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Permalink Reply by JeffB on February 11, 2010 at 4:24am

Yeah, this morning was tricky in a few spots. The frigid temps froze the thin layer of slush/snow on some stretches. Nearly wiped on a slick manhole cover. I hate how they kind of give up on fully clearing the streets after a certain point.

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Permalink Reply by S. Campbell on February 11, 2010 at 4:57am

Thank goodness for overboots and waterproof jackets. I also learned the difference between hardpacked white snow and soft slushy gray snow. I can sail through slush, I can fall on my side with hardpacked white snow (clip out first damnit!). For the first time I wished I had platform pedals instead of the candies... how annoying!

I also learned how valuable it is to cover your saddle when snowplows are out and about and you park your bike on a rack on the sidewalk. I locked up and (thankfully) covered my saddle. When I came back a plow had come through and showered my poor little bike in slush. I swear it was gooey and I was quite pleased with my forethought. Yes, I will ride dry!

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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on February 11, 2010 at 5:11am

Jeff said:

Yeah, this morning was tricky in a few spots. The frigid temps froze the thin layer of slush/snow on some stretches. Nearly wiped on a slick manhole cover. I hate how they kind of give up on fully clearing the streets after a certain point.

My commute was mostly good, but there were plenty of stretches here and there where snow was pushed out into the street by shovelers or private plows or whatever.

After the last big snow, large sections of the sort-of bike lane on Loomis was unplowed. I called 311 several days after the snow and it got plowed the same day! So if you see particularly bad sections of bike lane (official or otherwise) call 311 and tell the city about it. It cannot hurt and it just might help. Streets and San seems still mostly concerned with motor vehicle traffic, so we should remind them that we are still riding.

We might be in for an extended period of slippery as the weather forecasts don't show the high getting even up to freezing for the next five days.

As for pedals, I refuse to go clipless - mostly because I don't want to get special shoes for biking. BUT there have been a few occasions over the past few days when being clipped in would have been better than slipping off! Slipping off a pedal while riding fixed is not fun!

I'm just saying that all the variations on the pedal have their own sets of advantages and disadvantages.

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