On Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at 7:42:27 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-04-16 17:59, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, April 16, 2018 at 3:19:46 PM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-04-16 11:49, Duane wrote:
On 16/04/2018 2:01 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, April 16, 2018 at 4:10:46 AM UTC-7, Duane wrote:
James wrote:
On 14/04/18 22:42, AMuzi wrote:
Cold, windy, sleet, grey, dismal, blecchhh.

https://www.channel3000.com/news/loo...hail/729197821




Nope. Clear blue sky. Hardly a breeze. 31 degrees C. Very little
traffic. One other bike rider, an 80 year old fellow out for a 30km
ride on his electric assist bike.


Give it 6 months and report back. :-)

Snow, sleet, hail, freezing rain and rain here in the last 24
hours. And
45k winds to churn things up.
We are also waiting for spring in June. But we’re taking this wait
and see
approach...

It's not so bad here. The people in Minneapolis mock us -- as they
should:
https://blogs.mprnews.org/statewide/...o-bad-weather/



I've been in Quebec for a long time now but I remember going for
training in Minneapolis/St. Paul. I think that it's a close call which
place is the coldest I've been between here and there.

Rain and even light snow is no big deal if you're dressed right. The
second I feel freezing rain, I turn around and go home. Even with
studs, freezing rain and sheet ice is a no-go. Apart from crashing, it
is also the worst possible riding condition -- freezing and wet.

The deal is that no rain gear keeps you dry forever. You will soak
through eventually, and then its a matter of whether you can stay
warm. In freezing and near freezing rain, I'm miserable after
soak-through even with poly pro, wool (name the magical fabric). Throw
in a descent in freezing/near-freezing rain, and I go hypothermic. I
did a day-long ride in near freezing rain with snow at the top of a
climb (Larch Mountain). Climbing was easy because I was generating
heat, but the 14 mile descent about killed me. I was shivering so hard
I could barely hold my bars. I tried to channel Andy Hampsten, but it
didn't work. https://tinyurl.com/yd53bgul


Last race I did was in the hills north of here at Park Mauricie. 105km
with 1500 meters. The first half was pouring cold rain where you went
between freezing on the descents and sweating on the climbs. I remember
my eyes were burning on a climb when the rain washed sweat into them.


That is how I learned that I shall wear my head sweat band also in
winter weather. No more sweat washing down into the eyes. It's good
policy to carry two of those for swapping when soaked through. A sweat
band airing out under the saddle isn't a pretty sight but sure beats
burning eyes.


About the best you can do is to find something light enough to keep you
relatively warm so that when it stops you can pack it up easily.


A very thin tight rain coat would be nice, one that can be rolled up
into a very small ball when not in use.

Showers Pass. It's the best. -- Mario.


https://www.showerspass.com/collecti...t=27454434053#

Not bad and probably very durable. I have something similar for dog
walks in the rain but it's too big even when rolled up as tightly as
possible.

It doesn't rain often on bike rides out here but when it does it can be
pelting.

Da bomb: https://www.showerspass.com/collecti...nt=27454406469 I know -- it's too expensive, and it is, but I got the predecessor of this jacket for about half-price, and my son got that jacket yesterday pro deal, so it was just ridiculously expensive but not hors categorie ridiculously expensive. It is light, packable, well vented and very effective. It's a local company, although production is probably overseas (I haven't looked at my label recently).

There are many other jackets on the market, but getting one that is light, packable, well vented and effective is a real trick. My commuter jacket is an old Gore Alp-X I got off a sale table. It's a fine jacket but it's not packable, it is now leaking (it's old), and it never vented that well -- but it is more durable than the Spring Classic jacket and more in line with the beefier Showers Pass jackets like the Elite or Transit jackets. If you wear a backpack or beat up jackets, you need something that will not be packable -- at least not packable in a jersey pocket. You could stuff any jacket into a pannier pocket.

I like this video from Showers Pass -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=SIzz9VBdKCU It shows you Larch Mountain, but then bounces to NW Newberry Road and then up on Skyline. Odd editing. Anyway, :30 is pretty typical of the ascent/descent. It gets cold, and its 14 miles long. Another fun factoid, the part of NW Newberry shown in the video now looks like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ0siGJIUFk You have to hoof it around the barriers.

-- Jay Beattie.