RR: The Ice Bike Cometh

Buffalo, NY. City of Retards.

BWEEP BWEEP BWEEP BWEEP -- the alarm begins to bleat at 6:00 A.M. J.
stumbles out of bed and hits the off switch, then she comes back and
curls up warm and wonderful next to me in the flannel sheets. The
holiday is over. Time to get back to work. I sit up and raise the
window shade and look outside. It is pitch dark, snowy and windy. The
plows haven't been by in a few hours, and there is a thin layer of
snow on the street outside. We lay in bed for twenty minutes, delaying
the inevitable, as the furnace kicks in and warms the house for
breakfast. I and J. and the dog finally all file downstairs, where
espresso and bagels and oatmeal await. I check the outside
temperatu 14.9 degrees Fahrenheit. The weather report puts the wind
chill at slightly below zero. Looks like we got two or three inches of
snow overnight. A salt truck roars by out the front window, prepping
the roads for the morning commute. J. has her breakfast quickly, and
heads off in the Subaru. I picked up some new snow tires for the car
this weekend: Nokian Hakkapeliittas, natch. When you're used to
spending $60 apiece on winter tires for your mountain bike, spending
likewise on the car doesn't seem nearly so crazy. And she's got a
nasty winter car commute, so cheaping out on tires is the last thing
we wanted to do. I drink espresso and read the paper and wait a
while. I figure once the sun comes up, it will warm up a few degrees.
I check the temperature after sunup. 13 degrees. So much for that.

Clothes:

Layer 1:
Pearl Izumi spandex shorts.
Duofold polyester T-shirt
Silk sock liners

Layer 2:
Capilene long johns, top and bottom
Columbia calf-high synthetic socks

Layer 3:
Performance merino wool jersey
Heavy Performance tights

Layer 4:
Moonstone fleece
Pearl Izumi balaclava
Columbia fleece neck gaiter

Layer 5:
Merrell Gore-tex hiking boots
Performance rain shell
Specialized five-finger gloves
Giro E2 helmet
Optic Nerve shades, with rose-colored lenses

The bike:
Singlespeed rigid MTB, my venerable old Giant Sedona
Full fenders
Nokian Mount and Ground tires.

The ride to work is six and a half miles of suburban street. The main
arterials are clear, but the traffic is stupid and thoughtless and
aggressive on these roads, and I have a route which winds mostly
through maze-like subdivisions on quiet streets. The drivers of the
town road maintenance trucks all wave at me. I connect to a bike path,
which spares me another mile and a half of angry suburban commuting on
poorly designed roads. The snow is not too deep yet, and I have first
tracks on the path, which is a couple of inches of snow layered over
glaze ice. The studded Nokians handle the conditions perfectly. I
arrive at my office warm and dry and comfortable. We'll see how the
ride home in the dark tonight goes....

Happy New Year, and keep your freak flags flying in 2008, brothers and
sisters!

CC

On Jan 2, 10:52*am, Corvus Corvax wrote:
Buffalo, NY. City of Retards.

BWEEP BWEEP BWEEP BWEEP -- the alarm begins to bleat at 6:00 A.M. J.
stumbles out of bed and hits the off switch, then she comes back and
curls up warm and wonderful next to me in the flannel sheets. The
holiday is over. Time to get back to work. I sit up and raise the
window shade and look outside. It is pitch dark, snowy and windy. The
plows haven't been by in a few hours, and there is a thin layer of
snow on the street outside. We lay in bed for twenty minutes, delaying
the inevitable, as the furnace kicks in and warms the house for
breakfast. I and J. and the dog finally all file downstairs, where
espresso and bagels and oatmeal await. I check the outside
temperatu 14.9 degrees Fahrenheit. The weather report puts the wind
chill at slightly below zero. Looks like we got two or three inches of
snow overnight. A salt truck roars by out the front window, prepping
the roads for the morning commute. J. has her breakfast quickly, and
heads off in the Subaru. I picked up some new snow tires for the car
this weekend: Nokian Hakkapeliittas, natch. When you're used to
spending $60 apiece on winter tires for your mountain bike, spending
likewise on the car doesn't seem nearly so crazy. And she's got a
nasty winter car commute, so cheaping out on tires is the last thing
we wanted to do. *I drink espresso and read the paper and wait a
while. I figure once the sun comes up, it will warm up a few degrees.
I check the temperature after sunup. 13 degrees. So much for that.

Clothes:

Layer 1:
Pearl Izumi spandex shorts.
Duofold polyester T-shirt
Silk sock liners

Layer 2:
Capilene long johns, top and bottom
Columbia calf-high synthetic socks

Layer 3:
Performance merino wool jersey
Heavy Performance tights

Layer 4:
Moonstone fleece
Pearl Izumi balaclava
Columbia fleece neck gaiter

Layer 5:
Merrell Gore-tex hiking boots
Performance rain shell
Specialized five-finger gloves
Giro E2 helmet
Optic Nerve shades, with rose-colored lenses

The bike:
Singlespeed rigid MTB, my venerable old Giant Sedona
Full fenders
Nokian Mount and Ground tires.

The ride to work is six and a half miles of suburban street. The main
arterials are clear, *but the traffic is stupid and thoughtless and
aggressive on these roads, and I have a route which winds mostly
through maze-like subdivisions on quiet streets. The drivers of the
town road maintenance trucks all wave at me. I connect to a bike path,
which spares me another mile and a half of angry suburban commuting on
poorly designed roads. The snow is not too deep yet, and *I have first
tracks on the path, which is a couple of inches of snow layered over
glaze ice. The studded Nokians handle the conditions perfectly. *I
arrive at my office warm and dry and comfortable. *We'll see how the
ride home in the dark tonight goes....

Happy New Year, and keep your freak flags flying in 2008, brothers and
sisters!

CC

Nice! I miss being able to work out my commute between public trans
and my bike year round. I'd have loved to have heard the thoughts of
the people in cars that you passed. Probably "he looks cold" and
"that can't be safe", both of which would be inaccurate due to proper
gear on your part.

Corvus Corvax wrote:
Buffalo, NY. City of Retards.

tehe (no further comment)

Up at 6:00? Blech! Makes me remember why I don't work. ;-)

The commute sounded fun though.


Shawn

Corvus Corvax wrote:
Buffalo, NY. City of Retards.

snip

Happy New Year, and keep your freak flags flying in 2008, brothers and
sisters!

CC

Happy new year to you too CC!
My commute was shorter, only about a mile but at about -28 this morning
it was plenty long. The crank on my townie went almost a full turn
before the freewheel engaged, but then it was fine for the ride.
I just dressed in my office clothes (casual) but wore and extra hat (in
addition to the Ugg boots and puffy down jacket which are standard
winter wear). I find two layers of hats really seems to help in sub-zero
temps. Any colder and I'd pull on a pair of ski pants over my regular
pants too.

Matt

On Jan 2, 2:16 pm, Shawn wrote:

Up at 6:00? Blech! Makes me remember why I don't work. ;-)

The wife finally got a straight job. I'm still having a really hard
time adjusting to the 6:00 thing.

BTW, I'll be in Boulder in early June. Current plan is to bring the
bike. (Don't tell Libby. )

CC

On Jan 2, 2:56 pm, MattB wrote:

My commute was shorter, only about a mile but at about -28 this morning
it was plenty long.

Yow! I think maybe you win.

Liked your photos a few weeks ago. I've been getting out a bit on my
three-pins this year too, although the country is a little less
rugged.

CC

On Jan 2, 4:52*pm, Corvus Corvax wrote:
On Jan 2, 2:56 pm, MattB wrote:



My commute was shorter, only about a mile but at about -28 this morning
it was plenty long.

Yow! I think maybe you win.

Liked your photos a few weeks ago. I've been getting out a bit on my
three-pins this year too, although the country is a little less
rugged.

CC

Snow meltted away but the cold is here in the teens with wind chill at
10-. Yesterday the road was all ice to the right. Everything holds up
but the plastics. A week ago it was the mini pump bracket. This week
its toe clips. A hoodie and a 868 hooded leather jacket keep me
toasty to toasty. Izumi mits that lok like pig feet keep my hand
toasty too. Full up, way up to 50 degrees on Saturday.

"Crazy Fred" wrote in message
...
On Jan 2, 4:52 pm, Corvus Corvax wrote:
On Jan 2, 2:56 pm, MattB wrote:



My commute was shorter, only about a mile but at about -28 this morning
it was plenty long.

Yow! I think maybe you win.

Liked your photos a few weeks ago. I've been getting out a bit on my
three-pins this year too, although the country is a little less
rugged.

CC

Snow meltted away but the cold is here in the teens with wind chill at
10-. Yesterday the road was all ice to the right. Everything holds up
but the plastics. A week ago it was the mini pump bracket. This week
its toe clips. A hoodie and a 868 hooded leather jacket keep me
toasty to toasty. Izumi mits that lok like pig feet keep my hand
toasty too. Full up, way up to 50 degrees on Saturday.

Low here yesterday was 57. Makes me remember why I still live here.....

On Jan 2, 10:52 am, Corvus Corvax wrote:
Buffalo, NY. City of Retards.


Clothes:

Layer 1:
Pearl Izumi spandex shorts.
Duofold polyester T-shirt
Silk sock liners

Layer 2:
Capilene long johns, top and bottom
Columbia calf-high synthetic socks

Layer 3:
Performance merino wool jersey
Heavy Performance tights

Layer 4:
Moonstone fleece
Pearl Izumi balaclava
Columbia fleece neck gaiter

Layer 5:
Merrell Gore-tex hiking boots
Performance rain shell
Specialized five-finger gloves
Giro E2 helmet
Optic Nerve shades, with rose-colored lenses

Happy New Year, and keep your freak flags flying in 2008, brothers and
sisters!

CC

Nice... That is dedication!
I have a 42 mile commute one way... Ronkonkoma to Queens Village...
that would be about a century a day.
but I do work outdoors... I am glad that I learned to dress from
MTBing... It amazes me that a lot of old timers on the Railroad don't
know what to wear when the temps dip.

Cheers
Jimbo(san)

On Jan 3, 10:38*am, "Jimbo(san)" wrote:
On Jan 2, 10:52 am, Corvus Corvax wrote:





Buffalo, NY. City of Retards.

Clothes:

Layer 1:
Pearl Izumi spandex shorts.
Duofold polyester T-shirt
Silk sock liners

Layer 2:
Capilene long johns, top and bottom
Columbia calf-high synthetic socks

Layer 3:
Performance merino wool jersey
Heavy Performance tights

Layer 4:
Moonstone fleece
Pearl Izumi balaclava
Columbia fleece neck gaiter

Layer 5:
Merrell Gore-tex hiking boots
Performance rain shell
Specialized five-finger gloves
Giro E2 helmet
Optic Nerve shades, with rose-colored lenses
Happy New Year, and keep your freak flags flying in 2008, brothers and
sisters!

CC

Nice... That is dedication!
I have a 42 mile commute one way... Ronkonkoma to Queens Village...
that would be about a century a day.
but I do work outdoors... I am glad that I learned to dress from
MTBing... It amazes me that a lot of old timers on the Railroad don't
know what to wear when the temps dip.

Cheers
Jimbo(san)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

It amazes me that a lot of old timers on the Railroad don't
know what to wear when the temps dip.

So I can only assume that you're working in rigid shoes w/ exposed
cleats, hot pink spandex tights, LeMond's Oakleys, a winter Mapei
jersey, balaclava, lobster mittens/gloves, and a helmet?

/s