Shooting for 7500

[lph]

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

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...

[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. Besides, we all need to take a little break from our bikes every once and a while! 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

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 )
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" 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