Fall/ Winter 2011 Commuters

[tzvia]

Oh man Anelia that looks COLD.

Our 'cold snap' here in So California is when it dips into the upper 30s, F at night. A long sleeve cycling jersey, with a cycling jacket, winter gloves and a balaclava just about takes care of it. Once, last month, I also wore sweat pants over my pants, to keep my knees warm.

Last week and today, temperatures only dipped into the upper 40s at night and have been in the upper 70s to low 80s during the day (should be 84f today). Yea, winter can be really brutal here in Los Angeles county...

My big issue is the construction. I can't stand those metal plates that they put over the work holes in the street. They get wet and slippery, and those small rocks and paving pebbles are like marbles. Got so bad I treated myself to a new commuter that can take 35c tires and fenders. It feels so good not to have your teeth rattled loose.

[7rider]

Good thing I brought my spare battery today. My headlight blinked out 1/3 of the way home. I almost didn't realize it, as my new Vis-360 on my helmet is actually brighter than my Knog headlight. And allegedly the Knog has a higher lumen rating. Huh. But, I pulled off the road, swapped out the battery and was soon on my way with both lights blazing.

[Melalvai]

Good thing I brought my spare battery today. My headlight blinked out 1/3 of the way home. I almost didn't realize it, as my new Vis-360 on my helmet is actually brighter than my Knog headlight.

Such a GOOD feeling when preparations and backups save your butt! You had the spare battery AND additional lighting.

Now get a new spare battery (or recharge the other one, whatever it is you do), before you forget.

[7rider]

Such a GOOD feeling when preparations and backups save your butt! You had the spare battery AND additional lighting.

Borne of experience, I'm afraid.
I once before had my headlight blink out on a ride home. No spare battery. No helmet light. Almost full dark. Was a freaky ride home.

I learned to be better about re-charging on a regular basis. Except this week.

Spare Li-ion battery now fully recharged and stashed back in my pannier.

[Melalvai]

Snow is on its way!
But it's only supposed to last a day or so. I might have to go out of my way or bike at a strange time of day, to get my studded tires on actual ice.

Maybe I should pour buckets of water on the driveway when it gets below freezing...my family might not appreciate that.

[Melalvai]

I got to use my studded tires finally. For FIVE WEEKS after I bought them we didn't get a flake of snow! I was starting to think they worked by magically preventing snow...like my rain gear (for several months after I bought it, it was never raining when I was riding my bike).

This week we got snow and I got to use them. It was so much fun! The first day, I felt like all the motorists who saw me were looking at me with envy, thinking, "I wish I were on that bicycle"! To paraphrase Queen: "You want to ride my bicycle/ you want to ride my bike"

I had heard they aren't as good on packed snow as on ice or regular snow. I guess that's true but they are still really good on packed snow. They don't completely prevent all the slipping & sliding, but it's maybe 90% better. When I'd ride in this stuff on regular tires, I spent a lot of time with one foot off the pedals ready to touch ground.

And they are really great on hard ice and on snow that's not packed. On those surfaces I'm as stable as if on pavement.

Another thing that delighted me is that even starting on a slight incline I always had traction. I remember on regular tires having to try several times to get started because my rear wheel would just spin out.

Yeah, I could walk the 1.5 miles when it's like this, but it's SO much fun to bike with studded tires! Actually it was really nice to have my bike the last couple days, because they ended up being really long, busy days, and it was nice to get home in just a few minutes.

[lph]

Yeah, I could walk the 1.5 miles when it's like this, but it's SO much fun to bike with studded tires!

Yay!

I hate putting them on, but once I'm used to the slower pace I get such a kick out of the mobility.

Which ones did you get? I've tried ones with fewer studs, but ended up going back to Nokian Extremes.

[ridebikeme]

Nokian extremes here as well. I have used others with fewer studs, but found that often times I wasn't making contact with the ground. Our roads here are slightly beveled to shed snow/water to the sides. Unfortunately, some roads seem to have more angle than others, so having more studs in the tire seems to work better for me.

Although my commute isn't very far,; it's funny to see the motorists looking in "shock."



http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

[Melalvai]

Schwalbe marathon winters.
I watched the bike shop mechanic putting the tire on and decided right then that I'll pay someone to put them on and take them off at the beginning and end of every winter because I don't want to!

[Tri Girl]

I rode today. It was 17 degrees when I left, wind chill around 10. I got too hot, tho, because I had on two wool sweaters, my wool coat and my ultra thick mittens and scarf. Had to undo the jacket halfway there.
I only have a 2.5 mile commute. I sometimes wonder if drivers think I'm a homeless person (there are more of them riding bikes in my city than bike commuters).

[Thorn]

Two new milestones in a week -- snow and single digit temperatures (NOAA said I left home this morning at -0F -- which we all know is colder than +0F

So far I can put up with the cold, but I'm still trying to come to terms with the snow. I'm getting a bit more comfortable riding in the stuff, but I'll still probably work at home during the next storm -- one step at a time.

Tires -- the bike shop sold me Kenda Klondikes because they couldn't source Nokian or Schwalbe. Big, heavy beasts. I swapped out to Schwalbe Marathon Winters I ordered online. Much, much less rolling resistance and on the old snow that's one street, just as effective.

And, Melalvai...yes, mounting the Schwalbe was *tough*...but worth it.

[7rider]

Was 21 F (-6C) this morning for my ride in.
Had to break out the AmFibs for the ride. Fingers were a bit cold, but otherwise was fine. This has been a pretty mild winter so far, and I think this was my coldest ride in this season. Of course, if it gets up to the mid-40s (7) for the ride home, I'll be sweating buckets with those tights. At least I can leave a top layer in the pannier.

Got mad props from the ladies in the gym and my coworkers, tho.

[kmehrzad]

I rode today. It was 17 degrees when I left, wind chill around 10. I got too hot, tho, because I had on two wool sweaters, my wool coat and my ultra thick mittens and scarf. Had to undo the jacket halfway there.
I only have a 2.5 mile commute. I sometimes wonder if drivers think I'm a homeless person (there are more of them riding bikes in my city than bike commuters).

LOL, and with all the clothing you were wearing, drivers might think you were wearing all the clothing you owned. Not to knock what you were wearing, I'd need much more than that to keep my body warm. I don't tolerate cold well at all.

[Melalvai]

Beautiful snow and it was almost as warm as it could possibly be and still be snowing. The snow was coming down thick so it was this lovely blanket and even where cars had passed it was like mine were the first tracks there. My studded tires are wonderful. I really enjoyed biking this morning.

[carlotta]

I haven't really been posting since it hardly feels like we've had winter (and I haven't had any excitement or anything out of the ordinary), but I had my annual love/hate realization that spring is coming this morning.....

Love: light jacket, light gloves, shorts+knee warmers for the ride in so I don't have to haul the heavy gloves/shoe covers/full tights in the pannier on the ride home because the temperature shifts. Not having the water bottle freeze. Spending less time getting ready to ride and more time riding. Having more commuters and people out for rides in the mornings, especially the faster ones to give me something to chase :)

Hate: headphone-wearers/clueless joggers/runners/dog walkers/stroller-pushers/rollerbladers/cyclists/etc that will populate my main route home until it gets chilly next fall (and on rainy days in the summer, I love those for chasing the fair-weather trail users away :).

All complicated by the closure of a piece of important connector trail for the next few months...I don't mind (and often use) the alternative road route, but pushing all the trail traffic onto streets without bike lanes/shoulders gets interesting...especially when I can tell they don't ride on the road much and weave in/out of parked cars, pass on the right of turning traffic (including a school bus...), etc. I can get from home to work with 2-3 miles of residential streets and 8 of trail, and there are a LOT of people who make a similar commute in the spring/summer/fall that are currently pushed into being road users for an extra 2 miles of major roads...

Hrm. That got long and kind of crotchety-sounding (get off my trail!!), not really the intent, just things I think about while I'm heading in and I guess I felt the need to get off my chest :)