclaire]

i recently bought a bike with the ultimate goal of commuting to work. someone in my office rode in this morning and i'm jealous! i'm ok with cold weather, but i don't have any sort of windproff jackets or gloves. and, like everyone else in the county, i'm SO BROKE. so far all the stuff i've looked at is super expensive. any advice?

[hilaryclaire]

p.s. melavai! i'm originallyl from missouri and several of my friends went to college in kirksville. we were all convinced that kirksville's always 10-20 degrees colder than it is anywhere else in missouri!

[Melalvai]

i recently bought a bike with the ultimate goal of commuting to work. someone in my office rode in this morning and i'm jealous! i'm ok with cold weather, but i don't have any sort of windproff jackets or gloves. and, like everyone else in the county, i'm SO BROKE. so far all the stuff i've looked at is super expensive. any advice?
The reason I like the expensive stuff is that if it is made specifically for cycling, it doesn't have flappy bits that can get in the way or get caught in the chain and cause you to wreck. But you can go a long ways with regular clothes if you secure everything using rubber bands, safety pins, velcro straps, duct tape, anything you can think of!

I don't know how cold is cold for you. Layers are the key. A base layer that is wicking, an outer layer that blocks the wind, and if it's really cold (for me that's about 35F) a layer in between.

The other important things are your extremities. A balaclava for your head (nashbar (http://www.nashbar.com/bikes//Product_10053_10052_520020_-1___) has them on sale for $8), ski gloves, maybe with a liner, thick wool socks--but not so thick that they constrict. However much you layer up it must all be loose or you will end up colder.

Your priority is gloves and a balaclava. Then start thinking about a windblocking jacket.

One of the first things I learned is that a winter coat doesn't work well on the bike, even in the coldest of cold. It makes me too hot in the wrong places and leaves me much too cold in others. There are two other tricks I've learned: warm up before you go out (ie jumping jacks or something), and when you arrive, wait 10 minutes to stop sweating and then change into your clean shirt and/or other work clothes.

[tulip]

You don't have to get cycling-specific gear. The best cold weather piece I have for commuting and cold-weather recreational riding is an old cashmere cardigan sweater that I got at a thrift store. It has holes in it, which is good for riding. I layer it with a non-cotton long sleeve shirt and either a shell or heavier jacket depending on the conditions. Usually a shell is enough once I get riding. I can unbutton and button as needed.

You can wear a thin hat under your helmet, or get an band that just covers your ears. I wear cycling shorts and tights because I have them, but thrift-shop wool slacks over cycling shorts will do fine. Just be sure to secure them at the ankles to keep the fabric out of the way.

Gloves you can get just about anywhere. I like ski mitten/gloves; you can also layer gloves and mittens.

[blackhillsbiker]

Balaclavas absolutely don't work for me. I fashion a balaclava-ish thing out of a merino Buff. I can adjust it to cover more or less depending on how cold I am, and it breathes so I don't get all sweaty. I wear wool leggings under my jeans. A thin turtleneck and wool sweater under a windproof shell (with pit zips) is usually enough unless it is really cold. Then a cardigan over the sweater, under the shell is sufficient. I love Smartwool snowboarding socks with my Keen shoes or hikers. I have a thin merino beanie for under my helmet. The one place I really need warmth is my hands. I have some extremely warm gauntlet-style snowmobile mittens. I doubt they'd work with bar end shifters. They work just fine on riser bars with regular Shimano click-shifters. They're really more puffy than bulky (800 or so gram Thinsulate). If my hands and toes are warm, I do pretty well.

Deb

[tulip]

BHB--anyone who commutes by bike 5 for 5 in December in South Dakota has my ultimate respect and admiration. Good going!

[girlsubobscura]

I second the recommendation for smartwool snowboarding socks. They are incredibly comfortable, and the extra layer of padding on the shin which is meant to prrotect against boot chafing has the added advantage of extra wind blocking while bike riding. None of my winter gear is specifically for biking (except my helmet), and for me the essentials are: warm mittens (my fingers get too cold when they are separated by glove fingers) , wool socks, synthetic fuzzy pants from REI (that wierd fuzzy stuff spun from pop bottles, can't remember what it's called), a regular winter coat, and some sort of hat/scarf combo or balaclava. I also adore my ski goggles, but if you are on a budget start with good gloves or mittens and quality socks and layer the rest, buying quality pieces as you can afford.

[girlsubobscura]

Oh and I forgot to update, today the temps were betwee 15-30 degrees, and it seems like its been about the same all week. After the 2 day work week due to the holiday, I'm back to 5 a week commuting. I'm kind of enjoying peeking in at everyones brightly lit christmas trees in the windows as i ride home in the dark.

[blackhillsbiker]

I like looking at the Christmas lights also! The snowman that plays carols at me as I ride by sometimes startles me.

None of my winter gear (except helmet) is bike-specific. The key is layers. I'm always unzipping or zipping something as I get further into my ride. A parka just doesn't allow for temperature adjustment.

Good lights are also a must! My L&M Stella batteries have been incredibly unreliable after a very short time. I'm waiting for the arrival of a different lighting system.

Deb

[malkin]

I did it! Twice!!

I've stoked a couple tandem rides, but had not been on my bike since I got sick before halloween. But I rode yesterday and today. Both were beautiful, early, cold--high 30s is my guess.

I was flirting with applying for my old job (from 8 years ago) but the travel is yucky (itinerant, and not a feasible bike commute) so as of this week, my current job wins.

[hilaryclaire]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!

[out_spokin']

Finally a little momentum! I've got 3 in a "row", which for me with my nutty schedule lately is over the past two weeks. Still, it's helping bring my percentage much closer to my goal. A wild mix - one morning it was 15, the next day it was above freezing which is quite rare.

I'm also loving the Christmas lights and am starting to take slightly different routes to take in new ones. I'm not so fond of the singing ones either -- I love basking in the nighttime dark & quiet!

I had my favorite giant orange crescent moon setting over the black silhouette of the mountains the other night, and have been playing the game of "which animal is it behind the eyes reflecting back my headlight??" (usually cats, but last time a raccoon.) I'm almost sorry that solstice is around the corner, because once I get into this winter commuting rhythm there's nothing quite like it to frame my work days.

[Melalvai]

Training: not a complete success, or not a complete failure, depends on if you're a half-full or half-empty person. I'm ok with it. I did get a long run (long for me = 4 miles) this weekend. It was sort of a good run. I was had just gotten some upsetting news and thought the run might make me feel better. Not sure if it did that. It made me feel like I had accomplished something anyway and it was better than banging around the house cleaning.

The upsetting news was not anything earth shattering. Mainly it came at a bad time at the end of a bad week. MoDOT did their traffic study and decided that the speed limit of 55 mph is perfectly ok. Well, I'm not done yet. I still really want to move and if we do, this speed limit issue won't affect us as directly.

Going home when I'm unwell: Again I'm not sure if this is a partial success or partial failure. It was a bad week for me which ENDED with the upsetting news, and this week I'm discovering a few mistakes and omissions I made last week, and I know I spent too much time attempting to accomplish something when I should have given up and gone home. I think my state of mind was mainly hormonal, but it wasn't pretty. This is why I don't eat sugar, which makes that sort of thing worse, and I ate too much sugar last month.

Bike commuting: Once again I'm faced with this challenge when I'm a diehard commuter who shouldn't be struggling with it. I finally made the connection--the flashbacks & anxiety attacks are happening when I'm on my bike. Maybe if I get off my bike for a couple weeks they'll stop. (And I finally called for an appointment with a counselor, as you all have been encouraging me to do. But they have a month-long wait. Eh.) I don't like being off my bike and I don't like being in the car. Even in this weather, or especially in this weather.

[out_spokin']

@ Melavai - hang in there and be gentle with yourself. You're doing great to stay active whether or not you're on the bike. Yay for calling the counselor, hope maybe something opens up before it's expected. And in this season just doing one's best to stay away from sugar takes a LOT of energy! Again, just give yourself time and space and gentleness!!!

As for the week -- I'm psyched to get 3 for 3 this week. I've been super-tired and almost talked myself out of it for the end of the week, but luckily we lent our 2nd car to our car-free friends and partner needed the other so I just made it a priority to plug along, get my food/clothes/bike ready early each evening, and get to bed as soon as possible. This morning I was annoyed by losing sleep to my cat, who's generally a reliable one-time snooze alarm to get in a little purrfest before I head out the door. Last night she thought maybe 11pm was the time....then 1am...then 4am?!! When I dragged outta bed at 5:35 I went to find her and she yawned at me and when back to sleep. Wha??? :eek: ;)

Luckily there was about a half inch of super dry snow on the ground and light flakes still falling, one of my favorite winter riding conditions. Got all cheerful as I quietly rolled across town in the pre-dawn light...looks like I'll have similar conditions for the ride home, though definitely darker! Yay winter, and yet I'm looking forward to solstice Tuesday!

[blackhillsbiker]

5 for 5 this week. 2 on my new road bike! :) Today she got a new stem and I put the WTB Deva saddle from my MTB on her. Much comfier!

Deb

[radacrider]

Haven't done a ride to work since the week before Thanksgiving. :( Work got crazy and, even as I write this, we are finishing up final technology setups and testing for all the staff to be able to work first thing tomorrow (Monday, 12/20/2010).

However, I did finally get an errand ride in this moring, covered about 15-16 miles.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/freeheelgirl/5274910689/

A beautiful, sunny December morning. Later today, it actually rained early evening, and then fluffed up some snow (albeit, wet snow). So glad I went out in the morning.

[Melalvai]

Bike commuting: still off the bike, I have an appointment with a therapist this week. I was lucky to find one who could get me in so early, everyone else didn't have an opening until mid-January. Instead I've been walking or if I don't have time for the 40 minute walk, I get a ride with my husband when he's dropping daughter off at school. (It drives me wild that's how she gets to school. But oh well.)

The walks have been beautiful in the early winter sunsets. I've been meaning to walk since we moved here in June, but who has time for a 40 minute walk when it can be a 10 minute bike ride? So it's kind of nice to be forced to walk at last. I saw a huge herd of deer, maybe 15 or even 20, cross the road, cars on both sides stopped to let them pass. Pretty pests.

It's a good time to be walking, with this weather. 2 miles is not enough of a bike ride to warm up.

My training has changed, instead of running twice a week I've been going to spin class. I never saw the point in spin class. What is the point of riding without going anywhere? But I figured I'd give it a try since otherwise I'm off my bike until my head gets straightened out. And I love it! I even loved having Lady Gaga "Bad Romance" stuck in my head (we sat or stood on our bikes every time she said "romance") because it was SUCH an improvement over flashbacks & anxiety attacks.

I did go for a couple runs, one on the weekend and another on the same day as a spin class. Normally I wouldn't do that but it worked on that day, the run was in the morning and spin class in the evening.

I've changed my approach to swims, trying to incorporate some sprints into it.

I stopped weight training because I injured my other shoulder. I will try to talk to a trainer to find out what I'm doing that is injuring my shoulders. I think it is the rowing machine.

[Crankin]

Good job with the walking, Melavai. I find that I see things when I am walking or hiking that I definitely don't see when I am riding, or even running, because I am just going too fast (well not when running :)). If I had a 2 mile commute, I think I might walk it most of the time.

[Biciclista]

well, I rode today, this will be my last bike commute of the year. It's cold and wet here. ugh...

[radacrider]

Since it was our first day in our new office building, even though I am on vacation this week, I rode in to check it out. So much nicer being only 5 miles from work than my previous 15.

Rainy and on the colder side, time to get out the rain pants and booties. Wow, even with the rain it was great, because I knew I would only be out in it about 25 minutes, versus 1-1/2 hrs for the old commute - oh, yeah.

Fortunately since I am more far sighted I rode part of the ride without my glasses, as they were wet and fogging up.

No more commutes this week, next week we have only 3 days of work so I am planning to ride 3 for 3.

Happy holidays all!

[blackhillsbiker]

Coldest commute so far this year. 12° this morning, 12° this evening. I was very thankful for all my wool!

Deb

[girlsubobscura]

Stayed home to write for work twice last week, so had a 3/3 commuting week. Snowstorms on sunday, and my chain froze, but once I got it thawed out and relubed, the rides were fine. I stuck to the plowed main roads and took the lane much more aggressively than usual. I've been on vactaion since last sunday, and have two weeks of vacation now. One in the black hills, SD, and one in the Sandias, NM. I really need to find some relatives in the tropics to visit.

[out_spokin']

New Mexico's gotta be warmer - or at least blue-er sky - than MI, no? ;)

I celebrated Solstice with my 1 of 1 commute for the week. The wool was key, since the first pre-bus part of the commute was much warmer/dryer than the short ride to work an hour and a half later!!

Happy longest night of the year fellow (northern) commuters!

[girlsubobscura]

Not usually warmer, but definitely less overcast and slushy. SD has been warmer than I was expecting though. This is my first visit here, we went to mount rushmore today.

[7rider]

At 32 F (0 C), this morning was definitely the warmest morning I've ridden all month. Or even SEEN all month! :eek:
Feet were toasty warm with my new LG shoe covers (http://www.louisgarneau.com/us-en/product/305541/1083077/Shoe_Covers/POWER_SEAL_SHOE_COVER). I wore DH's Castelli Radiation (http://www.realcyclist.com/castelli-radiation-vest-mens)jacket with it's reflective liner. Whoa. Way too warm. Thankfully, there are vent zips in the front of the jacket so I could shed some extra heat. The Radiation liner is going in a back pocket for the ride home. :p

[blackhillsbiker]

Colder this morning than I expected. Warmer this evening. Only one more commuting day until the holidays. We're going to Colorado for a visit. I haven't had more than 3 days off in a row (except for leg surgeries) in a long time. I'm excited! I'll miss my bikes. With 3 almost grown kids and a big dog, we'll have to take the van, which doesn't currently have bike-carrying capabilities. Oh well.

Happy Holidays!
Deb

[blackhillsbiker]

Sleet. Glare ice. I guess I'll catch a ride with DH today. :(

Deb

[pfunk12]

Last commute of the year for me. Since there is still packed snow and ice on the bikepath that I normally use, I decided to commute through Washington, DC this week. It is an intense, invigorating and somewhat stressful ride. Metro buses, crazy taxi drivers, jaywalking pedestrians, noise, etc. but I would rather be out there on my bike than in a car or on the metro.

Happy holidays, everyone!

[kmehrzad]

Way to go PFunk. Just be careful out there and stay safe!

Happy Holidays my TE friend. We've got to get together for a ride sometime in 2011.

[pfunk12]

On the afternoon commute home, I got blown over 2 lanes of traffic and into the median. :eek: Wow...those gusts were intense.

We will definitely get together for a ride!


Way to go PFunk. Just be careful out there and stay safe!

Happy Holidays my TE friend. We've got to get together for a ride sometime in 2011.

[radacrider]

Lovin' my new short commute (now 5 miles one way versus use to be 15 miles one way)!

Raining in portland, OR this week. Rained all day, fortunately not too cold. This was actually my first official commute ride to work and I tested just wearing my work clothes, except for shoes, under my rain gear. Love it!:D No having to change clothes once at work was so nice.

Lights worked great, rain gear was just right. The clean up, while a PITA, is not too bad and I would rather do that than sit in traffic way longer than is necessary during rush hour.

Certainly seem to see a lot less riders out there in this rain. :cool::rolleyes::p:D

[radacrider]

2 for 2 so far this week, should hit my 3 for 3 target.

A little damp :D this morning, and a bit cooler. Fortunately totally missed the big showers, wind and snow/rain mix that occured early afternoon.

Did get in a couple extra miles because I biked up to my doctor appointment this afternoon. Argh, my weight went up again, :(:eek:

The ride home was dry, so my rain gear left me a bit overheated. Gonna have to work on the ideal layering so I stay warm, but don't sweat creating a moving sauna. :p

Definitely seems to be a lot fewer bike commuters or my work schedule is totally off from their work schedules.

[Atlas]

After a long break (vacation then illness) I'm finally back on my bike for my first winter commuting. It's really fun so far. I don't have a long commute and it's 90% residential streets. I actually wish it would snow more. It's 40ºF here today and that's just too hot for the end of December. I love winter riding, it's so quiet and peaceful where I am.

[out_spokin']

Welcome back, Atlas, and Happy New Year everyone!!

I'm 1 for 1 for the week -- today ended up as a telecommute day and we're off til next year. :cool:

Good thing I believed the forecasts for once -- when I started working it was sunny but right now there's several inches of snow and times with almost white out conditions. Winter! The biking might have been fun but the big bus ride in the middle woulda been yucky. A safe holiday to all!

[radacrider]

Met my goal of commuting all work days this week = 3 for 3. Mother Nature and Ol' Man Winter blessed us in PDX with dry weather. Moderately cool this morning, much cooler - 30 degrees - this afternoon.

Just so nice being out on the bike, just enjoyable.

My only wish or change? They made capris that were thicker from knee to upper thigh. Thighs were a bit chillled. Calfs fine with my SmartWool cross-country ski socks - love 'em.:)

Wore a work skirt over my capris, that was fun, just had to change shoes when I got to work. Then I discovered the skirt is not colorfast and had black marks on the front part of my white Specialized Ruby :confused: Lot's of scrubbing got 95% of it out.:( Lessened learned, stick to colorfast materials.

Happy new year all.:D:p

[kfergos]

I never thought I'd say this but -- *Sigh* I'm missing commuting! I joined the commuter challenge, but my internship ended on November 19, and ever since, it's been all recreational riding, with a few errands thrown in. I miss the consistency of riding day in and day out, rain or shine, no questions asked. Even when I go out for a good recreational ride, it just isn't the same as a commute. Guess I'm just a commuter at heart. :o

[Melalvai]

My last report was before the holidays. Other than traveling, and that the gym was closed, I kept to my training schedule pretty well. Even when we were traveling I was glad to go for walks.

I'm back at the gym and I have information about how to work out without injuring my shoulder. It is the rowing machine that does it, and the solution is to a) keep my elbows in tight and b) go with the very lightest weight (25 pds) for several weeks before trying the next highest (40 pds) again.

I'm really enjoying spin class-- but my knee kept threatening to rebel. My spin instructor said to ride knock-kneed during the sprints! It looks funny but he says it stabilizes the joint. Since it felt the same way it did on my ride to Omaha (744 miles in 10 days), this is useful advice for more than just spin class. I'm riding around town knock-kneed now.

I've been riding my bike this week. I'm still going to spin class anyway, I tried it since I wasn't riding my bike for a while because of the anxiety, and I liked it, so I'll keep going. It feels silly to ride my bike to spin class but it feels even sillier to drive to spin class.

[radacrider]

Sticking to my goal of bike commuting as my primary way to get to work since our move (6 for 6, 3 for 3 for 2011). Today was the first time my son joined me on the ride home from his school (school to our house is a bit over 4 miles). Have to say, it was nice to have some company.

Today was warmer than it has been, though here in Portland, OR, it meant rain, too. Light rain for the commute in and commute home, thankfully missed the few showers during the middle of the day.

Riding in to work and when I was almost there came by another cyclist walking his bike. I asked if everything was okay. He said, yes, he just had a crash - fortunately slow speed one on the Eastbank Esplanade, I suspect he rode across a metal cover that may have had some residual ice.

Tomorrow will be testing my new Ortlieb Front Roller Classics (on the rear). They are narrower than my single (reduce my heel contact) and allow me to balance the left to right weight distribution.

Happy commuting everyone!

[7rider]

Since today was commute #4 of a 5-day work week, I've run out of wool cycling socks. They're all in the laundry and we haven't done a load yet this week of bike stuff. :o
So, I pulled out an old pair of thick, wool ski socks that I no longer wear, because they're too thick for my ski boots. Boy, did they work great! And, I was toasty warm all the way up to my knees! :D :cool:
I think those old socks just found a new life.

[radacrider]

Nice, 7rider. I've been using the SmartWool cross-country/ski socks in the colder temps, love 'em.

[Tri Girl]

4/5 this week for me. Could have been 5 of 5 but I thought our Wed. meeting was going to be later than it was. I don't mind the dark riding to work (drivers are friendly), but dark on the way home scares me (drivers are more impatient).
Next week we're supposed to have snow and rain- I'll see how many I get in.

[pfunk12]

4 for 4 this week. After being off several days during the holidays and several early departures from work prior to the holidays, I was surprised to see how much daylight we have gained in the evenings.
And TriGirl, I completely agree with you. Drivers in the morning seem to be more patient and there aren't as many but in the evening, they are definitely more impatient and also, the roads are packed.

[out_spokin']

2 for 2 this week, I'm at a happily surprising 80% for the winter so far. A mild start weather-wise helped, but this week was definitely winter - I had to take some detours yesterday with still-icy streets and an icy & rutted MUT.

I too noticed a bit lighter sky - a nice crescent moon in a midnight blue sky over the black silhouette of the mountains was yesterday evening's reward.

Yay for a renewal for wool socks!! But I gotta say, one of the things I love about my wool is that I have no qualms pulling them out of the hamper and reusing them if the laundry is delayed. ;)

And yeah, evening drivers are worse. I've happily noticed though that since installing new batteries in my SpokeLits I'm getting their attention (and thus they're not rolling through stop signs and such in my path) more easily again. Yay!

[radacrider]

5 for 5 this week, with the added bonus that my 14 year old son is enjoying the biking escort to school, 3 days/week. He was thrilled as he can now ride hands free (with a little coaching :D).

I must say, it is fun to have company for part of my ride. Home to school is about 30 minutes, then I continue to work for another 15.

I've got a few coworkers to continue logging their commutes into last year's BTA Bike Commute Challenge trip log (no contest, but you can record your commute days). Been fun to see the numbers and all.

5 Commutes, 100% commute rate, 65 miles (for January 2011).

[blackhillsbiker]

Only 2.5 this week. Monday was a half because I almost didn't get to work with all the snowdrifts. I decided not to face them in the dark on my way home. Yesterday I felt awful. Today the wind was crazy! It was blowing at 30mph this morning, with gusts up to 45. I'm bummed. The weather is warmer, the streets and paths are dry, and I wanted to ride the Felt instead of my Dew. Sigh.

Deb

[7rider]

4 for 5 for me this week.
I don't think I do that many commutes during the summer.
I think this will slow down, however, if/when I sign up to do Pikes Peek (http://pikespeek10k.com/) - a 10K run on April 17th. I'll have to start up with the training again - running more than once a week. :rolleyes:

[Melalvai]

5 for 5. I guess that means I'm back on my bike!

I still like spin class but I felt really silly biking to spin class. But not as silly as if I drove!

I probably overtrained if anything this week. I got back to the gym and talked to someone about how I keep injuring my shoulder. She said to put the rowing machine on the lowest setting (25 pds) for several weeks. For the purpose of meeting someone who is active in bike/ped stuff, I met up with a running group in addition to spin class. Everyone in the running group was a very fit male except me. But the person I was there to meet ran slower with me, by "slower" I mean I could keep up and occasionally gasp out a reply. After the run I wrote down everything I could remember that he told me, including two more names to add to the list.

[Rebecca19804]

I feel I'm joining the party a little late... but better late than never, eh? :cool:

Christmas Day was my first day back on the bike since my knee surgery in October. Over the holidays, I pootled around a few miles every 2-3 days. Last Tuesday was my first day back to work and yes, I cycled in! (It's 9.65 miles each way.) Then I did something stupid at work and injured my knee a bit, so wasn't able to cycle home til Wednesday evening and I 'cheated' and took the train part way.

So this morning I saw my physiotherapist for the first time since 20th December. She is very pleased with how I'm doing. She's ratcheted up several of my exercises, just enough to make me realise how easy they had become! And we have agreed my cycling goal for the rest of the month is to cycle into work Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with train assist home each evening. That'll give me about 15 miles a day, 3 days a week, with Tuesdays and Thursdays as 'rest' days.

So this is my Fall/Winter 2010/2011 Commuter Challenge, officially started. FINALLY! :)

[Tri Girl]

So this is my Fall/Winter 2010/2011 Commuter Challenge, officially started. FINALLY! :)

YAY!!!! Better late than never. ;)
Glad to hear you're back at it- I'm sure you missed it like crazy!

[Geonz]

Oh, I'm chiming in late, too -- but I decided 2011 would have less Facebook and more Other Stuff. Today I took the bus; 3-4 inches of teh white stuff. I've got studded tyres on the Gazelle, but cars slide too and now that I've figured otu the bus I'd rather do that than pick my way along saying to myself sternly "Pedal! Pedal! The snow will not reach up and grab your bike and hurl it to the ground! Pedal!" It's good for my character, since it's one of the few things in life that make me anxious and I deal with anxious people all the time, but... I like missing it :)
The driver was neat this a.m., helping people get to the destinations what with the snow tangling up schedules a bit. We've also got a reasonably good online thing that gives estimated arrival times based on GPS as opposed to the schedule.

[girlsubobscura]

5 for 5 two weeks running.

[Tri Girl]

0 for 5 this week. :(
I was sick two days, but had to go into work anyway, and the other three days included ice and below zero temps. I'm semi-hard core, but not THAT hard-core. ;)

Great job to everyone who got out there this week! :)

[pfunk12]

3 for 3 this week with a very interesting commute home last night. Because of the little bit of snow we got on Tuesday, I knew the bike path would be covered with snow and ice but I decided to try it and take a chance. I saw on the trail website that the DC side was clear because they plow it. But once I got to the Maryland border...wow. Needless to say, it was interesting riding the Madone (with skinny tires) on ice and snow but I was surprised at how well it handled it. I was thrilled when I got to the one short section that Maryland did plow and after that, I was back on the roads.

[radacrider]

Continuing at 100% bike commuting - I've seen rain, cloudy and warm, windy and cold, drizzle, showers everything but snow/ice.

[blackhillsbiker]

4 for 5. We had an Epiphany Dinner to go to tonight right after work. I wasn't sure I'd have time to get home, cleaned up and dressed up before we had to be there. Pity, since it was a nice day and we have snow in the forecast for the next few days.

Deb

[Melalvai]

Walked 3 days and biked 2. I was glad I walked the extra day as the roads were MUCH better on Thursday than on Wednesday. I LOVE my monkey lights & downlow glow!!

The training goals were mainly met. Perhaps I'm still overdoing it a bit, my knee is handling spin class much better but my hip/ inner thigh started complaining. My shoulders still aren't thrilled about the weight machines so I'm about to give up on those entirely. At least swimming is still going swimmingly. And I have plans to run tomorrow.

[Rebecca19804]

1/3 this week. :(

Think I did too much last weekend - my hamstrings got really tight and sore. I don't normally suffer from hamstring problems, so I just eased off on cycling and reverted to the previous (easier) versions of my physio exercises. Focused on doing all my stretches slowly and smoothly and holding them a little longer, especially the ones for hamstrings and calves. Woke up yesterday morning feeling massively better so here's hoping I can cycle more this coming week.

[tangentgirl]

Finally got over the superflu and got on my bike yesterday. First time this year - woohoo! Decided to work out the bike route to my new job. Found a great shortcut that lets me avoid a major street that would have sucked to ride on. Stopped at the LBS for a test ride, got some lunch and a delicious cerveza, rode back home, all in all, an excellent day.

Going to try to ride to work 1-3 days a week. Technically, 3 days a week gives me 1 day to drive in with clothes and 1 to work from home, so there ya go. This week I'll ride in either Tuesday or Wednesday. Yay!

[Ambikes]

I've been doing pretty well with making my commuting goals even though we're going through a brutally cold spell in the Canadian prairies. I have only driven to campus once in the new year. I have worked from home a couple days more than absolutely necessary, though.

At this point, I'm feeling pretty proud of myself because commuting has been much easier for me this winter compared to last. Overall, my fitness is better, and I'm getting the hang of dressing for the extreme cold we have here. This morning, the temperature was -18F with a -33F windchill, and I had no idea it was quite that cold until I checked the weather when I got to work. Granted, the wind was a partial tailwind and that makes a huge difference when it's as cold as it gets here.

[Geonz]

11 below is my personal record for commuting in... but I am also on the bus line, and days like tomorrow which may have slick roads (it's right around freezing now) then it doesn't make sense for me to be on the roads if I don't have to be. However, the predicted slime is taking its sweet time to get here and it's above freezing now, so it may be quite ridable after all :)

[katluvr]

So my New Years resolution was to ride to work. I live only 5 miles away. So for X-mas my old road bike was tuned up and I got a night pannier.
We have had cold weather (for Florida) and other things so I had not yet (until today) road to work.
Today I just had some "office time" so I was not going in til late and could be VERY casual. So I did it! It was very foggy/misty, wetter than I expected. I wore a jacket to keep moisture off and was therefore a bit warm when I arrived. I need to really steamline what I need to pack and organize it. Today I just wore regular steet clothes, no bike shorts or padding. I mean it is only 5 miles! So far so good.
Now how to do this when I really need to work and be in nicer clothes. I could pack clothes or maybe one day take extra to work and have there. Hair is a bit of a mess today, but it was very moist out.
Point is....I ROAD my BIKE to WORK! Yippee! Felt great!:D
K

[out_spokin']

WAY TO GO, katluvr! It's such a big deal to take that first step. You'll totally figure out the change of clothes and hair, just try different things and you'll find what works best for you. I started on casual days like you, and then on another non-meeting but not casual day took the next step, and so on. If you have a place to leave a set of clothes I found that made it really easy -- I knew I had to drive some days, so brought the clothes to the office for the bike days. Some people have a whole extra set of hair stuff (dryer, gel, whatever) at the office...experiment!

As for some of you other hardy souls, keep it going! I'm kind of bummed that I decided to telecommute when we were due to have negative temps with major windchill on top of packed snow/ice last week. My record is 9F, and I haven't tackled more than an inch or so of fresh powder before. I did break out the studded tires though later in the week and felt awesome, so now I know I can do that part. And I'm certain I have the clothes gear to be happy around zero...I think I'll get my chance again before the end of this winter.

As for this week, 0 for 1 so far. My commuter is in pieces in the other room. My overhaul got interrupted by house problems...better get in my work clothes and figure out what I need from the LBS tomorrow!

[tangentgirl]

Rode in today. Holy fog, batman! Luckily the foggy part was also on the beach trail (mostly), sans cars.

I'm one of those folks who has an extra set of stuff at the office. I bring clothes in earlier in the week. We have a shower here, which makes it easy. Although today I discovered that the shower could use some cleaning. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either.

[tangentgirl]

Walked 3 days and biked 2. .

Melalvai, you're back on your bike! Yay!

[Melalvai]

Melalvai, you're back on your bike! Yay!
Yes! The positive cognition stuff ("I am safe I am loved" repeat 10X) really helped. In fact now I don't even feel anxious when there's a vehicle coming up behind me but I still recite the mantra because it is a habit!

My report for this week, I'm a little fuzzy on what I actually did this week because I've been taken up with this petition and media attention. But I did bike, even today with new snow. Well, I walked in the morning and biked in the afternoon/night.

For my training goals, I blew that off a little, partly because I've been awfully tired and partly because last week I pulled some tiny little hip flexor muscle during spin class. (I had no idea spin class could be so dangerous.) I did go to spin class anyway but I took it easy on the sprints. I ran on Sunday--a 90 minute run on a trail in the snow! I wore my vibrams and as long as I kept my pace up my toes were toasty!

As I was writing this I realized I didn't really blow off training: I also ran on Saturday, and ice-skated with my in-laws' 5 kids on Monday, and spin class Tuesday. I only skipped today & yesterday.

In fact I was going to report that I did achieve my other goal (to take it easy when sick or injured), but as I reflect it doesn't really sound like I did that. But it feels like I've been taking it easy!

[out_spokin']

Yeah, great to see you back on the bike, Melalvai, and glad the positive cognition stuff has worked well for you!

I'm gonna try a mini-positive-intention chant for the weekend: "I will finish my overhaul and rock the commute next week!" ;)

I was 0/3 this week with my bike completely (and I mean completely!) taken apart for a super-overhaul. I wanted to inspect everything for any damage or replacement needs. The good news is that other than replacing the usual cables/housing/bearings/chain, the bike overall is in good shape. The bad news is that I'm never as quick on this stuff as I imagine I can be!

I thought I could finish Wed but other stuff came up and my LBS guy strongly suggested I re-chase my bottom bracket threads given the rust present in the BB shell. Since I hope to get the BB out again :rolleyes:, I'm going to take his advice. It's fun to do my own work, but I have HATED the driving needed when not on the bike. Next time I'm going to plan better and/or set up one of the other bikes temporarily w/ lights/rack during overhaul time!

[blackhillsbiker]

Not my best week. Partway to work, I missed a corner on solid black ice on Monday. Epic wipeout! My bike and I limped back home. Tuesday and Wednesday I was too sore to ride. Thursday I rode in and noticed some "not quite rightness" about my bike, so I left it at the LBH. He finished it up late Friday afternoon so DH brought it home for me – his car has the bike rack. I'm hoping to do better next week.

Deb

[pfunk12]

Sorry to hear about your wipeout, Deb and hope you're feeling better. I was 3 for 3 last week. Two commutes in the city because of snow and ice on the bike path but then back on the bike path for the last commute of the week. A nice, quiet week.

[Rebecca19804]

Well done, katluvr and Melalvai!

blackhillsbiker, hope you're okay! Black ice is so scary. Touch wood, haven't encountered it yet on the bike.

I was 2/3 this week. On Wednesday (bike day no. 2) there were no trains running in the evening so I cycled home, on top of the morning commute. So surely that's 2 for the price of 1?! :D The knee wasn't quite up to that though, so I didn't attempt Friday (bike day no. 3). I did the miles on Saturday though, so all in all, very pleased with how things are going with the knee and everything else as I slowly regain my fitness.

I'm off to Ireland next Friday so planning to commute Tuesday and Thursday instead/only.

[indigoiis]

I haven't ridden in a month - too chicken with a slick of snow on our bike roads and icy conditions on the big roads - and no bike path to speak of (under a foot of the crunchy old snow.) Running instead. I miss my bike, though.

[oceanwaters1]

This winter I started commuting to work and I love it!! It makes my day so wonderful and stress free. I live in southeastern North Carolina and it has been so cold. But, with the proper layering, I have had no problems. I commute 3 days right now, and I am working up to a 4 day commute, using Fridays as my drive to work day to do errands etc. I have ridden in the wind, 20 degree weather in the mornings and light rain. My commute is 4.5 miles one way. I love being car free. Not to mention the morning quiet before the world awakens is amazing. You see things you don't see when your driving. Any one who has been considering commuting should give a try. I feel great, helping the environment, and keeping costs down by not using my car.

[Tri Girl]

good for you, oceanwaters!!! :D
I, too, love the morning commute when it's so quiet and still. That's my absolute favorite time!!! I hope you keep enjoying your commute. Plus, it's kinda fun when people say surprised "you RODE today??"
But then, I sometimes get the "jerks" who will ask "what- you didn't ride today" when it's snowing or sleeting or like one day last week when the wind chill was below zero and I was sick. :rolleyes:

[radacrider]

Been a while, was without any internet the past 5 days -- withdrawals anyone?

My winter commuting is right on track, 5/5 last week, running 2/2 so far this week. Been riding my road bike (Radac) cuz it is just more enjoyable to ride and the weather has not been that bad. I liken it to the "If I had my life to live over again" poem ... ride the good stuff.:D

[blackhillsbiker]

My LBH restored my commuter bike's zen. :) My bruises are fading. This week has been warm and nice. I almost took the Felt to work today. We still have a little ice in the mornings, though, and some puddles from snow melt. I guess I have to be patient a little longer. This week is 4 for 4.

Deb

[oceanwaters1]

Well, the goal was 4/5 days to commute, I did 3/5....next week....

[oceanwaters1]

Lovin to commute to work everyday possible. Still working up to 4 days a week, if the weather will give me a chance! Can anyone relate to that? It's so much fun, addictive, and I am also finding creative ways to get my errands done by bike, that includes bringing home a rotiserrie chicken for dinner! I am fortunate that everything I need is right by work. Anyone else doing the same things? How goes it?:o

[blackhillsbiker]

0 for 5 this week. Sigh.

Deb

[pfunk12]

2 for 2 this week. I have to commute on DC's streets since the trail that I normally take is still covered with snow and ice. The best part of my commute this week happened on the way home today. I was behind a car at a traffic light in downtown DC. A little girl (about 10) in the back of the car turned around and looked at me. She turned back around. She turned around again, looked at me and gave me a thumbs up. It made my week. :)

[Melalvai]

I biked before the storm, walked until the roads were clear, and biked today. My training definitely has taken a bit of a break but I'm not too worried about that, because I had 2 good runs this weekend, and all the walking I did was not trivial.

The first run was a 5K. I placed in my age category, which was one goal I had for the next 3 years while it is still easy. (When you hit 40, the competition goes up, apparently.) I found the other lady in my category and told her "Congratulations on placing 2nd in our age category!" She looked bewildered.
"But I was near the end."
"Well, there were only 2 of us." She laughed and congratulated me on my 1st place.

More importantly than placing, I ran it in 26:38, about a minute faster than my wildest dreams. (Not that I dreamed about this much, or gave it much thought at all.) I was VERY pleased with my time.

The next day I did a trail run with the local multisport group. The powdered snow was like running through sand. We go 45 minutes out and turn around, so overall we sort of finish together. I could barely maintain a jog at the end. When one guy passed me, then stopped running and walked, I walked with him, and possibly we were walking faster than I had been jogging a moment before.

I did that in my vibram five-fingered KSO Trek's. There are muscles in my ankles and the tops of my feet that I didn't know about. Those ached. Worst was my hip that I injured a couple weeks ago. I thought it had healed up, but it ached a whole lot.

With those two runs behind me, I didn't worry too much about missing spin class. I've been better about keeping up on my core exercises too. With all this walking on snowy and icy roads, I've slipped and caught myself so many times it's amazing I haven't fallen or wrenched my back--I attribute this to a stronger core. So I had some motivation to get back to my core exercises!

[pfunk12]

4 for 4 this week. Not too much excitement during the commutes. It was extremely windy on Wednesday and I got blown over the double yellow line on the road. Fortunately, no cars were coming. Yesterday morning's commute was very, very cold. My water bottle froze during my 15 mile ride. Looking forward to what looks like warmer temps next week.

Congrats on your running, Melalvai!

[out_spokin']

Wow, it's been too long...congrats on the running Melalvai, and awesome story, pfunk12! I love love love moments like that on the bike.

So after I was almost done with my overhaul I realized that my shifting problem wasn't just the cables & housing -- my rear derailleur was toast. Darn. So another delay meant 0 for 2 the week before last, then I was on a work trip last week. Tuesday was a snow day...but FINALLY yesterday and today I got the studded tire on the front, bundled up well, and rejoined the commuter ranks! :D

Yesterday I tied my 9 degree F record (kinda secretly hoped that it was going to be colder :rolleyes:) and just felt overjoyed despite the chill. This morning I was on a complete high - the bike is working perfectly, alpenglow on the mountains, the sun is coming up distinctly earlier...and had just enough time for a reward of an espresso before jumping on the bus. Of course the ice/snow/slush means the pristine bike got re-baptized by winter muck, but it'll be way easier to wipe down with the fresh wax & new chain. YAY winter commuting!!!

[radacrider]

Rolling along at 100% bike commuting. We've been pretty fortunate in the Pacific NW, almost balmy compared to other parts of the US.:)

I've switched back to the SUB and panniers as I am dealing with hip nerve issues since somewhere I whacked out the pelvis. My chiro has been great, I am doing some additional physical therapy and will hopefully be back 100% in not too long.

I told her the time I experience the least amount of pain is when riding. I cannot sit (any leg to hip angle) for more than a few minutes.:eek:

Friends said I should get a bike seat chair for work :D We joked maybe work would let me bring my trainer in and mount my bike for working at my desk. As it is, I have to either kneel on a cushion or stand.

[7rider]

4 for 5 this week (assuming my ride home this evening is completed incident-free :cool:). I tried doing one-legged pedaling drills on my ride home yesterday. My legs feel it - from riding 4 days, not so much b/c of the drills. I am so out of shape. :o

Today, it was 50 degrees (10 C) at 6 a.m. It's supposed to get a bit over 70 (21 C) this afternoon. I'm quite confident I will have too heavy of clothing on (my lightest LS jersey) and may just be wearing my baselayer (a tech t-) for the ride home. It's been such a cold winter, I have forgotten how to dress for mild days. :p

[pfunk12]

4 for 4 this week. You're right about the weather, 7. It's crazy. Just the other morning I was wearing my PI Amfib tights and this morning I was in shorts and my leg warmers. Last night I commuted home in my shorts and short sleeve jersey. But...I'm not complaining. :)

[Tri Girl]

3 for 5 this week. Wish I'd done all 5 because the weather was amazing, but after the bike crash on Tuesday, I drove on Wednesday. Next week I'm aiming for all 5 days.

[out_spokin']

Glad you're back at it TriGirl, and hope the road rash etc. is totally gone soon!

3 for 3 this week, SO. HAPPY. BIKE. COMMUTING!!! Back into my goal range too!

Today was especially great - got to leave work early and do an extra-multi-modal trip. Work to light rail to bike path to meet a CO TEer and get a saddle for the next bike build, then biked back (uphill! headwind! extra miles!) to the light rail to the bus to then bike home -- a really nice guy caught me on my first hill and we rode together and chatted almost all the way home. Most excellent.

Oh and no more headlight needed in the a.m., really only about 1/2 the way home, too. I am certain we're still due for some big snow, but the light is returning and I'm betting the worst (best??) of the cold is behind us! :cool:

[DebW]

3 for 5 this week for me, because I needed the car straight from work on Mon and Tue. It's been so warm the last couple of days, which has made for very wet roads.

[7rider]

Today was the first ride (home) in which I didn't wear a jacket.
Mid-50s, sunny, but with a cool North wind. LS jersey with a LS base, and I was fine. Winter jacket was rolled up in a ball and unceremoniously stuffed into my pannier! :cool:

Stealing this from BikeJournal.com's Commuter Century posting. Thought it was very cute....
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LcudaQU3mko/S_AmawpuPYI/AAAAAAAAC9s/qTMHjn_bNVs/s1600/itsokay.gif

[Tri Girl]

that blog is great!!! I just looked through the whole thing. I'll be following it for sure! :)

[Melalvai]

I got out of the habit of my weekly report on here so I'll sum up.

Commuting isn't a problem anymore. When the roads were bad I went on foot. I want to get studded tires for next winter. But if we move, the next place is just over a mile away from my work so I'll probably walk all the time.

My take-it-easy-when-I-need has been good. I haven't needed it as much, but there was one day in particular. I wasn't sick, I was super emotional (and for a change it wasn't hormones). I finally decided I could just allow myself the day to be crazy and irrational, not demand much from myself, and the next day I was fine. We'll see if I continue to do as well since I have 4 grant deadlines in the next 2 months.

My training goals have been going pretty well. I didn't end up sticking to as strict a regimen as I had originally envisioned. I took advantage of other opportunities as they came up, because the social aspect of training & exercise is more of a motivation for me than the strict plan. So if there was spin class, I'd go. If there was a group run, I'd go. If I'd done quite a lot of exercise, maybe doubling up because I swam AND went to spin class, I'd take a day off.

I heard a speaker who said that there are 4 common approaches to exercise: social, logical, default, and organized. Depending on your personality one or more of these approaches will be more successful than you. Logical is typically a more male approach, a "Just do it" where you get in, do your 30 minutes, and get out. It tends to be the opposite of social where you see someone you often run with and one of you says "Hey, want to run after lunch?" because just seeing the other person reminds him of the run. Default is like me, where I bicycle for transportation and it doesn't even occur to me that there is another way. Organized is where you get it in your calendar (and you're the type who follows your calendar).

It's a combination of default & social that drives me to exercise.

[Melalvai]

Well, winter is pretty much over, and I totally screwed it up right at the end. Every time I ran, my calves were sore for 3 days after. Since I was running twice a week, my calves were NOT sore for about 1 day each week. I kept thinking this should start to get better, that eventually I should be able to run without having sore calves for the next three days.

Finally in frustration I ran 3 days in a row.

In retrospect that wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. My calves were very sore and I stayed off them the rest of the week.

By Sunday my calves felt fine. My left ankle was a little sore but nothing bad. So I joined the Sunday noon group and ran again. For an hour.

When I ended the run I knew I had made a big mistake. It's Thursday now, and I'm trying to be thankful (and hopeful) that I didn't permanently damage something. I have not run, I biked one day because that didn't seem to hurt, but by the end of the day I realized I was doing all the pedaling with my right leg, and I had the arch of my left foot on the pedal, so that the ankle wouldn't be flexing & extending with the pedal stroke. I'm SO tired of sitting!

Wouldn't you know it, the pool closed a couple weeks ago for window replacements and hasn't opened back up because they're trying to fix a leak. :( So I can't swim, can't go for walks, but I can sure feel sorry for myself!!

I know you are supposed to ramp up with the vibrams and I didn't really do that. I jumped right into hour and longer runs. I did go for a couple shorter runs but I got impatient. What's the point of running for 20 or 30 minutes? Well, that's 20 or 30 minutes longer than I will run all this week and probably next. (I only hope it takes just 1 or 2 weeks.)

The other thing was, when I first got the shoes I ran with a slap-slap-slap sound. I asked someone about it and he said the shoes train you to run on the balls of your feet to avoid the slap-slap-slap. So I was consciously trying to run on the balls of my feet and that's pretty much when the ankles went. I'll stick to slap-slap-slap from now on.

Since I started training in September, I've injured my right shoulder, my left shoulder, a tiny little muscle inside my hip (adductor maybe?), my left knee started complaining again, then my calves were constantly sore, and now the ankles. (The left one is really bad but the right ankle hurts a little too.)

I have a new goal for the spring: no more injuries. I'm confident I can finish the triathlon, and that's all I care about. I don't need to do it fast. I have no intention (or likelihood) of placing. I am done with the "training" mindset. From now on, my own pace, my own distance, and I probably should avoid running with groups.

I've had a lot of time to think about this while not running...while sitting around home waiting for supper because my ankle is so sore at the end of the day...my family is so sweet!

I've also gotten lots of progress on the 4 grants due between now & May 2! :eek:

[out_spokin']

Here's to injury recovery and injury-free spring, Melalvai! Continue to be gentle with yourself and find the mindsets that work!

The past two weeks have been mostly travel-filled, so not as much commuting. Which means its nice for me to still have another week of the challenge to help give me the good inertia!

I got 100% for February, helps make up for the setbacks in January. With a little prep and some luck with the weather I should be in good shape for the whole fall/winter goals.

Since I got into Ride the Rockies (412 miles, 6 days, mid-June!!) my commuting might occasionally take a backseat to training, but sure glad I stayed on the bike over the winter!

[girlsubobscura]

I've been off the thread for a while, but have been( mostly) maintaining the commute everyday. I had one week of bus riding during the big snow dump because I was taking my daughter to camp two miles away, and she's too new on a bike for snow riding.

Melalvai, sorry to hear about the injury. I think I read an article in running magazine about vibrams and freerunning shoes vs the heavily cushioned ones, and I think the take home message was that if you are a heel strike runner vibrams will cause a lot more damage than if you are a ball of the foot runner. So they are not for everyone. good luck finding a stride/shoe combination that doesn't cause you grief.

[Melalvai]

Winter is officially over in a few days so I guess we'll be going back to the regular "How was your commute today?" thread. So I thought I'd wrap up.

My ankle is healing. I ended up with a boot that I was supposed to wear for 2 weeks. I wore it all weekend and continued wearing it even though my ankle was no longer hurting all the time, because my ankle would get tired. Yesterday I went all day without it and felt pretty good.

I feel completely comfortable ignoring the doctor on this one because I'm collaborating on a study of joint injury to find out whether immobility or exercise is recommended. Opinion is currently divided on that. So much of what we assume is "evidence based medicine" is actually nothing more than tradition. Without "evidence" I have to rely on my best judgment.

My best judgment right now includes being very careful, being slow & patient about getting back into training.

That was a digression. Anyway I've been bike commuting (again not "supposed" to, but since it doesn't hurt I do it). The pool is STILL closed--leaks repaired this summer didn't hold and are being repaired again. :( I'll wait a few more days before I take up walking, and then start slow and small with the running. Spin class and long bike rides are still out; while a 5 mile round trip commute doesn't hurt I don't know if a longer distance would and so I'll work back up to longer distances in the hopes of preventing re-injury or new injuries.

I'm not convinced yet that vibrams are wrong for me. Someone told me they only work for 1/3 of the population. Assuming that they really do mimic barefoot that's like saying 1/3 of the population is born wearing shoes. I believe this is like all my other injuries--too much too fast. So I'm going to try again with them, starting with walking and slowly, slowly work my way up to running long distances on the balls of my feet.

Happy "fair" weather cycling and see you all next fall!

[out_spokin']

Welcome to the first day of spring. Thanks to everyone who participated in the challenge!

I got pretty close to my goal - 72.5% of my office days vs. my original goal of 75%. I'm happy because I improved from last year, and was out a couple times in conditions that would have stopped me in the past. And just love that I've committed to year-round commuting...it's such a joy!

Oh yeah and I saw lots of animals, enjoyed holiday lighting, and saw the first flowers of spring from the bike. No puppy petting, but it's just starting to be puppy season. :)

It's been great checking in with you all...happy 'easy' season (for the northern hemisphere folks that is) and many happy commutes!