Fall and Winter Commuter Challenge!

[ms pepperpot]

I cycled in this morning - thanks everyone for the encouragement.

It was quite pleasant then, now I'm looking out of my office window at the rain, it's getting dark and I need to head home quite soon. I have to cycle home though as I'm not in the office tomorrow and I'll need my bike.

[SouthernBelle]

Ah well. They don't seem to come in 26s anyway. I did spend more than that on my roadbike tires, even from biketiresdirect.

[ms pepperpot]

I have asked for reflective walls on my new bike and that will have 26 wheels. I think they'll be Schwalbe marathons. Maybe try looking at some of those.

[Grog]

This morning it was pouring rain and I realized that my sweet partner had ridden to work wearing my booties. A lot of my gear had been left at my locker at work (long story) and I just wasn't going to ride in the rain.

I went to the bus stop (with a bag full of clothes to leave in my locker for the week) and waited...

And waited...

And waited.

Two full buses went right by the half-dozen people waiting there with me.

After almost half an hour of waiting, I decided I would work from home and walked back. Now I couldn't spend that much time just trying to get to work.

Meanwhile, dozens of bike commuters happily rode in the rain on the nearby bike route. I was so envious.

You won't catch me trying to get on the bus on a rainy day again!!

[ms pepperpot]

I think commuting may need to go on hold for 2 weeks, unless it's definitely not going to rain.

I started home this evening in the rain, and soon found out that the slightly dodgy breaks on my dad's bike (which I'm borrowing at the moment) don't work at all in the rain. It was clearly going to be too dangerous to cycle all the way in the dark, rain and relatively heavy traffic.

I stopped at some friends who live very close to my work, hoping to leave the bike there and get the tube the rest of the way. unfortunately they were out and i didn't want to leave the bike locked up on the street so i ended up walking and pushing the bike 6 miles back home (including stopping off at the super market as I'd already planned). I finally got home, rather bedgraggled, at 9pm.

I'm going to start a countdown until 4th november when I get my new bike - then I'll be back cycling everyday I promise.

[Biciclista]

i have to leave work in 10 minutes and i hear thunder and the sky is filled with big black clouds!!!!

eeeek!

okay, 1 hour later. It is POURING. It started to rain less than a mile from home. I barely got wet. . . this time.

[bikerHen]

I have asked for reflective walls on my new bike and that will have 26 wheels. I think they'll be Schwalbe marathons. Maybe try looking at some of those.

I've got 26" Schwalbe Marathons on my LHT. Great tires! They are a little on the heavy side but, I've yet to have a flat, which makes up for the extra weight in my book. The reflective side wall is very visible at night and is holding up well going into their second winter. I got them at bike tires direct. bikerHen

[SouthernBelle]

Ms. P, What kind of brakes do you have on that bike? Sometimes a piece of sandpaper or a file used to rough up the surface of old brakepads helps.

[out_spokin']

I'll post a picture this weekend per your request! I got the Schwalbe's after finding some good testimonials on this site and others. I'm running the 26" x 1.5 slicks, cost me just over $30 each at my LBS. They've got a nice Kevlar belt - there's a Marathon Plus super flat-stopper version but in this climate I don't need THAT much protection, but I'm doing enough side-street night riding that I really wanted the reflective stripes.

[bikerHen]

I only got 4/5 this week. Alarm malfunction. It went off an hour late on a day I do my early ride to the gym before work. It totally threw me off for the day. Although my sister took half a day off, I left work early and we did a late afternoon 20 mile ride. bikerHen

[ms pepperpot]

Ms. P, What kind of brakes do you have on that bike? Sometimes a piece of sandpaper or a file used to rough up the surface of old brakepads helps.

very old caliper brakes - there's a good chance the brake pads have never been changed and the bike's over 15 years old. i've just given them a bit of a sand and will see how they go, but I'm a bit weary of using this bike if it looks like rain.

I have a new motivation to try though. The brooks saddle I've bought for my new bike has just arrived. I'd like to temporarily put it on this bike so I can start breaking it in for the next couple of weeks until new bike day.

[kfergos]

I admit it. This week I wimped out one day and had my husband pick me up from work. In my defense, he'd be going right by my work anyway -- we go to a church thing Tuesday nights that takes us in the opposite direction of my house. Normally I ride for the challenge, since it's hillier than my normal commute, but this Tuesday I just didn't feel it. So...

Monday - 2/2
Tuesday - 1/2
Wednesday - 2/2
Thursday - 2/2
Friday - 2/2 (First below freezing commute! 29 degrees F when I left, about 30 minutes late, at 6:50)

And I ended up getting one of the Armadillos with reflective side walls, not because I couldn't wait but because I got a nice slice in my rear tire that I felt required a replacement tire (as some of you who commented on my tire-replacement question know!).