johnridley: (Calvin vs Bike)
I just took the studded tires off my bike. The forecast is stuck on "very nice" through Friday, but I wouldn't bet against ice before O.M. Winter gives up for the year.
bike, garden, rocks, blah, blah )
johnridley: (Calvin vs Bike)
I'm generally a great believer in the awesome power of procrastination. But I overdid it this time.
go boom )
johnridley: (Calvin vs Bike)
Riding all winter (at least occasionally) pays off. I had my first ride of the year with the winter equipment off (studded tires, most of my winter clothes) and in not unusual conditions (the usual slight headwind, 60*F temp), my ride time went from the winter norm of 45-50 minutes to 37 minutes, which is a tad more than 1 minute faster than my fastest time last year.
Read more... )
johnridley: (Calvin vs Bike)
Wednesday was my first day of riding in the slush. Tuesday night I put the studded tires on (at 2150 miles on the odometer).

Last Friday I put on full fenders and a front mudflap. This helps IMMENSELY. With just the "mud guard" on the front and a solid rack on the back, I'd pretty much written off riding in sloppy weather, but with the full fenders it's not a problem.

The "wintery mix" was coming down pretty well, very wet, by the time I got home. The only real discomfort at all was that it was basically raining ice pellets, and they hurt my face when I was riding into the wind. Also I was wearing half-finger gloves and my knuckles (but not my fingers) got cold. But I didn't really get wet until the last mile, where I was riding on a fairly slushy road, and the cars passing me were throwing up big sheets of slush which covered my legs. Still, it wasn't really a problem, it just sheeted off the windbreaker pants. My sneakers got wet, but when I got home the neoprene shoe covers I ordered were waiting, so that shouldn't be a problem in the future.

All in all, the winter riding is NOT a problem. You generate a surprising amount of heat, so you don't get cold, in fact my biggest problem is figuring out exactly how much clothing to wear; a couple of times already I've had to slow down a bit because I was overheating. I particularly tend to wear one too many layers on my legs. It's tough to step out into the dark morning and get on a bike when it feels like your legs are freezing, trusting that you'll be warm enough in 15 minutes.

Riding with the studded tires is interesting. A little more rolling resistance (not much), a lot more noisy. Riding through slush takes considerably more effort. My time for the trip was up from about 38 to 44 minutes, and my legs are letting me know about it today. So come spring I should be in pretty good shape! I'm going to get some fairly narrow tires for next year. The studded tires I have on now are actually more narrow than the hybrid tires I've been riding with.

I moved my Nashbar LED blinkie up to the back of my helmet (love those plastic quickties), and put a new one by Bell (same thing, different case) on the seatpost. I switched back to my 2.3 AH battery one day last week when I realized that I'd forgotten to charge my big battery overnight. For now I'm going to leave the 2.3 on, as I've found that riding with just the 3 LED white light on my helmet is NOT a problem on the paved roads. I flip on the halogen for the gravel (for pothole avoidance) and when there's an oncoming car. All told I have the halogen on for probably 20 minutes of the 40 minute trip. The 3 LED has been running on the same 3 AAA cells for 3 months now. Sure wish LED headlights were practical, but thus far they're pretty expensive and have a limited lifespan.

Eventually I think I'm going to get a new battery, a NiMH pack probably, that can handle 30 to 40 watts of light and give me 2 hours of runtime, then put on a 2nd light, probably a 10W flood. I'm thinking that I can run with the 10W most of the time, and use the 20W (or maybe both) when I get into busier areas. Dual lights seem pretty common, and it protects against having a bulb burn out leave you either running blind or changing a bulb in the dark in the freezing cold.

Nokians on (new)
Odometer: 2150
johnridley: (Calvin vs Bike)
I finally decided I'd run out of time to prepare for actual winter; it'll be here some morning soon. Recent additions (some still in the mail):

  • Nokian Hakkapeliitta 700c X 35 carbide studded tires. Rowr. Word is these are so good, you have to watch it getting off; it's entirely possible to ride steadily on pavement you can't walk on. Not cheap but they last years; steel studs wear out in one season. Check out the track these lay in the ice:


  • REAL full front and back fenders (not the cheap plastic splash guard I put on a few months ago)
  • some moisture-control base layer underwear - bought at Target, though they only had one pair of each in my size.
  • NON-self sealing inner tubes. The junk doesn't work anyway (IMHO), and the studded tires weigh 875 grams each, no need to dump in another 150 grams of slime for no reason.
  • Nashbar convertible head cover-balaclava/gaiter/watch cap/whatever - it's a stretchy tube of tight weave polypro/spandex.


Pending:

  • Stearn's sportsmans gloves (3mm neoprene- warm when wet-used by rescue personnel, and cheap @ $15)
  • Neoprene overboots
  • Lighting upgrade: NiMH battery pack and charger to replace the heavy, bulky, and short lived (but cheap) SLA battery I'm using now.

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