I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

 

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Permalink Reply by Rich S on November 18, 2014 at 5:14am

There was a clusterflub of stuff this morning that caused traffic. The bus fire on LSD along with an elementary school fire by Armitage and Sheffield backed everything up on the north side. Elston was also bumper to bumper the whole way. A few drivers were getting impatient and driving in the bike lane. 

Days like today I'm glad I ride. It was a bit more hectic but I don't think the traffic added more than a minute or two to my half hour commute. Most of my co-workers came in late whether they drove or took public trans. 

Nights like last night when I caught a flat going home are the downside but oh well. 

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on November 18, 2014 at 5:26am

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on November 18, 2014 at 6:04am

I did not.  And I am sorry.  The wind last night wiped me out, so I decided to take the train (fortunately the Blue Line).  The car I got on was carrying an unfortunate soul who was carrying all of his possessions in piles of plastic bags and was exuding an incredibly strong odor.  Almost every time I take the train instead of my bike, I am sorry.

Permalink Reply by Chitown_Mike on November 18, 2014 at 6:51am

I rode today, slowly getting my clothing combo right to stay warm.  Although the $30 Planet Bike gloves I bought that worked oh so well until it gets into the single digits with the wind chill leave me wanting more.  Going to have to mess around with that end of things to keep the fingers warm.

Lisa, just don't let your bike know that.  No one likes to watch a bike do the "I told you so" dance.

Lisa Curcio 4.1mi said:

I did not.  And I am sorry.  The wind last night wiped me out, so I decided to take the train (fortunately the Blue Line).  The car I got on was carrying an unfortunate soul who was carrying all of his possessions in piles of plastic bags and was exuding an incredibly strong odor.  Almost every time I take the train instead of my bike, I am sorry.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on November 18, 2014 at 6:57am



Chitown_Mike said:

I rode today, slowly getting my clothing combo right to stay warm.  Although the $30 Planet Bike gloves I bought that worked oh so well until it gets into the single digits with the wind chill leave me wanting more. Going to have to mess around with that end of things to keep the fingers warm.

Bar Mitts are my solution. I have both the drop bar and flat bar versions. The drop bar version, while meant for modern day brifter-ized setups, works just fine with older aero brake setups, and last weekend I even used them on my RRB with non-aero brakes. While they retail for $70+, you can often find them at discount on eBay.

Permalink Reply by David of the North (David606xx) on November 18, 2014 at 7:53am

I have never seen traffic on Clark St. as bad as it was this morning. From Howard all the way down it was bumper-to-bumper with cars stranded in the intersections at every red light. Did Evanston catch fire and LSD fall into the lake?

Permalink Reply by Nançois on November 18, 2014 at 7:56am

I rode in yesterday morning, but lost steam about riding home last night at 7:30pm. Unfortunately, this morning I clearly picked the wrong day to train or bus in from the north side! Bike is still downtown, though, so I'm hoping to get up the whatever-it-takes to ride it home tonight before the snow flies!

Permalink Reply by David of the North (David606xx) on November 18, 2014 at 7:57am

The gloves that changed everything for me are the $6.00 wool inserts for miltary issue Trigger Finger Mittens. Any Army Surplus store should have them in stock. On the worst days, I double them up and feel just fine!

Chitown_Mike said:

I rode today, slowly getting my clothing combo right to stay warm.  Although the $30 Planet Bike gloves I bought that worked oh so well until it gets into the single digits with the wind chill leave me wanting more.  Going to have to mess around with that end of things to keep the fingers warm.

Lisa, just don't let your bike know that.  No one likes to watch a bike do the "I told you so" dance.

Lisa Curcio 4.1mi said:

I did not.  And I am sorry.  The wind last night wiped me out, so I decided to take the train (fortunately the Blue Line).  The car I got on was carrying an unfortunate soul who was carrying all of his possessions in piles of plastic bags and was exuding an incredibly strong odor.  Almost every time I take the train instead of my bike, I am sorry.

Permalink Reply by Chitown_Mike on November 18, 2014 at 9:08am

Skip and David - thanks for the suggestion.  

I did eyeball bar mitts but didn't dive in, I stuck my hands in the pair my buddy has and didn't like the "locked in" feeling that I had to remove my hands in one direction.  But I might try the surplus glove idea, I am riding around in a pair of NOS cold weather tights I bought from a surplus store and even by themselves my legs were decently warm yesterday and today riding.

Permalink Reply by JeffB on November 18, 2014 at 9:42am

Just learned also that the fire near Armitage caused them to shut down trains on the elevated tracks south of Fullerton. It really pays to bike!

Rich S said:

There was a clusterflub of stuff this morning that caused traffic. The bus fire on LSD along with an elementary school fire by Armitage and Sheffield backed everything up on the north side. Elston was also bumper to bumper the whole way. A few drivers were getting impatient and driving in the bike lane. 

Days like today I'm glad I ride. It was a bit more hectic but I don't think the traffic added more than a minute or two to my half hour commute. Most of my co-workers came in late whether they drove or took public trans. 

Nights like last night when I caught a flat going home are the downside but oh well. 

Permalink Reply by JeffB on November 18, 2014 at 9:52am

I used Moose Mitts for the first time last winter and I had mixed feelings.

They work well to keep your hands warm, but if you leave your bike parked outside for more than a few minutes, the handlebars get cold and you spend the next several minutes with freezing hands, warming the grips and the air pocket back up.

Plus I was always paranoid that someone would take them if I left my bike out too long. And I didn't want to remove them each time because they're a bit of a pain to put on and off with my bar ends, especially when you're gloveless in cold weather.

But maybe in a more typical winter, without the extended polar vortexes, I'd like them better.



Skip Montanaro 12mi said:

Bar Mitts are my solution. I have both the drop bar and flat bar versions. The drop bar version, while meant for modern day brifter-ized setups, works just fine with older aero brake setups, and last weekend I even used them on my RRB with non-aero brakes. While they retail for $70+, you can often find them at discount on eBay.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on November 18, 2014 at 11:13am

This morning the double whammy of snarls on Lake Shore Drive and the north side elevated made me wish I had geared up and biked today.  It's supposed to warm up later in the week, though, and I've been getting my exercise after work with a few miles of walking through town before catching the bus.

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