I wussed out today

On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 15:18:46 GMT, "Neil Brooks"
wrote:

That's why I live in San Diego.

I've traded all that "wet and cold" stuff for impossible traffic, $500,000
median home prices (that only 19% of the population can afford), wildfires,
earthquakes, and smog.

Several years ago I actually turned down a Co. transfer to San Diego.
I figured, being old and ugly, there was probably a city ordinance
about me being seen riding around before 10:00 PM!
I like four seasons, myself-Must be a cultural thing- even if I cannot
ride in one of them.

"dgk" wrote in message
...
I decided last night that I was not biking to work today. The weather
report was a high of 42F and rain all day.

No shame there. Cold is OK, and wet is OK, but cold and wet sucks. The
problem I have riding to work this time of year is lack of light. I have a
22 mile commute and since I work 8-5 I have to leave when it's dark and I
end up getting home when it's dark. Do you have to deal with this also? Let
me tell you----living in an area populated by retirees with night blindness
is exciting!

"dgk" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 15:18:46 GMT, "Neil Brooks"
wrote:

dgk wrote:
On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 10:02:48 -0500, "Roger Moore" wrote:

Get an indoor trainer and forget about riding in rain/snow. Less
dangerous and you won't get sick.

~ AB ~

I don't think riding in the rain/snow causes sickness. But the
alternative, riding in buses and subways filled with sick folks, that
does cause sickness.

Is it statistically more dangerous to bike in the snow and rain in a
big city? I think other folks are being more careful also.

But there is no question that it is not really enjoyable being wet and
cold.

That's why I live in San Diego.

I've traded all that "wet and cold" stuff for impossible traffic,
$500,000
median home prices (that only 19% of the population can afford),
wildfires,
earthquakes, and smog.

:-D


Every year during winter I think about moving. But I really love the
beach, so that sort of limits the possibilities. I spend all summer on
the beach. I'd like to ride there but the umbrella, chair, and body
board make that a bit difficult.

Especially if you want year-round beach weather. That pretty much limits you
to south Florida or California---and they both have their problems. Key West
is nice year round, but cyclists get squashed there all the time. The
Florida Panhandle is beautiful, but winters can get down below freezing. LOL

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote in message
...
Claire Petersky wrote:

And you know what I say about indoor trainers...

"They'd better have big pecs"?

--Blair
"It's like kissing your derailleur?"

http://tinyurl.com/3ult7

It takes care of a certain, physical need, but just isn't the same as the
real thing.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

My method for cold rain (inside layer to outside layer):

- SmartWool socks
- GoreTex oversocks
- Standard ventilated bike shoes
- fleece of neoprene booties

The shoes get wet, but my feet never do. To dry out the shoes
overnight, I hang them on a hook inside the water heater closet.
Works like a charm.
--
terry morse

Terry: I've never had much luck with waterproof socks (including GoreTex);
seems like the sauna effect makes my feet every bit as wet as they are with
normal socks and simply wet. So I give up on the idea of keeping them dry
and settle for wet & warm. Maybe my feet sweat more than most? I've found
Gore-type fabrics to work great as long as I'm not working really hard, but
once you hit a good hill, I don't think there's any way a "breathing" fabric
can keep up with sweat output. At least not mine anyway...

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

dgk wrote in part:

I haven't really figured
out rain riding yet.


It goes something like this:
full fenders, polypropelene, wool, gore-tex,
tri-flow.

Robert

(R15757) wrote in message ...
dgk wrote in part:

I haven't really figured
out rain riding yet.

Robert

I haven't figured out riding yet. Forget about riding in the rain. I
can't even imagine it. I have to join a club. All this information is
overloading my brain.

http://www.geocities.com/lindaannbuset/mypage.html
http://hometown.aol.com/lbuset/

In article ,
(R15757) writes:
dgk wrote in part:

I haven't really figured
out rain riding yet.


It goes something like this:
full fenders, polypropelene, wool, gore-tex,
tri-flow.

I belong more to the

full fenders, rain cape (which incidentally also works
as an outer layer on gloves), helmet cover, bread bags
on feet, generator lights, and Scotch Gard

school of thought -- the old, time-proven techniques that so
many people just about bend over backwards to avoid.
Polypro & wool are good, too. Except sometimes it seems some
polypro blends can emit olfactory offenses after it gets wet.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 03:29:58 GMT, "Gooserider"
wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
.. .
I decided last night that I was not biking to work today. The weather
report was a high of 42F and rain all day.

No shame there. Cold is OK, and wet is OK, but cold and wet sucks. The
problem I have riding to work this time of year is lack of light. I have a
22 mile commute and since I work 8-5 I have to leave when it's dark and I
end up getting home when it's dark. Do you have to deal with this also? Let
me tell you----living in an area populated by retirees with night blindness
is exciting!


It does get dark about halfway home but I have so many lights that I
look like an ambulance. I have the Nite Hawk Raptor (lead acid
battery) that lasts for over two hours, plus a backup of a Bell 4AA
battery light. One flasher on the seat stay and one on the back of the
helmet. Plus those adorable thingies that fit on the valve stems. And
reflectors. Someone would really need to be sleeping to miss me.

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 11:03:16 -0500, dgk
wrote:

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 03:29:58 GMT, "Gooserider"
wrote:


"dgk" wrote in message
...
I decided last night that I was not biking to work today. The weather
report was a high of 42F and rain all day.

No shame there. Cold is OK, and wet is OK, but cold and wet sucks. The
problem I have riding to work this time of year is lack of light. I
have a
22 mile commute and since I work 8-5 I have to leave when it's dark and
I
end up getting home when it's dark. Do you have to deal with this also?
Let
me tell you----living in an area populated by retirees with night
blindness
is exciting!


It does get dark about halfway home but I have so many lights that I
look like an ambulance. I have the Nite Hawk Raptor (lead acid
battery) that lasts for over two hours, plus a backup of a Bell 4AA
battery light. One flasher on the seat stay and one on the back of the
helmet. Plus those adorable thingies that fit on the valve stems. And
reflectors. Someone would really need to be sleeping to miss me.

The lead acid will be your problem since they are only good for maybe
500 discharge cycles. NiMH is better if you can afford it and the
Lithium are the top of the heap. They have gone from Lithium-ion
to Lithium-polymer that I know of and there may even be something new.
How about a dyno-hub plus batteries? Expensive but the only way to
go in the dark.


--
Bill (not always politically correct) Baka