I have been bike commuting every day I can when I'm in Austin (about half my time right now), which ends up being about 9 days out of 10, plus biking everywhere else we go within 5 miles. I was home in eastern WA for 2 weeks around Thanksgiving (with a weekend in Seattle), and it was in the 40s, down into the 30s, maybe 15-20 on the clearest mornings/nights. There were some clear, dry days long after the last snow melted where I thought, boy, I could ride to work today, but then decided it was too cold to ride, or I had my dog, or whatever. Excuses! I do go out and run all winter, too, so the weather is the lamest excuse of all until the snow hits and biking is much more difficult.

I got back to Austin this week, which is in an unseasonably cold weather pattern this week with, of course, temps in the 40s, down into the 30s, and may crack upper 20s in the clearest mornings/nights (currently 28). Over the weekend it had rained, which made Monday's commute at 40 degrees seem colder than it should. I put on my arm warmers and toughed it out - I didn't bring any winter gear because, well, I figured I could tough it out or drive on the odd cold day. The return trip home was chilly, something like 39 degrees, overcast, and there's a long downhill section before I'm warm that makes me suffer.

Today... 33 degrees and overcast when I was leaving for work. By some happy accident I had forgotten to unpack my baselayers from my suitcase when we went to Seattle (I ran a half marathon while I was there) - ironically I didn't even wear them there. It made the ride so much more bearable. Still, cold fingers. I may have to break down and get full fingered gloves for the commute home on the sub-40 degree evenings. Downhill into the wind for a few minutes just sucks the warm out of me.

So, now I feel like a total terd for not riding to work when I was in the northwest. I think it's nature's way of proving that to me. "See, if you WANTED to do it, you COULD." Tomorrow will be a cold morning and probably a cold evening, but the sun will be back, which makes a big difference in the mornings.

We have sun from about 7am to 5:30pm, but I usually leave work in the dark after 6 - the worst traffic of my ride is right at the beginning and I'd rather leave a little later to avoid it, it also helps at the point I have to cross 3 car lanes into a left hand turn. My route is half on frontage roads with one highway crossing, and the rest on bike lane/bikeway. I have been knocked over by a car advancing to make an illegal right turn over a bikeway crosswalk once, but since then no car issues. I try to be a super-predictable cyclist, though, and Austin is a pretty bike-aware place.

Speaking of clothes, I bought a couple of skorts and shirts to see if I can avoid the change when the weather's not so hot that I get too sweaty and gross or cold that I have to wear real layers.

Austin's not much of a wintry place (to me - I know this is Defcon "SubZero Parka" to locals), but I do hope to ride every day through the winter. I do need to prepare for rain, though, so I'm definitely going to bring back my bike clothes that are more rain/wind appropriate.

There are people that I work with (software company) that try to bike commute regularly. I have probably talked to every single one of them, word spread fast