The Chainlink

Anybody else going to wuss out on commuting because of gale force winds?

I felt exceptionally lazy the last three days and was unable to get out of the house on time to be able to make it to work via bike, so I drove. I rarely EVER drive to work so I've been a bit bummed that I didn't bike the last three days, and now it looks like my usual LFP commute will be all but impossible due to 30 mph winds gusting into my face each morning for the next couple days. I thought about maybe cutting west and riding up through the city to avoid the LFP on the off chance that it might be less windy. However, the wind is pretty much coming straight from the north so I can't see any northern route on city streets being much better than the LFP. The ride home would probably be a blast though, what with that tail wind. There was a storm last year in October that was a lot like this with the super high winds. It was blowing so hard I had to ride the bus up into the loop to run an errand. Going home I got on the LFP south of Navy Pier and had a blast riding home with the massive tailwind. It was blowing so hard that day that I was actually in my granny ring and one of the bigger cogs on the back and was still able barely manage about 10 miles an hour. I suspect tomorrow and Tuesday will be pretty similar to that storm last October. I may just drive both days and consider this week a write-off.

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Most Subways are underwater, long lines for buses, no power to many gas stations, so people are buying bicycles.

 http://www.cnbc.com/id/49646885 

In my opinion, the worst part about the wind on the LFT is the sand that blows across the path, especially between Fullerton and North Ave.  It's like riding through a sand cloud, and you get a ton of sand in your chain, on your gears, etc.  You can hear it grinding as you pedal.  It also gets on your brake pads, and when you pull the brakes you can hear the sand grinding against the rims.  I didn't notice it for a few days, but when I looked at my rims they were coated with a layer of powdered aluminum   

One time last year I had freshly oiled my chain & gears, tons of sand was blowing across the trail, and it actually ground my chain to a full stop.  Everything was so coated in sand that my chain jammed in the rear derailleur and wouldn't move forward.

Lesson learned: use less lube, rinse bike frequently.

I actually commuted to river north on Monday and it was pretty windy in the evening on the way back home. My route usually consist of Elston st, but it was so hard to ride back Northwest from downtown. It took me 20 minutes longer to get home and my body was achy. I've been commuting for about a month though.

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