Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by We all have an inner Beast... on January 9, 2013 at 9:39pm

MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmm....Baklava........ (in a Homer Simpson voice)

Kevin C 4.1 mi said:

Baklava:

Balaclava:

It's a common Bike Winter error.
 

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Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on January 10, 2013 at 7:37am

EVeryone should do this with all cabs blocking bike lanes!

Julie M. said:

I learned that I shouldn't say my usual "mmm, bacon" out loud when I'm passing Yolk on Wells on days like today, when there's so many more cyclists around.

I also learned that you can look up the cab company a specific cab belongs to here:

http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/bacp/publicvehi...

which is convenient for reporting cabs that are blocking the protected lane on Dearborn.

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Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on January 10, 2013 at 7:38am

Yes, it does.

Tony Adams 6.6 mi said:

So does having a gut full of baklava have a warming effect? (burning calories?) or an apparent cooling effect as blood is drawn from the extremities to aid in digestion?

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Permalink Reply by JeffB on January 10, 2013 at 11:23am

Whenever I cover my mouth and nose like that, my breath gets redirected up to my glasses, fogging them.  Do you have that problem?

Haddon said:

Since it seems relevant this is my Self Portrait (Winterized)

Gear: Bell Helmet, blink-light zip tied to helmet, nylon hat, polyester neck wrap, clear sports glasses, 3M mitten-gloves worn to crap.  I have a baklava (which spell checker doesn't catch, should read Balaclava) but only wear it when it's single or low double digits in temperature. Tried lab goggles but they cut down on peripheral vision too much for me. 

And your Self Portrait (Winterized) and what works for you? I mean, we all look like a bunch bank robbers right?

H

PS of course the Great Road Kill Patch from Chicago is in Lake Michigan.

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Permalink Reply by Haddon on January 10, 2013 at 11:56am

Only for a moment and the wind takes it away, I've had that problem in the past but these glasses seem to have the right balance of protection vs airflow.  Without them I'm totally miserable, nerd out on eyes and temperature sensation. H

Whenever I cover my mouth and nose like that, my breath gets redirected up to my glasses, fogging them.  Do you have that problem?

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Permalink Reply by Mark Potts on January 10, 2013 at 12:44pm

Today I rolled through the streets of Beverly... and IMO its an EXCELLENT training grounds.  Its about as "hilly" as it gets around here, and there is a ridge of sorts that runs parallel to longwood drive - I went up the hill on one street, went a bit south, down the hill on the next block, then back up the next block.  Its short but very steep - although there are places where the climb stretches out a bit.  I have no idea how people deal with this when it gets icey.

Just southeast of 95th and kedzie there is a freshly paved neighborhood that has little to no traffic mid day - *excellent* to do some crit style laps, maybe even hold one if the folks were down for it.  This is probably outside of Beverly, but its in the area.

I also learned that I'm not totally immune to getting sick... its been years, but I got a lil bug yesterday and it made the 25 miles today quite a bit rougher.  This is probably linked to my eating significantly less to drop some lbs by spring.

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Permalink Reply by Wolf-Pup on January 10, 2013 at 1:20pm

I've also learned that one must start off the ride a little cold to avoid overheating. But I hate the damn cold so much I sometimes overlayer intentionally. I just wear lots of unzippable layers so that way I don't worry about the cold...and when it gets hot I unzip and I feel good. :) Also zippers are fun. I like unzipping.

 

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Permalink Reply by Wolf-Pup on January 10, 2013 at 1:23pm

I'm posting your cab thing on Facebook. I had no idea.

Cheryl said:

I had no idea such a site existed - awesome.

Julie M. said:

I learned that I shouldn't say my usual "mmm, bacon" out loud when I'm passing Yolk on Wells on days like today, when there's so many more cyclists around.

I also learned that you can look up the cab company a specific cab belongs to here:

http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/bacp/publicvehi...

which is convenient for reporting cabs that are blocking the protected lane on Dearborn.

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Permalink Reply by Wolf-Pup on January 10, 2013 at 1:40pm

Me too. I bought a pair of Iron maiden boots from zappos. They are awesome serious.

Anika said:

My feet are always cold - no matter the number of miles/minutes spent outside.

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Permalink Reply by Julie M. on January 10, 2013 at 1:56pm

I know, I found it just doing a google search for reporting cabs on 311.  I do try (and recommend others do so) to report unsafe cabs and other commercial vehicles.  I emailed the Children's Hospital on Lincoln (when it was still on Lincoln) when one of their shuttles cut me off with good results.  

I like the Grid's write-up of a complaint against a cab at: http://gridchicago.com/2012/calling-311-to-report-dangerous-taxicab...

and plan to follow up on my complaint as needed.

Wolf-Pup said:

I'm posting your cab thing on Facebook. I had no idea.

Cheryl said:

I had no idea such a site existed - awesome.

Julie M. said:

I learned that I shouldn't say my usual "mmm, bacon" out loud when I'm passing Yolk on Wells on days like today, when there's so many more cyclists around.

I also learned that you can look up the cab company a specific cab belongs to here:

http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/bacp/publicvehi...

which is convenient for reporting cabs that are blocking the protected lane on Dearborn.

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Permalink Reply by Christopher C. on January 12, 2013 at 11:53am

I learned that if I'm warm biking to work then I'll be cold while working(outdoors 97% of the time) but if I fry on the ride then I'm warmish while working. Now if I didn't hate lugging extra clothing in my pack this would be a non issue. All the same been a blast riding my first winter in Chicago.

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Permalink Reply by Haddon on January 12, 2013 at 12:20pm

I learned that with days like the last couple winter riding isn't so bad.  I did the lake front trail yesterday and one way with some tail wind it was easy though coming back it did hurt a bit.  I admit I don't invent reasons to bike 100 blocks like I would in summer.

Also re-learned that finding an open bike rack is a cinch, sometimes in summer its an annoyance to hunt a space down but these days it's easy front row parking. Ice still unnerves me, once I went down so hard from ice that a couple people walked over saying "Dude are you ok?".  I was looking for my stuff at a friends place and for a moment was more worried that I would have to bike back with no gloves/neckmuff/hat than I was that I might have to replace all the plastic in my wallet. 

Learned that I'm truly tired of the part where the tires are hard when I pump them up indoors but when I go outside and the air cools and contracts that they start to get squishy, doesn't anyone have a fix for this one already?  There are devices to auto tune guitar strings why not this?

Learned that while a long light or wait is fine when it's warm and you can cool off the same in winter is more than an irritation and I wonder how fast pneumonia can set in.  I don't dally when I ride, summer I'll stop for all sorts of reasons: to lay in the grass at a park, to stop in a store that looks interesting or smells good, now I'm far more point A to point B. 

Learned that there is a bit more 'there' when I cross paths with another cyclist.  In summer kids on bikes are everywhere, now when it's cold and there are fewer of us out there we nod at each other more.  It's like we recognize some shared affinity, there is a bit more acknowledgement of each other which is cool. 

H

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