The Chainlink

I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

 

Views: 138532

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on May 21, 2013 at 9:33am

Yay! Good for you! (and your colleagues and the planet!)

CaptFinny said:

First day commuting to work!  Beautiful ride. As I cruised up Dearborn, it was easy to forget I was in Chicago, and not in Amsterdam. First time on the new Bike Lane, first time riding to work. The indoor locked bike room at my office is the icing on the cake!

Permalink Reply by CaptFinny on May 21, 2013 at 10:04am

Thanks Tony! It's a very easy cruise from 13th & Wabash (south loop) to Washington & Clinton. Though I'll be moving in a couple weeks down to your neck of the woods, I believe. I've already been planning my routes (side streets to Ashland, 2 blocks of Archer Ave insanity, then Loomis to Blue Island) thanks to some of your other posts. So thanks for that too!

Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on May 22, 2013 at 8:10am

Yup.  Made it to work swimmingly...

Permalink Reply by CaptFinny on May 22, 2013 at 8:29am

Still drying off, but it was a very nice ride. Of course the cab who swerved into the bike lane on Dearborn right in front of me was a little intense, but that's why I have disc brakes on the commuter... :)

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on May 22, 2013 at 9:52am

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on May 22, 2013 at 10:01am

discs! nice! My fixed rear wheel also "brakes" just fine in the rain. (I do have a caliper on the front which also works in the rain - eventually.)  

My default is to ride every day. I rode today and I'm glad I did. It was pretty nice. The rain tapered off pretty much the whole way. Another advantage of the oversized for commuting Ortlieb Classic is that there is plenty of room in there for a change of clothes.

It rarely feels as bad riding in the rain as it seems like it is going to when one is still warm and dry. The hard part for me is going out into the rain. I will admit that I've taken the CTA a couple of times this spring because I was afraid of melting or something.

CaptFinny said:

Still drying off, but it was a very nice ride. Of course the cab who swerved into the bike lane on Dearborn right in front of me was a little intense, but that's why I have disc brakes on the commuter... :)

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on May 22, 2013 at 10:05am

Yep, carried the work clothes in the pannier and the wet biking clothes are hanging up to dry.  It was a steady but not driving rain, my baseball cap under my helmet with glasses kept the rain out of my eyes, and the temperatures were warm enough to almost make it feel good getting wet.  Despite my Wicked Witch of the West tendencies, I have not yet melted.

Permalink Reply by John Wilson 6.0 on May 22, 2013 at 10:08am

Must remember this, for future rain rides. But, yeah, I rode today. It's just water.

Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

my baseball cap under my helmet with glasses kept the rain out of my eyes, 

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on May 22, 2013 at 10:12am

I don't mind the rain – especially light rain like we have today – but I took the 'L' because I've been having back spasms this past weekend and didn't want to aggravate it any further by riding my bike. I hope to be back on the wheels next week!

Permalink Reply by T.K. 3.5 mi on May 22, 2013 at 10:26am

I question this. The ride this morning was mostly refreshing, except for random horrible stenches here and there (might be because of my southside, industrial-heavy, route). I have this growing suspicion that riding through a puddle in the city and splashing the water onto myself subtracts a few days off of my life each time. Something equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes. The problem is that it is so much fun!

Hopefully it wont happen too much longer, full SKS Chromoplastic fenders are being installed on my commuter this week. :)


John Wilson 6.0 said:

It's just water.

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on May 22, 2013 at 10:33am

Yes! it makes a huge difference! I can't ride without a visor in rain OR sunshine. My head is rather huge and I can rarely find a helmet that fits. I can't squeeze an entire baseball cap in there so I cut the visor part off a cap an attached it to my helmet with a zip tie. 

John Wilson 6.0 said:

Must remember this, for future rain rides. But, yeah, I rode today. It's just water.

Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

my baseball cap under my helmet with glasses kept the rain out of my eyes, 

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on May 22, 2013 at 10:35am
Water amplifies your sense of smell, so those stenches are likely always there, but you only notice them when it rains. Incidentally, I can smell Blommer from a mile away on rainy days. Yum.

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service