Good day to test your winter weather duds

Who's going for a ride today? I'll roll for a little while.

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Permalink Reply by J on December 21, 2008 at 3:21am

Racing today!

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Permalink Reply by BalloonBiker on December 21, 2008 at 4:14am

I'm thinking about it. I want to take my beater bike to the shop. I'm definitely a little nervous.

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on December 21, 2008 at 4:36am

I have to run a few errands close by so it will be a good time to test out my gear and the ice.

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on December 21, 2008 at 8:18am

I chickened out and walked/bused it today...

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Permalink Reply by Vondo on December 21, 2008 at 8:21am

:-) Hey at least you were honest enough to report back that you chickened out!

Julie Hochstadter said:

I chickened out and walked/bused it today...

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Permalink Reply by J on December 21, 2008 at 8:53am

It wasn't the best day for racing, thanks to snowdrifts as deep as 18" in Jackson Park. On the other hand, the air temperature was fine, and the sun was shining. The best part was the large expanse of unblemished snow. When it gets 20+ degrees below freezing, there's a nice ice crust that forms over the snow, and if you're really careful, you can float right over it. It feels like you're riding on water, because if you slow down or turn too sharply, you'll start to sink.

The guys are actually standing on this crust... there's about 10 inches of powder below.

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Permalink Reply by Steve 3po on December 21, 2008 at 9:50am

on days like this I feel like Han Solo on Hoth all I need is a Ton-ton and some deck hand to tell that I'll see them in hell... rode to work just to turn around and go home(the owner decided not to open due to the weather). I think my hands have finally thawed enough to go back out for an ice cold beer... mmm ton-tons and beer...

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Permalink Reply by Jen P on December 21, 2008 at 10:49am

It is enough for me to just walk the dog...

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Permalink Reply by RodimusPrime on December 21, 2008 at 11:45am

i did it. east chicago, south on milwaukee and east again on washington to lavazza. All my clothes stood up except for my feet, and face balaclava, which led to a double layer on the ride home.

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Permalink Reply by justJason on December 21, 2008 at 12:24pm

I fell down some stairs with my bike thanks to the slippery snowy/icy conditions of the steps. Fun! But I managed to regroup and do a few errands in this jive. I actually didn't feel too bad; because of the tumble I took, however, my right ankle is all swollen and pained. It's fine when I'm pedaling, but every start on the bike is fairly f'ing excruciating.

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Permalink Reply by BalloonBiker on December 21, 2008 at 1:09pm

I took a very short ride to Roscoe Village Bikes. My beater bike hasn't been rideable all winter due to needing a tune up. I will be nice to get it back tomorrow and let my road bike take a break. I was fine, though I did wear my down parka instead of my bike jacket. I stayed nice and toasty.