Riding in the New Year: January 2018 Rides

[ny biker]

Someone I work with went out for a bike ride last night. Temps were in the high 20s. He had hoped to ride on Jan 1 but it was about 20 degrees and he "didn't have enough clothes."

So we got 0.5 inches of snow. All the schools are closed. East of DC they got a few inches, with higher accumulations near the ocean. The combination of 0.5 inches of snow on my car and a cold wind did not make me happy but I had no trouble getting to work. The highways around here are clear, so I just need to be prepared for icy spots on neighborhood roads when I go home tonight. And the condo association did nothing to clear our parking lot so I will expect that to be icy until Monday when we finally expect temps to rise above freezing. Things might melt a bit when the sun comes out tomorrow but any puddles or slush will freeze up at night.

Meanwhile, local news in NY report 16" in my home town with heavy bands of snow still passing over the area. I'm still waiting to hear from family there. I also heard about 30 foot ocean swells off the NJ coast. And wtf in Boston -- motorists being rescued by boats due to flooding. Those must be some cold flood waters.

It is very windy today. I think it is expected to stay that way through Saturday. I completely agree with you Emily -- even if the temperature was higher I would not be planning a bike ride with these winds.

On the other hand, I have a couple of gift cards for the LBS so I might head there this weekend. I have one helmet that I use for daytime rides and another that I attached small lights to for use at night. After my last night ride I dropped that helmet. It only fell a few feet onto the pavement so it might be okay, but I had been thinking about replacing it anyway with a MIPS helmet. So this seems like a good time to go helmet shopping.

[Crankin]

There is flooding in the usual coastal spots, Scituate, Newburyport, Plum Island, the Cape and pretty much the whole south coast. However, we now have the ocean overflowing the Seaport District in Boston (a first) and several rivers, too, that are close to the coast. Also, one of the T stations is flooded, by the Aquarium.The snow is still going here in the NW suburbs, but winding down. We have at least a foot, probably 15 inches. It's powder, here, though. DH is outside, for a first pass at cleaning off our cars, so it doesn't freeze up. He just has nothing to do now that he doesn't have to snow blow and shovel! The guys who plow and shovel our little condo street have been by a few times.
I wasn't here for the Blizzard of 78, so I guess we are lucky that the storm is moving right out and up the coast. Apparently it got so bad in 78 because it was the same type of storm, which got "stuck" and stayed around for 48 hours. I was here for the No-name storm (A Perfect Storm) which demolished most of the coast, with just rain. It was bad out here, but my DH took my kids out to trick or treat. This is just one reason why I would never live within 10 miles of the ocean.

[north woods gal]

Single digits for highs, these last few days, but, yup, still riding. Really, though, it's not too bad, since I can bail out and be back inside in minutes. Be a lot more serious an issue if I was 15 or even 10 miles out and started have problems with the cold, or worse, a breakdown. I'll wait for more reasonable temps before I head out farther down the road.

I'm usually good for about 45 minutes to an hour in these temps, just fat biking around our trails and neighborhood roads, but it's still a good workout and it is every day. It's basically just enough to keep me in good bicycle shape, anyway, without having to resort to the indoor trainer. (Uugh!)

We've been in something of snow drouth these last couple weeks. What snow we have is getting thin, old and crusty, so the XC ski and, especially the snowmobilers, are crying the blues. The fat bikes actually like the hard packed, crusty stuff, though. Fly right along ... no waxing needed ... dirt's as good as snow ... even ice, no problem ... great winter riding machines, these fat bikes.

[ny biker]

My parents are only a couple of miles from the LI Sound but they are on a hill. I never met my grandfather, who had the house built when my father was 12, but he was in the merchant marine as a young man so I suspect he considered flood risk when he chose to live on higher ground. As it turns out, they only got 8" of snow with this storm (the reports of 16" were for a town in New Jersey with the same name as my hometown) but there was some flooding near the sound. The main risk for our family during floods is that it's not possible to go anywhere until the water recedes, and if things are really bad there would be no help from the fire or police department in an emergency.

Around here we're now just waiting for the cold air and wind to go back where they belong. It might actually warm up enough for a night ride later in the week, but the roads right now are white with salt, so regardless of air temp I will need a good cleansing rain before I can do much riding outside. All that salt is bad for the asthma. If we don't get rain, maybe next weekend I'll be able to take the mountain bike out, maybe on the C&O canal towpath.

So, today instead of a bike ride I did the next best thing and went to the LBS. I ordered this helmet in white...

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/e...olorCode=black

...and used a gift card from Christmas to help pay for it. I was able to try it on in the store but they didn't have the color I wanted in stock there. It seemed pretty comfortable and I like that it comes with a removable visor.

[Crankin]

Why is the weather not cooperating? I am glad we will have some normal weather in the 30s for a few days, but Friday we leave for Franconia, NH for the long weekend and x-country skiing. It will be 36 and raining, even up there. Saturday, even worse, 27 and freezing drizzle. With a 2 foot base of snow, Saturday might be salvageable with good grooming, but with the freezing rain, ugh. It will be close 60 here on Friday, but pouring out, so, even if I was at home, I couldn't ride.

[ny biker]

Well it's still a week away, so things might change between now and then. For us it just says 40% or 50% chance of rain for Thursday-Saturday. Then colder again, though not as bad as this recent cold snap has been.

[Crankin]

We are thinking of rescheduling... the forecast is looking worse and worse. We have been going to this inn for years, so it hould be doable.


ETA:
OK, our friend (the male half) does not want to cancel, citing the strict cancellation policy... which we know they would make an exception for us. So we will take the "make the best out of it" attitude. Hopefully, our new snow shoes will arrive before we leave, as that is usually doable when skiing is not. They are scheduled to be here Wednesday.
At least, I will get to ski today and Wednesday.

On a cycling note, we have decided to do a semi supported trip of Prince Edward County, Ontario, this summer. We were getting frustrated deciding on other, bigger trips. We had thought about a trip to Santa Fe, but I don't do well at altitude and I don't want that to ruin something that is expensive. We will take our time driving up there, have our own bikes, and the company will transport our luggage and have emergency back up. We did a trip like this in Vermont and we really liked it.

[Geonz]

I *did* get out 1/1 because the busses don't run and ... I wanted provisions. So about 2 miles for the grocery run.

Then commuted the next Wednesday because it was 15 degrees in the morning and that was a heat wave... though going home there were some Not Much Fun tenth of a mile stretches where I had to take the lane 'cause of snow... wasn't bad, just wasn't the usual easy peasy.

Then... snow and ice and back on the bus... and it *wasn't* so bad that everythign was cancelled so I could chat w/ the regulars who know I"m a foul weather rider. Talked about singing and losing Willie SUmmerville an awesome gospel song leader last year and just doin' the people connecting thing. Yesterday's freezing fog ... but today FIFTY DEGREES! I even got out for two perimeter laps at lunch ...

... and I"m thinking of doing Calvin's CHallenge... which means I better turn on the afterburners...

[ny biker]

The 50 degrees reached us today. Right now would be perfect for a bike ride. Except right now is a work day. I'm sure my retired friends are in heaven, but not me. Not sure when the rain will start tonight -- TV news says pm commute, Weatherbug says later -- but it's irrelevant since tonight I am making up the session with my personal trainer that I canceled due to ice on Monday.

The latest for the weekend is that the cold air will hit very early Saturday morning. So it probably will be too cold for a bike ride on Saturday.

I have not gotten the indoor trainer out of storage because I was planning to have the new floors installed in my condo (finally) so I'm supposed to be putting things into storage, not taking them out. But the holidays made it really easy to procrastinate a bit longer with the floors, and now the earliest it would be scheduled is March. So I think I will take the trainer out of storage now. I rode 40 minutes on the stationary bike at the gym last night, which was okay, but the gym is too overheated for a good interval workout. (I am still waiting for someone to explain to me why gyms are always so overheated in the winter. Hello we are exercising! We provide our own heat! Think of the money you'd save on utility bills if you didn't have it so hot that I am sweating while standing still!)

[rebeccaC]

Just commutes and urban riding for me…..we did have a good rain storm come through which made for two days of interesting commutes. Our storms are nicer than the other ones posted about this month …..50’s/60’s with even heavy rain is nicer than cold and snow...well, for me! Yesterday I rode into downtown L.A. for some photography and to spend time handing out personal hygiene kits (hand/face wipes, sanitizer, deodorant, lip balm, menstrual pads and tampons, also multivitamins and advil) to homeless women. The appreciation given is always an uplifting emotion!

nwg..here’s a photo from yesterday’s ride to show what downtown L.A.’s January is like



and of course a stop at salt and straw on the way home



leaving tomorrow for some work in the mojave desert and that will give me a couple of good rides on some of my favourite roads

[emily_in_nc]

Salt and Straw...lucky you! Drooling...

We've had two wonderfully warm riding days with temps in the 70s even at the mid-morning starts! Amazing how much difference a 90-degree shift in the wind can make, though. Yesterday, SE winds made for a fast and fun ride, but today's SW bluster made our return trip a real slog, as we're pretty much heading NE out and SW back, in general (with some twists and turns along the way). Still, thrilled to be able to wear shorts and SS jerseys for two days, at least! Tomorrow is our laundry, gym, and errand day, and by Thursday, we'll be layering once again...such is winter in Florida. At least there's no snow or ice to contend with!