Fall/ Winter 2011 Commuters

[Melalvai]

Last night I discovered yet another perk of having lots of lights. I've been riding without my downlow glow for a while because I need to replace the battery. Last night my headlamp quit working. Two lights down...and I still have monkey lights, front reelight, back reelight, and back blinkie.

The headlamp was an easy fix, I just had to fiddle with the part that plugs in. Sometimes it gets finicky in the rain. But I do need to get the downlow glow taken care of! And my back blinkie is not much of a blinkie, the bit that covers the light bulb fell off so I think it's less effective. Having a surplus of lights only works if you keep them all in good repair, so when one or two do go out you still have lots left.

The bright yellow raincoat with reflective piping sure doesn't hurt anything either.

[7rider]

The bright yellow raincoat with reflective piping sure doesn't hurt anything either.

(not that this applies to you...but it made me think of this)
Good:
Saw a guy the other day riding while wearing a bright yellow jacket with reflective piping.

Bad:
But he had a black backpack on his back, which blocked most of the jacket.

Good:
The pack had a little reflective triangle on it and he had a flashing helmet light.

Bad:
He was on a road bike so hunched over so the triangle pointed straight up into the air. Not exactly visible. And the backpack obscured the tiny red flasher he had on the back of his helmet.

Lesson:
Go for a ride in your neighborhood after dark with a friend or spouse and a car. Have friend or other drive behind you and make sure your doo-dads actually do what you intend them to do (i.e., make you visible).

[Melalvai]

Lesson:
Go for a ride in your neighborhood after dark with a friend or spouse and a car. Have friend or other drive behind you and make sure your doo-dads actually do what you intend them to do (i.e., make you visible).

That's a great point! After I got my downlow glow I tried to get my husband to drive around the block while I was riding around it and tell me how visible I was. He never got around to it, but some friends commented that they'd seen me biking at night and I was super visible.

Today's commute: I got studded tires last Sunday, and all week it's been too warm for ice. Today is cold, lower 20's. It's dry, but there was a little ice at the edges of the road. If I swerved, I could manage to hit a patch of ice here and there. So I did.

But I can't wait for real snow & ice to try out the tires!

[CareBhaer]

It was 28F when I rode in, and now it's 54F. I hate this time of year because I have to wear long underwear and thick gloves in the morning and then bring lighter gloves and tights for my ride home.

I am enjoying not using my studded tires yet though - it's been a warm, drier winter so far.

[ridebikeme]

We've had a fairly mild fall as well, although the commute today was pretty cold. It was 7 degrees out when I left this morning, so definitely quite the shock! Although it's supposed to be like this here in Maine in December I will admit though that I'm enjoying not riding with my studded tires yet.

Happy holidays everyone!


http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

[Anelia]

It rained yesterday and I got wet 3 times during the day. It didn't bother me but today I decided to have a walk just because I realized that I am just like those people who do not want to separate from their car but it's a bike instead. So, 2 or 3 times per month, I take a walk: either to work (it's brisk walk though) or just around town.
On my way to work today I also realized that I have 10 minutes left so I decided to climb 1300 steps as a fasted cardio. There is a monument on a plateau near the town where I live and it is very convenient and lots of people climb the steps every morning for a workout. I think it's great.
So, no bike commuting today

[Melalvai]

today I decided to have a walk just because I realized that I am just like those people who do not want to separate from their car but it's a bike instead. So, 2 or 3 times per month, I take a walk: either to work (it's brisk walk though) or just around town.

I could easily walk when it's nasty out and I wouldn't even need my studded tires for the snow. But I'm so excited about the tires. It'll make it easier to have the option to walk or bike. Biking is so much faster, if I want to do a quick errand, or I have several stops around town on my way to work.

Walking is healthier exercise (weight-bearing), and even more details to observe along the way. Like the way the funny tree looks like the left branch ends in a fist and the other branch is pointing a finger straight up into the sky. The very old siamese cat. The three dogs who always bark, one of them jumps up on the doghouse to see me better.