Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Follow Up
So after that little fiasco of motivation a week ago I should provide an update:
I finally hauled all my mountain bike crap out and drove up to Lincoln Woods. By the time I arrived it had gotten considerably colder than I was expecting, but I managed to stay warm by riding uphill. The really scary part was riding downhill thanks to all the fallen leaves. There's always a part of the fall season after the leaves have dropped but before the trails pack out again. Well, not really pack out, but the leaves break down under tires, feet, etc. until traction is somewhat restored. As of Tuesday, November 11th, traction had not been restored. There was a 6" accumulation of nice, dry, slippery leaves on all the trails. This made it impossible to see baby heads, slick rock, mud, roots, or really anything other than leaves. Simply discerning the trail was tough most of the time. The only option was to just go with the flow, braking where possible and riding it out the rest of the time. I could tell when I was off trail by the softness of the ground. I rode a couple of my favorite trails and while I didn't fall I was really sketched out. Sad to say I decided to call it after only 45 minutes or so.
And now it's practically winter. The road rig is set up on the trainer, this year with a pad underneath the whole works. Much quieter. The mountain bike needs to go into the shop for some work on the rear brake. I've got a kinked brake line and the lever feels squishy. There might be a couple more mountain bike rides before the snow flies and the mud returns, but it's touch and go at this point. Time to get fat... er.
I finally hauled all my mountain bike crap out and drove up to Lincoln Woods. By the time I arrived it had gotten considerably colder than I was expecting, but I managed to stay warm by riding uphill. The really scary part was riding downhill thanks to all the fallen leaves. There's always a part of the fall season after the leaves have dropped but before the trails pack out again. Well, not really pack out, but the leaves break down under tires, feet, etc. until traction is somewhat restored. As of Tuesday, November 11th, traction had not been restored. There was a 6" accumulation of nice, dry, slippery leaves on all the trails. This made it impossible to see baby heads, slick rock, mud, roots, or really anything other than leaves. Simply discerning the trail was tough most of the time. The only option was to just go with the flow, braking where possible and riding it out the rest of the time. I could tell when I was off trail by the softness of the ground. I rode a couple of my favorite trails and while I didn't fall I was really sketched out. Sad to say I decided to call it after only 45 minutes or so.
And now it's practically winter. The road rig is set up on the trainer, this year with a pad underneath the whole works. Much quieter. The mountain bike needs to go into the shop for some work on the rear brake. I've got a kinked brake line and the lever feels squishy. There might be a couple more mountain bike rides before the snow flies and the mud returns, but it's touch and go at this point. Time to get fat... er.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Just like that
It's over. The weather has deteriorated enough that the Greenway Challenge has been postponed. No big deal, except that the new date is next weekend and I can't participate. D'oh! Sad... but I'll do it next year. And I discovered a new place to ride, albeit one that is far away, not that big, and full of motorcycles.
And perhaps worst of all, my streak of consecutive days riding to work has now been broken!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
No, Really...
Now it's getting chilly. 46 Degrees this morning in the city. We're in that part of the year where we have to bundle up a little bit in the morning but then figure out how to carry all the extra layers home later. I should have gotten the bigger bag...
It is also staying dark later and getting dark earlier, which is really a verbose way of saying the days are getting shorter. In response, I bought one of those Frog LED things. Not sure what that says about me... but anyway: I've been riding around without a front blinky light for some time now and it's time to not be quite so invisible. Honestly, I'm skeptical of the claim that a little tiny LED will make me much more likely to be seen, but I also haven't been out after dark since installing this thing. Perhaps tomorrow, for Thirsty Thursday...
In other news, I added another bike to the stable. I discovered an 80's-era Fuji 10-speed right under my nose and managed to acquire it for a mere $5. Not sure what I'll do with it, but perhaps this winter's project will be creating a new commuter rig based on a road bike. This might alter the calculus of when to replace the SST bike. Maybe I'll turn it into a fixed gear in order to further augment my hipster cred. Gross. Anyway, now we're back up to 4 bikes and I feel a little better.
It is also staying dark later and getting dark earlier, which is really a verbose way of saying the days are getting shorter. In response, I bought one of those Frog LED things. Not sure what that says about me... but anyway: I've been riding around without a front blinky light for some time now and it's time to not be quite so invisible. Honestly, I'm skeptical of the claim that a little tiny LED will make me much more likely to be seen, but I also haven't been out after dark since installing this thing. Perhaps tomorrow, for Thirsty Thursday...
In other news, I added another bike to the stable. I discovered an 80's-era Fuji 10-speed right under my nose and managed to acquire it for a mere $5. Not sure what I'll do with it, but perhaps this winter's project will be creating a new commuter rig based on a road bike. This might alter the calculus of when to replace the SST bike. Maybe I'll turn it into a fixed gear in order to further augment my hipster cred. Gross. Anyway, now we're back up to 4 bikes and I feel a little better.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Fall preview
Today it was cool enough on the ride in for my eyes to water when I was going fast. It amuses me to imagine what drivers I see at the stop light must think. "Huh, that guy must be crying because he doesn't have a car."
Or, more likely, they don't even notice.
Or, more likely, they don't even notice.
Monday, September 17, 2007
i am in hell...
The cheating, lying Patriots beat San Diego (I believe it means "Whale's Vagina"... Anchorman, anyone?) 38-14 last night. That means I get to listen to my co-workers talk about what a great team "we" have, how deliberately and consistently violating the rules "doesn't make a difference," how "we're going all the way if everybody stays healthy." F that, I say. You people need to shut the hell up and get back in touch with, um, ethical behavior. I sure do hope the Eagles can win one tonight... that'll go a long way towards making me feel better.
It was 46 degrees for my ride in this morning. In the span of a week we've gone from hot, humid, sticky summer riding to brisk (i.e. COLD), eyes watering fall riding. Awesome!
It was 46 degrees for my ride in this morning. In the span of a week we've gone from hot, humid, sticky summer riding to brisk (i.e. COLD), eyes watering fall riding. Awesome!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Snow!
Just a quick one today...
After a 65 degree day on December 1st, we've got snow today, December 4th. Hooray for climate change and destabilized weather patterns! Anyway, being the toughguy I am I rode in to work today. I dressed poorly, however. I thought that snow would simply bounce off of me and I would stay relatively dry. This was not the case. The snow, in fact, stuck to me, particularly my pant legs. I wasn't as wet as the time I rode home in a downpour, but I was pretty damp. But who cares, right? Commuting to work by bike on a snowy Monday morning is a pretty good adventure... although I'm not sure what that says about the rest of my life right now. Hmmm, riding my bike in the snow is an adventure? Sheesh, I need to get a life.
After a 65 degree day on December 1st, we've got snow today, December 4th. Hooray for climate change and destabilized weather patterns! Anyway, being the toughguy I am I rode in to work today. I dressed poorly, however. I thought that snow would simply bounce off of me and I would stay relatively dry. This was not the case. The snow, in fact, stuck to me, particularly my pant legs. I wasn't as wet as the time I rode home in a downpour, but I was pretty damp. But who cares, right? Commuting to work by bike on a snowy Monday morning is a pretty good adventure... although I'm not sure what that says about the rest of my life right now. Hmmm, riding my bike in the snow is an adventure? Sheesh, I need to get a life.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Just made it
I rode in to work today just as the rain was arriving... I could see the gray line slowly approaching as I travelled North Main St. But now I'm here and hopefully it'll stop raining by the time I leave.
There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear. I think jeans count as bad gear... that's why I'm lucky today.
As I walked into the office, one of my co-workers saw me with my bike and said "You're brave today!" My response was something along the lines of "Yeah, well, we'll see what happens later... hopefully it won't rain all day..." I'm so clever and erudite early in the morning. Upon further reflection, I think I'm brave every day I ride my bike to work. So there was a little sprinkle of rain today. Whatever. It's water. Otherwise it was a really easy ride. Traffic was light, nobody cut me off or honked at me, I made all the traffic lights. But most days are not like this. I would estimate that people in cars do stupid things near me on about 90% of my trips. Bravery is not riding quickly to dodge an approaching rain storm. Bravery is getting back on the bike every single day, knowing that there's a strong chance that I'll have to use my skills to compensate for the ignorance, obliviousness, stupidity, or even downright negligence of my car-bound fellow commuters. And who knew being brave could be so much fun?!
I do not believe that we, as cyclists, will ever win the battle to convince automobilists that we have a place on the roads. There's just too many of them, they're just too fat, and the car centered world view is just too deeply ingrained in their collective psyches. But we have to keep trying...
But seriously, I hope it stops raining by 3...
There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear. I think jeans count as bad gear... that's why I'm lucky today.
As I walked into the office, one of my co-workers saw me with my bike and said "You're brave today!" My response was something along the lines of "Yeah, well, we'll see what happens later... hopefully it won't rain all day..." I'm so clever and erudite early in the morning. Upon further reflection, I think I'm brave every day I ride my bike to work. So there was a little sprinkle of rain today. Whatever. It's water. Otherwise it was a really easy ride. Traffic was light, nobody cut me off or honked at me, I made all the traffic lights. But most days are not like this. I would estimate that people in cars do stupid things near me on about 90% of my trips. Bravery is not riding quickly to dodge an approaching rain storm. Bravery is getting back on the bike every single day, knowing that there's a strong chance that I'll have to use my skills to compensate for the ignorance, obliviousness, stupidity, or even downright negligence of my car-bound fellow commuters. And who knew being brave could be so much fun?!
I do not believe that we, as cyclists, will ever win the battle to convince automobilists that we have a place on the roads. There's just too many of them, they're just too fat, and the car centered world view is just too deeply ingrained in their collective psyches. But we have to keep trying...
But seriously, I hope it stops raining by 3...
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
The streak is broken...
I drove my car to work today. Sorry. I'm not even sure when I last drove, but it only took one trip to remind myself of how much I hate it. I had to actually wait in line at red lights rather than ride right to the front. A woman with a sticker on her car ("My soul was removed to make room for all this sarcasm") cut me off, but at least she used her turn signal. I had to walk from the parking lot to the office, no door to door transit here. No wonder everyone is all bitter on the road, driving to work in your car sucks. Tomorrow I'll be back on the bike.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
This is rich...
This has never happened to me before:
On my ride in this morning I came to a stop in the left turn lane at the intersection of Doyle and N. Main. Nothing new, I always take the lane there. I was earlier than I usually am, so traffic was much lighter than I'm used to. The traffic signal at that intersection has a sensor in the road so it knows when to change. If I'm sitting there by myself, I don't trigger the sensor and the light never changes. For this reason it's actually helpful to have a car pull in behind me to set the thing off. The light will change and we all go merrily on our way.
Today, as I waited for the light, a woman in a blue-ish BMW pulled up behind me and stopped. After 10 seconds or so, I heard her engine revving, so I looked back to see what was happening. Revving engines usually don't mean happy things when I'm on my bike. She was in the process of backing up the hill to gain some clearance so she could then speed past me in the right lane. Hurry, lady! The light, of course, changed halfway through this maneuver, allowing her to rip on through the intersection as I turned left. She was easily doing 35 by the time she had exited the intersection. I can almost hear her saying "Goddammit! Get your friggin' bike out of the road, idiot!" I hope she feels better this morning, sitting at work knowing she got there .7 seconds faster. I feel great this morning, knowing that I got here under my own power, thankful that I got to see the sunrise, and glad to have shared the road with such a 'considerate' driver... after all, she could have sped past me without changing lanes.
On my ride in this morning I came to a stop in the left turn lane at the intersection of Doyle and N. Main. Nothing new, I always take the lane there. I was earlier than I usually am, so traffic was much lighter than I'm used to. The traffic signal at that intersection has a sensor in the road so it knows when to change. If I'm sitting there by myself, I don't trigger the sensor and the light never changes. For this reason it's actually helpful to have a car pull in behind me to set the thing off. The light will change and we all go merrily on our way.
Today, as I waited for the light, a woman in a blue-ish BMW pulled up behind me and stopped. After 10 seconds or so, I heard her engine revving, so I looked back to see what was happening. Revving engines usually don't mean happy things when I'm on my bike. She was in the process of backing up the hill to gain some clearance so she could then speed past me in the right lane. Hurry, lady! The light, of course, changed halfway through this maneuver, allowing her to rip on through the intersection as I turned left. She was easily doing 35 by the time she had exited the intersection. I can almost hear her saying "Goddammit! Get your friggin' bike out of the road, idiot!" I hope she feels better this morning, sitting at work knowing she got there .7 seconds faster. I feel great this morning, knowing that I got here under my own power, thankful that I got to see the sunrise, and glad to have shared the road with such a 'considerate' driver... after all, she could have sped past me without changing lanes.
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