I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

 

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Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on January 31, 2014 at 6:57am

Finally got a longer ride in this morning (I've been riding every day through this crazy winter, but have a supershort commute) and was struck by the number of terrible, scary potholes. I'm headed back downtown later today, and hope to give myself more time to note and call in some of the worst ones. The Polar Vortexes have been brutal on pavement. Watch where you ride, friends!

Happy Friday!

Permalink Reply by Robert Underwood on January 31, 2014 at 6:58am

that is so much more appealing to me than where I rode this morning.  ahhh...  car free.
 
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Perfect winter morning ride. Not too cold, no wind, and light traffic.

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on January 31, 2014 at 7:12am
Half of my commute to the Loop is on the Lake Front Trail; for the rest I take Oak, Wells, Kinzie, and Dearborn. But yes, it's is nice to ride car-free.

Robert Underwood said:

that is so much more appealing to me than where I rode this morning.  ahhh...  car free.
 
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Perfect winter morning ride. Not too cold, no wind, and light traffic.

Permalink Reply by David Barish on January 31, 2014 at 11:06am

I really wanted to ride today and do the Mass but have too much to bring back home. So...I used Divvy for the first time this afternoon. I had an appointment near Wishbone and brought my helmet with me. Cheaper, greener and cooler than a cab.  I didn't have time to burn on a two way walk.  I will do that again if I have to be within a few  miles of the loop and  didn't bring my own bike. 

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on February 1, 2014 at 8:46am

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on February 2, 2014 at 9:36am

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on February 2, 2014 at 9:44am

Nice! :) I agree, the flexibility that Divvy allows is a real boon.

David Barish said:

I really wanted to ride today and do the Mass but have too much to bring back home. So...I used Divvy for the first time this afternoon. I had an appointment near Wishbone and brought my helmet with me. Cheaper, greener and cooler than a cab.  I didn't have time to burn on a two way walk.  I will do that again if I have to be within a few  miles of the loop and  didn't bring my own bike. 

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on February 3, 2014 at 2:44am

Dearborn PBL was pretty good this morning between Kinzie and Madison, except a little section south of Washington.

Permalink Reply by Duppie on February 3, 2014 at 3:40am

While I enjoyed the reduced riding over the last month, by now I am getting a little stir crazy.

So I rode in this morning. I was reminded that 0 degrees is at the very bottom of my comfort level. It was slow, and now I am feeling tired (instead of refreshed and ready to go).

Here is to hoping that the weather will return to normal soon

Permalink Reply by Apie (11) on February 3, 2014 at 4:35am

Today was my slowest commute ever.  Studded tires couldn't find purchase on the slush, perhaps due to ice under it.  Milwaukee was pretty narrow most of the way in.  My front derailler locked at the start of my ride, so I couldn't ride in my usual gear, and everytime I stopped and back-pedalled the tiniest bit the chain fell off.  3 times.  Total mechanical malfunctions this morn, and it didn't even seem that cold.  I think my chain is all stiff, any ideas?  I degrease and oil every weekend, but I did try a new oil last week..It was super thick so that maybe the issue.  It was called chain L or something. Maybe it isn't a good winter oil

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on February 3, 2014 at 5:07am



Apie (10.6) said:

My front derailleur locked at the start of my ride, so I couldn't ride in my usual gear, and everytime I stopped and back-pedaled the tiniest bit the chain fell off.  3 times.

Ouch. I'm curious about the cable routing for your derailleur. Is there a run of cable housing  in the shape of a "U" with the center section lower than the ends? If so, water can enter the ends and collect (and freeze) at the bottom of the "U".

I just experienced this twice on the same bike. I finished cleaning up a women's Schwinn World Tourist I plan to throw at Craigslist. When I got it, the front derailleur was completely frozen. The cable had rusted into that U-shaped housing. New stainless steel cable and housing. Voila.

Then I moved the bike from the basement to the garage. I went out to take a couple pictures yesterday afternoon. Double-checking the brakes and such, I found that the rear brake was completely frozen (it had worked fine in the basement). My guess is that it had water in it all along, but that it froze yesterday in the cold garage. I will replace the cable and housing to be sure everything works fine, but that's a continual problem for bikes with these kinds of setups. I'm sure grease in that section will help, but probably isn't a panacea.

Permalink Reply by Apie (11) on February 3, 2014 at 5:22am

Skip, initially I don't really understand what you are saying.  I have a top pull derailleur.   I think it has to do with the brifter not shifting far enough, but the chain drops made me think therr are issues with the derailler itself.  After some research I see that Chain -L is a good winter lube, so I don't think the chain is the issue.  I'll run down during lunch to see if I can figure out what you are talking about with the "U"

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