2011 Bike season is over.. pretty much..

[amberwolf]

Been rainy past couple days; yesterday just cloudy but very cool (60F) and breezy. Got down to 36F just before dawn this morning, and is only 50F right now at almost noon. Thin clouds, may not rain, but isnt' going to get warm. I don't expect a warm ride home tonite, and I think I'm gonna wear the FF helmet.

 

[Joseph C.]

Joe, actually we tend to think of any ice on blacktop as black ice. It's black and hard to see so, it's black ice. Like when I lived in DC, the snow banks would melt during the day then the runoff would freeze overnight creating dangerous spots of "black ice" for you to find on your way in to work in the morning.

Yes, I think we didn't distinguish between the two either. That was until we had a cold winter last year when the temperature was actually low enough for the proper black ice to form.

 

[karma]

i finished the season with a nice crash :wink: but i like the winter gives me a chance to work on my projects.

 

[geetarboy]

For me, this is just the worst part of bike season. I am mounting the 'schwalbe ice spikers' back on the schwinn 'slow bike'- top speed about 27mph. It was kind of fun at times last year, when I was getting around better than alot of cars after a snow storm

 

[ohzee]

I rode into work last week the 2 days it was not raining 25 degrees F both days. I also had my 1st experience with over extending some lipo packs ;(
Nice 16 mile ride today in 40 degrees weather.. Sure is easy to figure out what's wind proof and what is not. I don't plan on quitting my riding season
as long as I can keep myself warm. Central Ohio US

 

[amberwolf]

Definitely glad i wore the FF; it got drizzly/sprinkly on the way home a couple of hours ago, and was just below 40F not counting windchill when I got home by the front yard thermometer. I had to pedal just to keep my legs warm. Got cloudier (had been clearing up before) so now temp has actually gone up a couple degrees.

 

[Joseph C.]

These are gortex outler layer with a cotton inner liner, good down to -5 celcius + going 60 kph.. any colder and i have to move up to a thicker glove but then the throttle and brakes become difficult to control, not ideal on a 5000w bike.

the long cuffs are important, your coat sleves needs to be inside the cuffs to prevent wind from flowing into the coat ( arm freeze. )

--

the black ice, i usually consider it the type that canot be broken, very thin and covering the pavement surface with a simpled surface. supper slippery.. The stuff you can crack with your heel is just normal ice. :lol:

That's excellent info, Ypedal.

I was just curious I'm hoping I will be covered with glove liners and some cheap ski gloves but if not I know what to get now. Thanks.

 

[veloman]

46 and light rain here in what WAS ebike heaven - Austin TX

I did a few miles in my new waterproof pants which I love, bmx helmet, and massively too big winter jacket which slowed me down a ton. I need winter gloves, and waterproof shoe covers as well as a good fitting waterproof jacket.

My fenders are doing good, nice full wrap Planet Bike on the rear. The front needs to be a bit longer.

 

[Joseph C.]

46 and light rain here in what WAS ebike heaven - Austin TX

I did a few miles in my new waterproof pants which I love, bmx helmet, and massively too big winter jacket which slowed me down a ton. I need winter gloves, and waterproof shoe covers as well as a good fitting waterproof jacket.

My fenders are doing good, nice full wrap Planet Bike on the rear. The front needs to be a bit longer.

Waiting patiently on a pair of waterproof trousers. I am trying to get away without using a big heavy jacket by layering up with a cheap ski roll-neck tophttp://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_19600.htm, a normal jumper and a neck warmer http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_19607.htm, all underneath a thin jacket complete with a thermal hat.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Berghaus-Paclite-Gore-Tex-Lightweight-Jacket/dp/B0039ODA8I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323041330&sr=8-1

It is working so far but it has only hit around zero degrees Celsius yet. I do have a tried-and-trusted merino wool underwear top that I can try out if it gets a bit colder. All in all, I find this set up is much better than the heavy winter jacket. You might prefer it too.

I find the shoe covers annoying as it used to take me ages to put them on when it rained. I would carry them in the trailer and I would have to open that up, put them on, close it and then my legs would sweat near the ankles it the rain wasn't heavy enough. I use Clarks Goretex shoes now and they have been holding up quite well.

 

[jingles98]

http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/awap/temp...t&step=0&map=maxextrm/hi&period=week&area=nat

Welcome to Australia lol, the day BEFORE SUMMER STARTS. Be interesting to compare Summer Max temps with you AJ.

 

[AussieJester]

Be interesting to compare Summer Max temps with you AJ.

We usually max out around ~42-43C real dry heat, worst days it doesn't get below ~30C at night ... nice today
light rain/thunderstorms and 33C forecast... Anything upto 33C i like after that things are lil uncomfortable
unless i'm in aircon or in the water...

KiM

 

[veloman]

Been riding down to 30 degrees now. Multiple windproof layers over your insulating layers is key. As is a scarf, non-vented helmet or something like a BMX one with very few vents, thermal legs, and windproof gloves. I also wear ear muffs, but will try to sew some ear covers into my helmet straps for simplicity. I do look a little funny with everything on now, but I'm warm! Switching to a wind breaker over everything instead of a fleece made a huge difference!

I did buy a Lands End Squall jacket and rain shell, as my current 8 layers is a bit too much to deal with. I am going to order those 'bar mitts' too. It will be an investment so I will never have cold hands riding for many years. Will also make rain rides much more realistic. Aero drag - yeah a little, but when the weather is cold/wet, I'm not looking to go as fast as possible or hit great efficiency. I did make a temporary cardboard shield for my throttle hand. I put the my left hand in my windbreaker pocket on stretches of road that I know I don't need to stop fast.

My feet stay warm in these casual suede shoes since they are not ventilated.

I didn't think I would ebike below 50 degrees much. I think my limit is now 25-30 F. I may need a full face helmet for below that, which should be very rare down here.

 

[Ypedal]

- 15 celcius this morning, without the wind chill factor.....

I put on the carhartt coveralls, snowmobile mitts ( the thick one's with the snot sponges :lol: )

and Off i went on the 100v BMX, son-of-a-bitch it's COLD.... holy crap.. i could not tolerate over 45 kph my cheeks were stinging, i have to dig out the baklava to cover my face in the morning... and add air to the tires..

 

[grindz145]

I still managed to have some fun on the ICE bike yesterday. Not enough to stop us in Rochester yet. Usually we are already well into the miserable part of the weather year, but not yet!

[youtube]KjjxTYBRZYc[/youtube]

 

[rojitor]

It never snows in my land, we're close to zero but almost never subzero, it rains a lot though, i didn't ride my bike for almost two months. I hope at the end of this week i can ride, it's chilly but i don't mind as long as i see the sun 
Cheer up guys cos the sun will always shine again (someday)

 

[DAND214]

Today was a real warm day here. 42~47f is warm for me now.
Been out below freezing and really don't like it. But I can't stand cooped up all winter. Gotta ride as they say!

Below freezing is cold, but still ridable if the paths and streets aren't frozen over. Last winter I road on the grass since all the paths were still frozen over with clear ice. Cold is what you make of it. Dress warm andg oo slow, then it's OK.

Dan