Cold Weather Riding

So far I've been pretty lucky the coldest day this Fall was this morning; a chilly 27 degrees when I left the house.

I have my routine down fairly good, this morning I even had time to make and eat a bowl of oatmeal before heading to work. As the weather gets colder I plan to shower before I go to bed so I can keep some of the oils on my skin as protection. Taking a shower in the morning helps with waking up but it takes all of the oil from your skin and leaves you exposed to the elements.

My routine goes a little something like this:
cell phone alarm starts playing the Mexican hat dance at 0415
I crawl out of bed and let the dogs outside.
Brush teeth, use toilet and find clothes for the day, not necessarily in that order.
Let dogs back into the house and feed them.
Jump into shower, get dressed.
Pack lunch and work bag.
Grab a bite to eat and something to drink, fill water bottle.
Put on riding gear; Techpant Overtrouser by Endura, super bright yellow windbreaker jacket from REI, and Sugoi vest, Spider gloves, Pearl Izumi liner, and Bell Ghisallo helmet. I wear my regular work clothes underneath.
Set alarm system, lock up the house and pedal off to work.

If the weather is over 40 I'll wear a headband instead of the liner and regular biking gloves instead of the Spider gloves. Once the weather gets really cold I'll add another layer under the jacket and possibly long underwear. As I said earlier now that it's getting cold I'll start showering before bed and also get my lunch ready and work bag packed the night before. This will save me some time in the morning. At this time of the year I have to dress for a 20 degree difference between the time I ride to work and the time I ride home. Example at 0530 this morning the temp was 27 degrees, at 1430 the temp was 50 degrees. The tech pants were packed in my work bag and the liner and Spider gloves were replaced with a headband and biking gloves.

I'm also looking at getting a new helmet, I really like the Nutcase helmets and hope to purchase one of those real soon. They have less ventilation which I hope will make it warmer and they come in some really fun designs. And while I'm looking at a new helmet I'll be checking out new gloves too. The pair I have work great for skiing but my hands don't move enough on the bike and my fingers were pretty cold this morning. I plan to check out those claw gloves. I had a great hand warming idea on my ride home today that if it works could be a great new invention for us bike commuters. I'm not saying anything at the moment but the idea has been formed in my mind now I just need to figure out how to bring it to life.

I've checked into studded tires and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get them to fit my rims. My tires are 700cX 28 and the smallest studded tires I've been able to find were 32's I don't know if they will work or not. The young gentleman at the bike shop thought they might. I guess I'll find out after the snow starts to fly. In the mean time the Armadillo Nimbus tires will have to do. If all else fails I can ride my mountain bike when it snows, I know I can get studded tires for that one.

Well, that's all for today...

Bicyling for Ladies

The Common Sense of Bicycling: Bicycling for Ladies by Marie E. Ward.

You can click here to read it online or download it from google books. Written in 1896. Things have changed a bit since then but not a lot. It's well worth the read.

A Case for Separated Bike Lanes

Winter Riding

This year was not one of my best years for riding. I've struggled with some injuries and been a little depressed about it. I did so much riding last year and I felt really good coming into winter. Here it is October and I'm feel sadly out of condition. I realize that I commute to work most days which I fail to count as riding. I always think it's only 6 miles and most of that is flat but seriously most people can't even ride 6 miles so I really need to start giving myself credit for it. But that's not what I'm here about tonight. I'm writing tonight because I've decided I'm going to work hard at commuting to work through the winter.

One of my long time dreams is to do a super long distance ride, something like the Underground Railroad or the Ride across America. In order for me to do that I need to spend time in the saddle and outfit myself with the proper gear. I also need to learn what to bring, how to survive out on the road and how to fix a broken bike. Well, I'm pretty handy, when I took the entrance exam to join the military they said I was "mechanically inclined" and tried hard to recruit me. If they had let me fly airplanes and blow things up I probably would have joined, but that's another story. Anyway, I've been reading a lot lately about commuting, touring and bikes.

I believe the bikes I have now will work fine for my immediate needs however I think I need a few more accessories for my bike. The first thing being a new headlight. My favorite headlight was on my mountain bike that was stolen this summer. I've been looking at a lot of lights and I think I would really like one of those lights with the generator, I mean it's gotta be more environmentally friendly than batteries, right?!? I remember when I was a kid, my big brother had one of those lights on his bike and I thought it was soooo cool. I need to get to the bike store and actually take a look at one before I decide. Checking products out on the Internet only goes so far, I'm a hands on kinda person. I need to open the box and look at what I'm buying.

The second thing I need is different pedals which is no big deal, I've taken the pedals off my Terry and will put them on my Specialized. However when I removed the pedals from the Terry I noticed that the rubber washer thingy needs to be replaced so I need to get to the bike store and buy one before I put those pedals on my Specialized. With these pedals I can either clip in or use regular street shoes and I'm thinking on a cold blustery Minnesota morning I'm not going to want to be wearing bike shoes. A big 'ole pair of mukluks will be nice.

As for clothing I think I'm going to have to learn as I go along. I know dressing in layers is going to be my best bet. I have a locker at work and I'm thinking it would be a good idea to keep a change of clothes in there, at least dry pants, a shirt and socks. Maybe I'll toss in a raincoat as well, you never know in Minnesota.

I'm also going to invest in new racks for my Specialized, I wasn't going to do it but I'm tired of carrying a bag on my back and I think having a rack in the back I can just strap my lunch bag to it and not have to worry about anything. I have fenders from my old Bianci hybrid and I'm going to see if they will fit on the Specialized as well; that should help limit the splash back and save me some discomfort.

Tires are another issue, I've started reading about what everyone else is doing but it seems it all depends on your personal preference and where you are riding. For now I'm going to see how well my Armadillo Nimbus 700c x 28's work. I'm sure I'm going to needs something a little knobbier but they should be OK for now. I will for sure get to the bike store and have something in the basement ready to go so that when the snow starts flying I'll be ready.

I'm also going to spend lots of time reading about touring bikes! And taking them for test rides. I already have several on my list to check out. Hmmm, sounds like a need a trip to the bike shop; what a perfect thing to do on a Monday night. Now I know what I'm doing tomorrow and with that I shall sign off.

Awesome Video

St. Paul Classic

I cannot tell you how good it felt to be back on my bike again. This summer has been hell for me. I've sustained more injuries than I care to talk about. The sad thing is they did not happen while riding so they were not even worth it. It's one thing if you have a crash while bombing a downhill or having a great ride through a rock garden; but pulling your hamstring while pulling out tree roots is stupid. In any case I participated in the St. Paul Classic today and had just a fantastic time.

Rode with some old friends and some new friends. Everyone met at the starting line and we rolled out about 9 AM a nice easy cheesy ride to the first rest stop. Saw lots of kids on the ride, don't know if it's because we started out so late or if there were more this year. From what I hear there were about 7000 riders this year!

The second rest stop was at Indian Mounds Park, lots of cookies and coffee, yummy. Great view overlooking downtown St. Paul. There were a few climbs to get to Mounds Park but they were not too bad. Next stop Como Park! The ride was fairly flat until we hit the big hill on Wheelock Parkway. I was thinking about this hill the entire time, and wondering if I was going to make it. My knees are in pretty bad shape this year so I was concerned. But I had nothing to worry about it was a piece of cake, well maybe not that sweet but I didn't have any trouble with it. I've been in physical therapy most of the summer for my pulled hamstring and the arthritis in my knees, I guess it's working.

We arrived at Como Park pavilion and enjoyed some great music, coffee and brownies. Well I enjoyed the coffee most everyone else was into the lemonade. I love me some coffee and it's not often I pass up a free cup. Como Park is the last stop before the end of the ride.

I have no idea what time we finished the ride as I was not paying any attention to the time or mileage. We had several "new" riders with us so it was a nice easy casual Sunday ride.

After arriving back at the starting point we decided we needed food and a beer so we rode over to the Groveland Tap for lunch. My game plan was to ride my bike back home from the event; but after food and a beer I took Dave up on his offer of a ride home.

The weather was perfect, the company was great! Now I'm inspired to get some more miles in before the snow starts flying.

My riding this summer has been limited mostly to commuting back and forth to work. Now that I'm feeling better I plan to do more riding. I've had my hours at work changed the past few weeks in order to have some daylight to ride into work. I don't know how much longer that will last. I think I will need to invest in a stronger headlight. I lost my good light when my Kona mountain bike was stolen a while back.

Now it's time to relax and enjoy my evening. 0530 will be coming along real quickly.

This will be great to see on the big screen!