commute by bicycle at least 50% this winter

[Askel]

And now the challenge begins in earnest for me! 

Peak darkness, and we're starting to get "serious" snow.   Drove for the second time today. although this one was planned as I had been saving up errands for a while.  Might wuss out tomorrow though as road conditions are at their worst (washboard packed snow and really soft shoulders- pretty much forces me to take the lane). I'm OK with that, but we're also looking at another ~3 inches of snowfall in the AM and the lack of visibility worries me most.   

But forecast says we may see temps in the forties next week, so maybe a solid if somewhat sloppy week coming up.   

On a side note- did a recreational ride last saturday for global fat bike day, ~16 miles was on the road with the fatbike. I've previously poo-pooed it as a winter commuter, but it did pretty well getting through some highly variable conditions.  I think I might try setting that one up for commuting duty as well (it's the only bike I have without a rack).   Fenders are a problem, so it'll be a strictly "too much snow to salt" bike, but that's probably the conditions it does best in.   

[Holocene]

And now the challenge begins in earnest for me! 

Same for me.  Even though I just joined the challenge right now. :)  Yesterday was maybe 5-10F out with 25mph constant headwind into work in the morning.  That was a bit rough but my commute is only ~5miles so not too bad.  I definitely overdressed and was sweating.  The wind is always hard to factor in.  I hate super windy days.

Today we were supposed to get a little snow, <1in.  I figured no problem and rode in with my Trek FX hybrid bike with studded front tire.  It was supposed to stop snowing mid morning but that didn't happen.  I think it finally stopped around 8pm.  I think we got maybe 3" or so.  It was super fluffy at least.  Neither ride today was too bad.  Roads were cleared somewhat well and where they weren't it was fluffy enough to get through easily except a few car tracks that caused some slick spots.  I think this is the most snow I've ridden my Trek FX in.  It's my nice summer bike that I love so I try to avoid riding it in crappy conditions and exposing it to too much salt and road slush.  I normally ride a cheaper MTB for crappy winter days.  I guess this is what I deserve for trusting weather people.  Tomorrow should be better.

Thanks for sharing that video about Oulu.  I find it strangely enjoyable to watch people biking in the snow haha.  That's so cool that so many people bike there in the winter.  Wish we had that kind of bike infrastructure by me.  I end up on the road most of my ride and feel somewhat unsafe around cars in the snow.  Those paths look like winter cycling would be so much more fun there.  Road slush and dealing with the variable surface from cars tires is the worst.  Any paths I'd normally take do not get maintained well in the winter and usually turn into an uneven icy mess from footprints of people walking.  At least I can WFH now more often and have flexibility so I'll probably just stay home on the worst days.  I plan to FIRE in the spring so this will be my last winter bike commuting to work.

[Arbitrage]

New Bike Day!  Good spendypants acronym.  Follows from the old rule that the correct number of bikes to own is always N+1, where N is the number of bikes that you currently own.

Love it. I spend way too much time envisioning and researching my ideal ebike, even though I already have 2. I keep flipping between a middrive surly, a middrive with an internally geared hub in back, and a belt drive with a hub motor in front. I should probably stop thinking about it and just wait until I need to replace my current ebike, and then pick one to replace it with.

I feel you.  I was in that place for a long time, but broke the seal and ordered my 'ideal' ebike a few months ago.  My excuses are that (a) we need a second ebike for my wife to take rides with me in our very hilly town; (b) Since I don't have a car for myself but still run most of the errands it would be very helpful to have a torquey mid-drive for towing loads of groceries and such; (c) I'll probably enjoy some cruising through the mountain trails on a nice full-suspension ebike.  I have a "meat" mountain bike that I'm using for singletrack on the main mountain in town, but I still think I'll have some fun on a do-anything ebike. 

Of course, thanks to global shipping woes, I still have no idea when my NBD will actually be.  Originally was to be in November, now December/January, but I suspect will probably be more on the February/March timeframe.

[Kmp2]

Yep - we've had a snowy cold week down to 10f, I had to bring my laptop in to school on Monday and I didn't want to do my first real snowbike of the season with it so I took transit. Road in on Tuesday, but Wednesday we had a bit of a snow squall right at the time I was supposed to be riding into school. No visibility, high winds and lots of fluffy snow - so I took transit again (although the ride home would have been lovely as everything had died down by then).

Hoping to get a bike in today, but it's last class, last minute huge group project finalizing and I may not have the time... not a great start 1/4 but I'll take it.

This weekend we plan to do our 6th annual xmas #treebybike hopefully our oldest will want to ride her own bike finally!

[change_seeker]

Well, today was the first real day of winter here.  A bit of snow at the higher elevations which turned to wet roads as I got into the valley.

I installed my studded Schwalbe tires last night and thought I was prepared.  However, during my incident with the big brown truck earlier this year I lost my removable front fender.  This meant that my *everything* was completely soaked by the front tire spray.  My core was ok because I added a lightly insulated windbreaker jacket, but everything else was cold.

Basically, I've forgotten everything I've learned about bike commuting after being away for a few years.  I'll get the hang of it soon.

Regarding the e-bike discussions above:

After futzing with my derailleur last night and then having shifting issues all the way to work, I'm ready to switch to an internally geared hub.  Current setup:

-BikesDirect Gravity 29" hardtail MTB
-Bafang BBSHD 1000W mid-drive
-28 Ah battery pack

I also have a Breezer Finesse with the Shimano Alfine 8 rear hub.  I've been toying with the idea of setting that up as a belt drive e-bike.  I've seen projects online of converting the Alfine 8 to belt drive, and could easily add a coupler to one seat stay to get the belt on.

[Askel]

I've seen projects online of converting the Alfine 8 to belt drive, and could easily add a coupler to one seat stay to get the belt on.

Whoa, is adding your own coupler a thing that people do?  That opens up a lot of possibilities. Really loving my belt drive (NO CHAIN LUBE RITUALS), but know that there's a reason Gates now markets it as "nearly silent".  When the belt gets dirty, it can get squeaky. Road salt is the worst for this.   The plastic front sprocket of the cheaper CDN line quiets things down a little though. Still easy to ignore, it's just a thing it does- not like a chain screaming out for lube wearing away much quicker than it otherwise would.   


This week was mostly a bust. Got what I'm going to call a half day in ferrying the wife's car to the shop and then on to work by bike from there. Winter storm warnings most of this week which I've determined is probably going to be my standard of when not to ride. Even when it's not actually snowing during such, it inevitably means I've got a couple hours of snow removal work waiting for me when I get home.   Still survived at 86%.  Should be able to get those numbers up next week.   No snow, temps well above freezing, and likely a 6 day workweek. 

[Britan]

Got a bike ride in to daycare this morning! It’s now in the low 40s here. I basically didn’t leave the house postpartum, so I missed the slow fade to colder temps and it’s a bit of a shock. But I didn’t wuss out. This weekend will be almost 70 though (?!?). Crazy.

[Askel]

Yeah, we're supposed to see 48F next week. Yikes. That's crazy for us this time of year.   

In other exciting news, although the days are continuing to get shorter, tonight will be the earliest sunset of the year at 5:06:28pm. After this, they just get later and later.  By Sunday I'll have an extra 4 seconds of daylight to enjoy on the ride home!   

[samanil]

I feel you.  I was in that place for a long time, but broke the seal and ordered my 'ideal' ebike a few months ago.  My excuses are that (a) we need a second ebike for my wife to take rides with me in our very hilly town; (b) Since I don't have a car for myself but still run most of the errands it would be very helpful to have a torquey mid-drive for towing loads of groceries and such; (c) I'll probably enjoy some cruising through the mountain trails on a nice full-suspension ebike.  I have a "meat" mountain bike that I'm using for singletrack on the main mountain in town, but I still think I'll have some fun on a do-anything ebike. 

Of course, thanks to global shipping woes, I still have no idea when my NBD will actually be.  Originally was to be in November, now December/January, but I suspect will probably be more on the February/March timeframe.

Oooo what bike? It sounds like you have plenty of good reasons for the purchase :)

Yeah it's hard to get bikes these days, several Surly dealers told me it would be at least a year before I could get a new Surly, that was a few months ago.

[Britan]

Yeah we’ve been waiting on the monkey bars for our Yuba for like two months now. Hypothetically they are now on their way from the other side of the country, but that was at least a week ago. And they were supposedly in stock when we ordered them! We just considered ourselves lucky that REÍ had the one bike in stock that we managed to snag.

[Britan]

Our bike-venture of the day: brought a Christmas tree home on the long tail.

[Arbitrage]

I feel you.  I was in that place for a long time, but broke the seal and ordered my 'ideal' ebike a few months ago.  My excuses are that (a) we need a second ebike for my wife to take rides with me in our very hilly town; (b) Since I don't have a car for myself but still run most of the errands it would be very helpful to have a torquey mid-drive for towing loads of groceries and such; (c) I'll probably enjoy some cruising through the mountain trails on a nice full-suspension ebike.  I have a "meat" mountain bike that I'm using for singletrack on the main mountain in town, but I still think I'll have some fun on a do-anything ebike. 

Of course, thanks to global shipping woes, I still have no idea when my NBD will actually be.  Originally was to be in November, now December/January, but I suspect will probably be more on the February/March timeframe.

Oooo what bike? It sounds like you have plenty of good reasons for the purchase :)

Yeah it's hard to get bikes these days, several Surly dealers told me it would be at least a year before I could get a new Surly, that was a few months ago.

I've ordered a Frey AM1000.  It's been very difficult to order one of their bikes in the past, but I managed to score one (theoretically) through a North American dealer.  Subsequent to my order, Frey finally opened a portal for USA buyers to order direct, instead of through Alibaba with various customs and shipping shenanigans to deal with. 

[Askel]

Our bike-venture of the day: brought a Christmas tree home on the long tail.

Nice! Hopefully you stood it upright on the back and put the lights and decorations on it before riding down the road. ;) 


In other news: Rode home tonight with just a wool baselayer on top. Unreal temperatures for us this time of year, but I'll take it.

[Britan]

Our bike-venture of the day: brought a Christmas tree home on the long tail.

Nice! Hopefully you stood it upright on the back and put the lights and decorations on it before riding down the road. ;) 


In other news: Rode home tonight with just a wool baselayer on top. Unreal temperatures for us this time of year, but I'll take it.

Haha naw. Sideways with a bunch of bungee cords and a bike blanket. It’s just a tabletop tree, 3-4 feet. That’s been our staple tree size for years because we have cats and I don’t want them tipping a huge tree. Our childhood cat did that every year.

But I am probably buying some bike tire lights for Christmas (and general safety for DH who will be biking home after dark). I bet those could go on a tree on the back. ;)

[Kmp2]

Our bike-venture of the day: brought a Christmas tree home on the long tail.

YES! This was our 6th year bringing home a Christmas tree on our longtail... it was an adventure. There were trees left thursday night when I departed for my last university class, but none left IN THE CITY on Friday... so after trying 3 places we managed to bring home a 3 ft tree in a pot. My oldest was near tears at the thought of missing out on our tradition, and mommy was feeling extra guilty that it was her schoolwork that kept us from going earlier. 

We did end up driving out of town to pick up a larger tree, and the little one is now lighting up my oldest's bedroom so I think we are all happy, and our tradition is held by the skin of our teeth. She did not in fact ride her own bike. She still prefers to hitch a ride and she's almost 9!

I'm not back until January (and with Omicron I'm not sure we will be back even then), so I'm not sure how much more commuting I'll be doing this winter... but there's still groceries, vaccine appointments, tobogganing and skating!

 

[Britan]

High five for trees on bikes. I kind of want to see what the most ridiculous thing I can carry on my bike is. Since we’re getting a Madsen on the 16th (bucket bike), I’m sure I could do some silly stuff. I’ve seen people move house via cargo bike. We aren’t planning a move anytime soon though. I’ll have to take Askel’s suggestion and tow the tree with all the decorations and lights. ;D

We get our trees at the local hardware store because I can’t find tiny trees anywhere else. Some folks around here manage to get big trees in their house but we just don’t have room. Last five or six years we’ve been here it’s always been tabletop trees on the dining table. My dads family tradition with us was going up into the mountains to a tree farm and cutting down our own tree. We had one of those two story “grand rooms”, so he’d get huge trees. I kind of miss the cut your own experience, but I we don’t have anything like that in biking distance and I doubt I could get a tiny tree at a farm anyways.

I have not been checking in on my trips but they have all been by bike to get my son from daycare. The weather has been lovely for that. He is such a cool kid. When we give him the choice of bike or car in the morning he always enthusiastically shouts “Bike!” Even though it’s been in the 30s every morning. Now we just gotta get him over his procrastination because he always wants to “go slow”, which we can’t if we’re gonna be late because he spent 45 minutes picking out pants!

I gotta go to the grocery store today. If we don’t do delivery, I’ll try to bike.

[ca-rn]

Yesterday's morning commute was the wettest so far, rained all day with winds whipping around- sideways rain all the way :) 

My Cleverhood poncho is a lighter weight version so its limits were tested due to the wind and partially due to user error- being so excited to use the poncho again, I remembered the thumb/handlebar elastics but forgot to tie my waist belt.

Another plus- poncho is roomy and easy to hold my bags inside protected against the rain for my long walk into the office.   

[Britan]

Son has croup (a croup? Wherever it’s called), so no more daycare the rest of this year likely. Ugh. The weather has been so nice but I’ve barely gone outside because the infant just screams in the stroller.

In other news, TOMORROW IS NBD!!! Madsen bucket bike incoming!!! I’m so excited!

[Holocene]

This week has been much easier than last for bike commuting.  We had around 17 inches of snow on Friday.  The side streets by my house still sucked until Mon-Tues but otherwise it was nice and warm (for December).  Today it got above 50 and at least the rain held off until tonight so the ride home was really nice.  Temps are supposed to drop quite a bit over night so we'll see if we get any freezing rain/sleet/ice.  If it's icy tomorrow, I'll just WFH.  Otherwise it will be a colder, super windy ride.

Congrats on new bike day!  Hope your son feels better too.  Awesome that multiple people are hauling Xmas trees with their bikes!!  Makes me feel a bit less crazy haha. :)  I don't have a cargo bike or ebike so I haven't hauled much.  I did try to haul my kayak several times but never found a good system and gave up.  The lake is only 1 mile away so I don't think I use too much gas getting there in the car at least...

[Askel]

Well OK then. I think I'll drive.   

[Britan]

Well OK then. I think I'll drive.

Wowow, yikes that looks terrible! Wintery mix is the worst.  To be honest I don’t even drive in conditions like that. But I’m also a Californian who now lives in a city that sometimes gets snow and ice but is still somehow surprised by it every year and doesn’t know how to properly salt/plow.

Alas, today was not new bike day. Foiled by shipping delays. Tomorrow should be new bike day though, according to the shipper.

[Britan]

Ugh new bike day pushed agaiiiin, to Monday.
Well at this point there’s no more daycare for the year so as long as it gets here before early January, I’ll have it for when I’m actually “commuting” again.

[Britan]

Third try is the charm? Shipper says my bike is out for delivery today! Once it’s in, I’ll have to install the bigass motorcycle chain ground anchor for it in the yard.  (Bike is too heavy to lift up five steps and too wide to fit through the door anyways)

@Holocene I saw this for towing kayaks and paddle boards: https://dumb-stick.com/
If it gets a lot of use it’s not terribly expensive, but it also looks like a fairly simple solution to replicate with some DIY.
And this one was a kickstarter that never got off the ground. https://newatlas.com/solo-shuttle-trailer-kayak-bicycle/32617/
But there’s a video on that site that shows the set up. That one looks a bit more complex to DIY though.

[Arbitrage]

This week has been much easier than last for bike commuting.  We had around 17 inches of snow on Friday.  The side streets by my house still sucked until Mon-Tues but otherwise it was nice and warm (for December).  Today it got above 50 and at least the rain held off until tonight so the ride home was really nice.  Temps are supposed to drop quite a bit over night so we'll see if we get any freezing rain/sleet/ice.  If it's icy tomorrow, I'll just WFH.  Otherwise it will be a colder, super windy ride.

Congrats on new bike day!  Hope your son feels better too.  Awesome that multiple people are hauling Xmas trees with their bikes!!  Makes me feel a bit less crazy haha. :)  I don't have a cargo bike or ebike so I haven't hauled much.  I did try to haul my kayak several times but never found a good system and gave up.  The lake is only 1 mile away so I don't think I use too much gas getting there in the car at least...

I've had aspirations on various occasions to haul my kayak via bike (especially since we only have one car), but most of those were shelved when I moved to our new house and really experienced the hills around here.  Maybe with the new e-bike I've got on order it would be feasible from a raw power standpoint, but I'm not sure I could get confident from a safety standpoint with the combinations of hills and curves I'd need to navigate. 

I did tow my old inflatable kayak a number of times via e-bike, but that was in easier territory.  It would be doable here, but I'd rather paddle my hardshell these days.

[Holocene]

So was it actually new bike day?  I've definitely had things out for delivery only to not come that day.  Especially with UPS this time of year.  Hope that wasn't the case for you!!

Thanks for the ideas on towing a kayak.  I did have a setup similar to the dumb stick.  But I used the shaft of an old snow shovel and clamped it to my bike rack.  It worked great until it started bending!  Guess it wasn't quite strong enough.  I also had problems with the cart for the kayak.  I was just using a bike cargo trailer.  But the kayak ended up sliding around in there a bit and at times rubbed against the wheels and started marking my kayak.  So I gave up.  A kayak specific cart was more than I was willing to spend at the time.  I was worried a normal one might not work well at bike speeds too.  Plus biking with a kayak is pretty unwieldy!  It's annoying to go up even small hills, stop/start to cross streets, pass people walking on the path, etc.  The nice thing was I could park my bike right by the lake and didn't have to drag the kayak across the parking lot down to the beach.  But in the end I was just too lazy and cheap to find a better bike solution and just drive it now.  Luckily I'm really close to a nice lake!

I am looking into making a DIY packraft (https://www.diypackraft.com/) this winter.  Just to have a portable boat, something to easily take on road trips.  I've been waiting hoping an ultralight one will come back in stock but it doesn't look like that's happening.  So I'll probably try the Skeena.  If it ends up being decent, I can take that on the bike to the lake by me too.  I just like being on the lake so don't care much about speed.  I just want something comfortable that maneuvers decently.  Plus I'll be FIRE this summer so have all the time in the world :)

And back on topic, I'm still at 100% riding for days I've gone into work.  I've been going in 3-4 days a week.  I almost always WFH on Fridays and will do so on other days there's crappy weather or if I just have a lot of meetings and there's not value in going on site.  I usually still get out for a ride even if I don't commute.  It's my daily exercise most of the time.

[Askel]

Stay tuned for my upcoming thread "commute by kayak at least 50% this summer".  :D

There's a creek that runs behind my house (definitely not navigable) that runs about a half mile through the woods to a river which dumps out into a lake that my workplace sits on.  I figure if I leave when I get home from work, I might be able to make it on time the next day. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysgH_rkfGSE

[change_seeker]

Didn't make it by bike a single day last week, but I'm at 100% so far this week!

We had some freezing fog yesterday AM.  The studded Schwalbes handled the slick conditions fine, but my ski goggles kept icing over and I couldn't see anything.

My biking habits will be reinforced in the near term.  On Sunday I totaled our minivan, so we are down to *only* two vehicles.  One is a Ford E-350 with a V10, so each trip gets very expensive with gas at $4/gallon.

[Askel]

  On Sunday I totaled our minivan, so we are down to *only* two vehicles. 

Oof, hope everybody is OK and it's just a bunch of bent metal!   


Also, happy winter solstice everybody.  Days are only getting longer now!   

[Britan]

Yesterday was NOT new bike day. Fuming. I got a call from the shipper this morning to reschedule. The lady on dispatch said the note was “no one was home” and I flat out told her “well that’s false, we were here the entire day.” Not too angry at her though, she just reads the notes. But. My husband literally spent half the day right outside our front door working on the weatherstripping. We are rescheduled for tomorrow. I told them even if I don’t pick up my phone, I AM HOME please deliver it. Ugh.

But I biked to my doctors appointment today!

[Britan]

Stay tuned for my upcoming thread "commute by kayak at least 50% this summer".  :D

There's a creek that runs behind my house (definitely not navigable) that runs about a half mile through the woods to a river which dumps out into a lake that my workplace sits on.  I figure if I leave when I get home from work, I might be able to make it on time the next day. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysgH_rkfGSE

I can hear grandpa Askel in the future: kids, “back in my day, we kayaked to work, upstream both ways!”

[Britan]

NEW BIKE DAY!!!

The car seat fits perfectly with room for the toddler. I biked with it empty, might try it with the kiddos next. I definitely am glad we got the e-assist hah. This thing is a tank. I could barely bike it around on flat ground. And when they’re older we can “bike pool” with two other kids! :)

[Askel]

NICE! 

[Kmp2]

Hurray! Happy NBD!!

I do know this guy that commutes by bike/canoe... tows his canoe to the river, puts his bike in the canoe, paddles down the river... hops out and tows the canoe to the hospital he works at!
So commute by Kayak/Bike uphill bothways... totally believable!

Also, my school is now online until at least the end of January - so commuting is now just groceries.

I did bike to my booster yesterday! and picked up eggnog on the way home!

[Arbitrage]

Date range	Miles biked	Miles driven
10/27-10/31	20	0
11/1-11/21	63	6
11/22-11/30	46	0
12/1-12/23	101	10
Total	240	16

[change_seeker]

594 miles by bike since October 18, 2021 when I started tracking.

The stats below are by trip, not by mile.

Merry Christmas everyone, looking forward to talking to you next year!  I'm hoping to get my bike trips over 50% before spring hits.

[Britan]

Broke in the bike today with a trip with the toddler. Just around the park so I don’t count it as a “commute”. But the toddler liked it. It rode smoother than I expected. Maybe because I can’t get it to go as fast as the Yuba because it’s so heavy. But I might try with the baby soon and see how it rides with him in it. I’m looking forward to daycare pickups with this thing!!!

[Britan]

Rode with the babe and toddler today in the park. DH rode on the Yuba with us. I’m actually pleased with how the car seat fits, he’s at a good recline on the bucket bike, and with the newborn head insert his head doesn’t bobble much even on bumps. And he was asleep within a few minutes so double win!
Downside: there’s an on/off on the battery which I didn’t realize it would drain if it was still “on”. So I did the whole ride with no assist whatsoever. The final hill home was ROUGH. Did it. But would not be able to without assist after a full ride to daycare and back. I guess that can be a New Years resolution.

[Askel]

As of the 28th, I'm at 27.5 out of 35 days by bike for 78%.  Have had a very irregular schedule these past couple weeks which really gets me out of my groove, hope to bring those numbers up in January.   

[samanil]

Seattle is having a mondo cold snap. I tried delivering food with my ebike but the freezing air penetrated my 2 pairs of gloves easily and it just wasn't doable. I ordered bar mitts in the event that I need to commute in freezing temperatures in the future. Won't need them often, but if I do even once, the purchase will be worth it I think.

[Britan]

Rode to the Aldi in my new Madsen yesterday! Got at least one “cool bike”! On the ride.

[Askel]

She's a frosty one this morning. 

[samanil]

NEW BIKE DAY!!!

The car seat fits perfectly with room for the toddler. I biked with it empty, might try it with the kiddos next. I definitely am glad we got the e-assist hah. This thing is a tank. I could barely bike it around on flat ground. And when they’re older we can “bike pool” with two other kids! :)

That thing is cool. What's the weight capacity of the bucket?

[Britan]

NEW BIKE DAY!!!

The car seat fits perfectly with room for the toddler. I biked with it empty, might try it with the kiddos next. I definitely am glad we got the e-assist hah. This thing is a tank. I could barely bike it around on flat ground. And when they’re older we can “bike pool” with two other kids! :)

That thing is cool. What's the weight capacity of the bucket?

Absurd. 271kg (approx. 600lb). Even with the assist I don’t know that *I* could pedal that much haha. From another owner, I’ve heard the only way to approach that is to haul mulch or sand home from the hardware store.

But I did bring it home today with lots of groceries. Including bubble water cans, a gallon of milk, several pounds of onions and potatoes, several pounds of beans, and a ton of other stuff.

Alas, neither DH nor I will get a chance to bike commute this week. Due to the current Covid situation in our area, DHs work is strictly WFH for an indeterminate time, unless one needs to go into the clean room. And DS1’s daycare is closed for at least the next week, as one of the teachers tested positive for Covid yesterday. They are all vaccinated so hopefully it should go as smoothly as possible for them. But it’s still no fun, and we will have to do yet another week of working and managing two children at home. I was looking forward to getting DS1 out of the house and having a bit of breathing room. And biking to and from daycare. But I get it. Im not blaming daycare. I’m just… shouting into the void that the situation is what it is. If the weather is nice maybe I’ll take some time to bike around the park at least so we get outside.

Since this is the new year, and I was out of commission due to pregnancy/having a baby for a bit, I’m going to start my challenge counter now. So I am 1 for 1 on biking for trips (grocery store)! I think we need to make a target trip soon for a handful of things (batteries and some medicine for myself and the babe), so I’ll try to do that via bike too.

[Britan]

Phewwww what a day! Took the Madsen out for a real trip! Ok only like 2 miles round trip but there’s a reason we live where we do. It’s that close to everything.

First took kids to the pediatrician. Then picked up a target pickup order and my prescription, then back home. 2/2 so far. I thought about driving to target yesterday (the roads were icy) but I realized if I didn’t feel safe biking I also didn’t want to drive so I put it off till today.

We should get the soft top to protect from rain this weekend, in time to (fingers crossed) start daycare again next week.

Edit: wish I had taken a picture of the loaded bike. Two kids, a backpack, my target order in the bucket and a box of diapers on the front rack.

[Britan]

Yesterday we biked to buy me some new running shoes. Kiddos in the Madsen. So 3/3.
Today we drove to the COVID testing clinic to get all of us tested so we can return to daycare. Could have biked but it’s 35 degree rain and I don’t have the rain cover for the Madsen yet so the infant would have been hanging out in that. 3/4.

Is everyone else also WFH this week? DHs workplace is now WFH unless you need to go in the clean room. I basically haven’t left the house at ALL last week.

75% thus far.

[Holocene]

Avoiding biking with your kids in the 35 degree rain seems like a pretty wise decision!

I had Monday off, though I did bike the 1 mile to the grocery store.  Then I went into the office twice this week.  Biked both times.  One day the wind chill was around -25F.  I think that's about as cold as I can handle.  Had to go through some snowdrifts on the paths as well since it was snowing and super windy the day before (so decided to WFH that day!).  Amazing how long and hard a 5 mile ride can feel when battling the cold, wind, and snow.  I swear I felt more exhausted than some 50+ mile rides I've done.

Yesterday it was a balmy 25F or so out.  Felt amazingly warm in comparison.  Today the wind chill is back below 0.  Around -12F now.  About to head out for a short ride.  Supposed to stay cold tomorrow then warm up for the rest of the week so that'll be nice.  I start broomball after work a couple days a week so won't be biking those days.  Not sure how much I'll be going into the office anymore anyway.  About to start on a different project that I think will allow more WFH days.  We'll see.

[Britan]

@Holocene over here bike commuting in Antarctica apparently, making us all look like fair weather cyclists, haha.
The lowest high of the day I’ve ever even seen here was 18 degrees. We biked about the day before at 35 degrees but it was sunny.
Alas, daycare is still closed due to teachers having COVID so no going anywhere until Wednesday at least. :/

[Holocene]

@Holocene over here bike commuting in Antarctica apparently, making us all look like fair weather cyclists, haha.
The lowest high of the day I’ve ever even seen here was 18 degrees. We biked about the day before at 35 degrees but it was sunny.
Alas, daycare is still closed due to teachers having COVID so no going anywhere until Wednesday at least. :/

Haha. Nope, just Minnesota.  We usually get a handful of really cold days.  With the right clothes, it's not too bad.  I got some heated socks which are great since my feet always get so cold.  Now my only problem is keeping my face warm.  I hate wearing googles since they always fog up which is dangerous while riding on the road.  So I just go without and when it's that cold/windy, my eyes water up a bit and then freeze haha.  So I think I was at my limit, and only for a short 5 mile ride.  Actual temp was probably closer to -10F, but the wind makes a big difference so I usually think in terms of windchill.  Today was cold again, but I ran around on the ice instead of riding.  Looking forward to a warm up for the next few days.  I think it's supposed to hit 30 which might feel like summer at this point :)

[Askel]

Oof, there's cold (0F maybe -10 with windchill this morning here) and then there's MN cold.   

Thankfully, we rarely get to MN cold unless Lake Superior freezes over and that wind whipping off the plains just keeps on blowing on us, unwarmed by the big lake.   

I don't mind it getting super cold if there's no wind.  Well below zero on a clear, super still morning is actually rather enjoyable.   

I've sort of lost track of my running tally. It's cold enough now that my phone dies part way through my rides so not everything gets logged to the strava. And since I can't seem to remember more than week, I'm just trying to keep my weekly numbers at 50% or better. 

[Askel]

Found in the log book of a backcountry warming hut: