I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

 

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Permalink Reply by S.Presley☠ on January 20, 2012 at 11:19am

I took the secret route(heading north) over to Elston. It was/is a mess and I was being pulled left and right. I ended up taking the side walk all the way north to Irvingpark, which was so much easier.

I fell twice and my left elbow will be stiff as soon as I settle down and cool off. I'm still in my gear as I write this so I better go and get cleaned up.

Permalink Reply by Barclor on January 20, 2012 at 11:52am

I'm about to head out and ride home. Looks like it will be fun!

Ride safe everyone!

Permalink Reply by Madopal (16.5 mi) on January 20, 2012 at 11:52am

I did not ride, although I sorely wanted to.  I'm rejiggering my setup.  I need winter boots, so I just splashed for a pair of Lakes, and I need to work on the pedal setup.  I have toeclips & straps, which turned out to be a problem only because I can't get into the darn things when it gets too slick.  I had a fishtail moment last week, so one pedal 'round couldn't get me enough momentum at times to get into the straps.  I knew that wouldn't work for snowy weather.

Getting the bike cleaned this week, I found that after less than a week of snow/salt riding, I'm getting rust on my chain.  Damn.  Going to have to clean the thing down EVERY day.  What a pain.

Be safe anyone who rode who still has to get home.  It's getting a bit worse out there, snow-wise.

Permalink Reply by Holly on January 20, 2012 at 12:26pm

It's 5:18...my drives today were rather slow. Like, my car never went above 7 mph. Nothing was plowed. I thought I saw a plow on Western, but when I drove back down that street an hour later, you couldn't tell. One of my client's tried to take her child to daycare and got 5 blocks in 20 minutes--mainly it's just gridlock at every single busy intersection.  

I saw about 6 people on bikes at around 3:30ish. All moving slowly and seemingly probably enjoying it to some extent. At least they weren't part of the gridlock which, as you might know, completely blows. 

If you go slowly, I think it's doable, but certainly not an easy snow ride. 

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on January 20, 2012 at 12:29pm

Gonna have another go with my ice tires.

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on January 20, 2012 at 12:32pm

Yes - it was pretty great. I love it when the motor vehicle tracks/ruts are still soft enough to fight a bit. My usual (as of this week) 35 min commute took about an hour and a quarter. Mostly fun though. One guy in car offered me a ride, "hey bro, you want a ride or something?" which was nice. I thanked him and told him I was having fun. I got a "You're hardcore!" from a ped on Archer - which I avoided mostly. Prolly rode a mile of sidewalks to avoid traffic squeezes like on State between 15th and 18th. 

When I got home I didn't feel like stopping so I took a lap around the park:

The frankentown passed its first deep snow test with flying colors. The Panasonic Ribmos (700 x 32) - more or less slick - probably somewhere between 75 - 85 psi,  handled GREAT in the snow. A bit slidey here and there where the ruts were more solid - but they were a total joy in the fresh snow. I never got out of first gear - which, may be a tiny bit tall for the slippery stuff. 

I was expecting more trouble from the fenders, which don't have much clearance in a few spots, but they performed quite well.

Permalink Reply by sara dykman on January 20, 2012 at 12:44pm

I took washington west from the loop.  Crossing Ogden would have been horribly frustrating in a car.  All the cars on Ogden would creep through the intersection then be stuck there blocking the intersection when the light changed.  I walk to the front of the line, zigged through the cars when I had the green light, and then had washington all to myself.  It was awesome!

other than that, slow going (my commute time doubled), half fun, half terrifying, and 100% awesome if we could just get rid of all those cars!  

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on January 20, 2012 at 12:48pm

I think my return commute from the Loop to Wicker Park only took about 5 minutes longer than usual. Keep a light grip on the handlebars, a light touch on the pedals, and steer in the direction of the skid. Yeeeee-Hawwwww!

Permalink Reply by David P. on January 20, 2012 at 2:18pm

I haven't ridden in conditions like that since, well, last winter. I already had the studded tires on so I wouldn't get surprised by ice patches earlier this week, and the studs don't do anything for me in mucky snow, but the tread helps and the Hetres would have been useless. A bit of lack of confidence due to being out of practice, but with the choice being between getting in the conga line (nice phrase) and being stuck in traffic or fighting the muck in the curb lane, my 25-minute commute was an hour. Once I got north of Diversey on Milwaukee, though, it was clear sailing.

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on January 20, 2012 at 2:36pm

Anyone know who this is? From the online Chicago Tribune:

Buses detoured off Lake Shore Drive as storm cripples commute, cancels flights

A bicyclist crossing the pedestrian bridge over traffic on Lake Shore Drive. (Chris Walker/ Chicago Tribune)

Permalink Reply by Jeff on January 20, 2012 at 2:45pm

Permalink Reply by Gerry G on January 20, 2012 at 3:55pm

Put me down for 1/4 commute.

The plan when I left the house was to bike from 6000 North to the Brownline @ Lincoln, Lawrence and Western and lock up there.  But I was having such nice ride, I blew off the station.  Man, my mind was really working me over.  The farther South I got, the worse the thoughts of the P.M. commute ate at me.

So I locked up @ Fullerton.  Redline, Fullerton to work and back.  Took the bike on the Brownline, from Fullerton to Western.  The ride from the Western station home was a sloppy, slippery, soupy mess.  

I'M GRATEFUL WE CAN BRING BIKES ON TRAINS IN THIS TOWN.   

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