one monkey typing

We got some wet snow last night, just enough to cover, and then it dropped from ~35*F to ~25*F. So I put a studded tire back on the front. Turns out to have been unnecessary, as I thought it would be, but it's not a big deal to swap tires and I don't need a spill.

Also, I patched the tube that went flat last week. This was my first time using the Harbor Freight patch kit. It's a heck of a deal and works fine. $2.49 (I actually paid $1.99) and contains twenty 1" patches (good for bike tires) and several smaller patches, TWO tubes of glue (good since they dry out after being opened for a year or so).

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=97204

I actually used office supply rubber cement so I can save the unopened tubes for use on the road.

I put the patched tube back on the rear so I have the brand new tube as a spare. It now has 4 patches on it.

On the ride in this morning it was -4*F. Not nearly the coldest I've ridden in, just the coldest this year so far. Just keeping track.
( clothing summary )

Normally I look at the thermometer when deciding what to wear on the ride to work. It was 39*F this morning. But I stuck my head out the door. It was damp and had been raining. Part of me said "Crud, it's cold out there. Put on that jacket, too." Then part of me says "No, you don't need all that crap, you'll just overheat." But the part that just crawled out of a warm bed didn't believe it and wanted to bundle up.

Net result; when this happens you can see me cruising into Dexter at 6AM with my jacket front and all the vents completely unzipped, if I haven't already had to stop and remove a layer.

What I need to do is just look at the thermometer and pick clothing and just go with it. Eliminate the visceral reaction to the cold. By Dec I have figured it out again and dress appropriately. But what I wore today for 39* would have been OK at 25*F or a bit lower. I've never really had a problem while cycling with being cold, even at -10*F. You can always just make more heat. But being too warm is uncomfortable and can lead to trouble if you sweat too much and it's really cold. I tend to just unzip and keep going when I really should stop and take off a layer.

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... )

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