February Cycling Challenge 2017

[jordanread]

The cycling challenge for February 2017 is up and ready for you to start (or continue) riding!!
If you logged miles last month, and selected "Remember Me" on the form, you have been added to this month's sheet already.

If you didn't log miles last month, or are a new participant
Click here to fill out the form.
You can access the sheet directly at this link.
I can manually grab your historical data too, so if it's off, just let me know.  If they aren't there within a day, or you have any other issues with the sheet, hit me up via email, Google+ Hangouts, PM, or just comment on this thread.
You can also join the MMM Strava Group for additional metrics and motivation.

Happy Biking.

[EfficiencyNerd]

Hi there - I tried to access the sheet for this month, but it told me "Access Denied". Should I request access, or did you mean to make it accessible without permissions? Thanks.

Also, just to share my own enthusiasm this morning - fenders are an AWESOME invention! Last month I ordered some, and of course they didn't get delivered until the afternoon of the rainiest day of the month, and my wife needed the car, so I rode in the rain without them. Today it's not raining, but the ground is wet, and the absence of spray makes my ride much more enjoyable!

[jordanread]

That was my bad. It should be accessible now.

[kodokan]

I need to pop to the supermarket and should use my bike... but it's 27 degrees *whimper* I need to (wo)man up, don't I...

I've got some ground to make up from spending half of January being ill. My 2017 bike v car stats are appalling; Bike is trailing Car by 39 miles.

[mathstache]

2017 bike v car stats are appalling; Bike is trailing Car by 39 miles.

Hadn't thought of doing a comparison between the two. I like it

[jordanread]

2017 bike v car stats are appalling; Bike is trailing Car by 39 miles.

Hadn't thought of doing a comparison between the two. I like it

It's a built in option on the sheet. I can enable it for you tomorrow if you want. It is an option on the form, but since you only need to fill that out once, I usually handle changes later.

[Kmp2]

I'm working out of another city for a few weeks - and as much as I tried to figure out how to take my bike, where to store it while I'm there, and how to get around a new city by bike in the winter - and one that doesn't plow it's bike paths... I'm afraid I'm taking transit for most of this month.

I got to work out of the home office today... but I only got my bike as far as the alley before I turned back - we have had 25 cm of fresh powder over the last 24 hours or so... and the shovelling has not kept up. I put my bike back and walked to work @ -22C (-28ºC with windchill...). It was a slow cold slog, and I am seriously considering the bus for the ride home!

[bmiles62]

Ok so I just saw this thread and joined and then realized that I may not count. I am on an e-bike. I just started commuting last November to my work. (33 mile round trip/too long for my road bike) and am trying to take it up a notch in February by not using my car at all for my commute. Anyway if e-bike's are not allowed I totally understand.... just delete me from the list. Happy cycling!

[jordanread]

Ok so I just saw this thread and joined and then realized that I may not count. I am on an e-bike. I just started commuting last November to my work. (33 mile round trip/too long for my road bike) and am trying to take it up a notch in February by not using my car at all for my commute. Anyway if e-bike's are not allowed I totally understand.... just delete me from the list. Happy cycling!

Bmiles, you count, and are more than welcome to join in the challenge. We've had people with e-bikes jump in, so it's not a problem. The username you use is the key to historical data. The only thing I've seen people do (and really, it's just for you) is have a separate username for when they are on the e-bike. Something like BMiles_EBike or whatever, but that's only useful if you want to monitor your progress separately. Totally your call, and let me know if you want to change it. Welcome to the challenge, glad to have you.

[bmiles62]

Great! Yes if you could change my name to Bmiles_Ebike That would be great!

[jordanread]

Great! Yes if you could change my name to Bmiles_Ebike That would be great!

Got that done for you. If you want, you can also use the form to create one for regular biking too, if you want to track that. It would treat you just like another participant, and all comparisons here are only in reference to past performance.

[TrMama]

Completed my second ride of the week in the snow/ice this morning. The snow is supposed to turn to heavy rain this afternoon (fingers crossed) so it should be an interesting and highly unpleasant ride home tonight. The bike trail I use had been plowed, but not salted, so it was very icy this morning. If it doesn't warm up above 0C by evening it's going to be a very slow slog home.

[mathstache]

Bmiles I'm an e-biker too! Woo for getting there faster. I think we still get a good amount of exercise, but with a reduction in the commute time, and less sweat on the uphills.

[bmiles62]

Bmiles I'm an e-biker too! Woo for getting there faster. I think we still get a good amount of exercise, but with a reduction in the commute time, and less sweat on the uphills.

Awesome! Yep you are right. I am still pedaling ha ha! My commute is about two hours total. (1 hour in the car.) So I get plenty of pedaling in and really feel like I am accomplishing something by leaving my car in the driveway! Hoping for continued good weather for the month of February.

[GT]

For those  interested, PDW are donating 100% of their sales from Feb 7 - 14th to ACLU.

https://ridepdw.com/

So if you were planning on getting something, get it now.

Have started adding my rides into the spreadsheet.  Is it possible to go and do it for January as well jordan?

[ohyonghao]

Ok so I just saw this thread and joined and then realized that I may not count. I am on an e-bike. I just started commuting last November to my work. (33 mile round trip/too long for my road bike) and am trying to take it up a notch in February by not using my car at all for my commute. Anyway if e-bike's are not allowed I totally understand.... just delete me from the list. Happy cycling!

It'll be great competition for me :-D  I also do a lot of work on an indoor trainer when the weather isn't that nice, but commute every day by bike.  When the weather is nicer I do a fair amount of recreational cycling and racing.

[ohyonghao]

Made it past a month of being car free now.  I did sign up for Zipcar which has cars available by my apartment.  Through my work, and with a signup promotion, it only cost $5 for a year, plus usage.  We'll try it out and see if it fits us.

I had my biggest haul home last weekend.  I generally do my shopping on Saturday or Sunday during the week.  I brought home 12kg of food and had to use the carabineer I had placed on my bag to hold an extra grocery bag.  It felt pretty badass to carry this full pack, extra bag, and the bike up the flight of stairs to the apartment.  The new place I'm moving to will be a bit closer than this one, with an elevator, though I still plan on generally taking the stairs as I do at work.

[katscratch]

I finally got out for a good ride! 16 miles and could've easily gone another 20. Temps in the 60s definitely helped my asthma :)

It's going to be high 50s tomorrow so I'm riding to work. We'll see if I can keep going as the temps fall again midweek and we get more snow.

[Kmp2]

Mwhahah, I biked in yesterday, but as I was entering the parkade my wheel was starting to feel like it was freezing up. Sure enough it was rubbing against something and it looked very crooked! So I left it at work over night to deal with today. Called a local bike shop and they said they had a mechanic on site, so I walked it over... only the rear wheel wouldn't budge. After several failed attempts of lifting it up by the seat and rolling it on the front tire, I picked it up and carried it about half a mile (in a snowstorm!). Ok I was a little grumpy that I was passed by at least 20 pickup trucks and no one stopped to offer me a lift... but after the mechanic replaced the two missing bolts that had shimmied loose from my rack causing it to be held tight against the side wall of the wheel, I felt a little badass! Cyclecross here I come ;)

He also lubed my chain too and all for free! Yay!

I had a much nicer ride home, leaving fresh tracks in the snow.

Edit: spelling

[jordanread]

Mwhahah, I biked in yesterday, but as I was entering the parade my wheel was starting to feel like it was freezing up. Sure enough it was rubbing against something and it looked very crooked! So I left it at work over night to deal with today. Called a local bike shop and they said they had a mechanic on site, so I walked it over... only the rear wheel wouldn't budge. After several failed attempts of lifting it up by the seat and rolling it on the front tire, I picked it up and carried it about half a mile (in a snowstorm!). Ok I was a little grumpy that I was passed by at least 20 pickup trucks and no one stopped to offer me a lift... but after the mechanic replaced the two missing bolts that had shimmied loose from my rack causing it to be held tight against the side wall of the wheel, I felt a little badass! Cyclecross here I come ;)

He also lubed my chain too and all for free! Yay!

I had a much nicer ride home, leaving fresh tracks in the snow.

Gotta love that type 2 fun!

[ohyonghao]

Mwhahah, I biked in yesterday, but as I was entering the parkade my wheel was starting to feel like it was freezing up. Sure enough it was rubbing against something and it looked very crooked! So I left it at work over night to deal with today. Called a local bike shop and they said they had a mechanic on site, so I walked it over... only the rear wheel wouldn't budge. After several failed attempts of lifting it up by the seat and rolling it on the front tire, I picked it up and carried it about half a mile (in a snowstorm!). Ok I was a little grumpy that I was passed by at least 20 pickup trucks and no one stopped to offer me a lift... but after the mechanic replaced the two missing bolts that had shimmied loose from my rack causing it to be held tight against the side wall of the wheel, I felt a little badass! Cyclecross here I come ;)

He also lubed my chain too and all for free! Yay!

I had a much nicer ride home, leaving fresh tracks in the snow.

Edit: spelling

That's pretty badass!  I love that feeling after pushing through difficulty, like the first time I rode home with 20+lbs of groceries and realized I need to carry my bike up the stairs too.  Now every time I do it I just think of how badass it makes me.

[Kmp2]

Thanks Guys!

Bike commuting really does just keep pushing your comfort zone boundaries. Whether it's learning biking on a road with cars, or learning to carry things or getting used to the dark, or the cold, or the snow and ice... you just keep chipping away at what you once thought was unreasonable and it becomes normal - and surprisingly reasonable.

Today I checked the thermometer as I was leaving - -25C! so I added a few more layers, and swapped my gloves for mittens. I only wish I had a pair of goggles so I could have worn my balaclava (I couldn't, my glasses would've fogged up in 20s or so). So my nose and cheeks were a little cold when I got to work.

[jordanread]

Thanks Guys!

Bike commuting really does just keep pushing your comfort zone boundaries. Whether it's learning biking on a road with cars, or learning to carry things or getting used to the dark, or the cold, or the snow and ice... you just keep chipping away at what you once thought was unreasonable and it becomes normal - and surprisingly reasonable.

Today I checked the thermometer as I was leaving - -25C! so I added a few more layers, and swapped my gloves for mittens. I only wish I had a pair of goggles so I could have worn my balaclava (I couldn't, my glasses would've fogged up in 20s or so). So my nose and cheeks were a little cold when I got to work.

I've found that I can wear my Balaclava with my 'sun'glasses. Only issue I have is that I have to pull them a bit away from my face when I hit a light, but when I'm moving, they stay clear.

[GT]

You poor bastards.

We've just come off a 30 day streak of days at 30 degrees C or above.  A new record, last streak was 19 days in 2002.

Global warming what now?

[katscratch]

Goggles are the best! Start looking online now for end of winter huge sales - I think I got mine through Sierra Trading for 60%+ off. They make a HUGE difference to my comfort level - I can see in the dark, they cut the snow/ice glare on sunny days, and my whole face feels much warmer without any wind!

I am a wimp when it comes to the cold though so take my glowing review with a grain of badass -25C roadsalt!

[GT]

Rode 18 days out of 28 for the month, racking up 908kms and got two of my three Strava challenges.

[jordanread]

Oh crap. It's May now. I'll get the new challenge up shortly.

[jordanread]

New challenge is up!

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/march-cycling-challenge-2017/