Winter 2015- who's still riding?

Traffic 'round these parts dropped off pretty dramatically a few weeks ago... hard to tell from the "I rode today" thread who's still riding, as one would have to conclude that Gene is the only one out there most days by reading it....

Who's sticking it out and plans to continue to ride pretty much every day regardless of weather?

(Was winter 2013;   2014 starts on p. 36;   2015 starts on p. 61)

 

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Permalink Reply by Ms. Red [Jessy Doolin] on December 8, 2013 at 9:08am

I still here!  Biking everyday to work & everywhere else :)

Give a wave next time you see me!

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Jarland on December 8, 2013 at 11:14am

Oh Yeah! Me and my man, ride year round. We don't own a car so it's how we get where we are going. Tonight a 3 mile ride to a friends for dinner and back. Little jaunt in the winter wonderland!

Permalink Reply by Sue Clark on December 8, 2013 at 1:09pm

Unfortunately, not able to bike to work at present. 

Trying to make up for it on the weekends, though, by leaving the car parked and riding the bike. So, definitely first snow ride of the season for me today.

Permalink Reply by Paul Michael Ignacio on December 8, 2013 at 3:55pm

Rode the whole way home in the easiest two gears of my 1x9 setup in tonight's snow.  Lets me pedal a bit smoother and also lets me churn through the loose drifty stuff just to the outside of the packed car tracks, which I find has a bit more traction.  By the time I get home I'm sweaty from working so much harder, drained from having to concentrate the whole trip, and grinning like a fool!  Love riding in this!

Permalink Reply by Steve Weeks on December 8, 2013 at 4:51pm

I'm commuting in to UIC tomorrow on my old folding bike with studded tires. It's only a total of about 3.5 miles (each way), so I can't complain. My hat (with ear flaps!) is off to you guys doing 10-20 miles!

Steve

Permalink Reply by JeffB on December 9, 2013 at 2:00am

Any early riders out there?  Appreciate any road condition updates.

Permalink Reply by Adam 9 mi on December 9, 2013 at 3:32am

The arterial roads were fine for my commute. The roads where they force people to move their cars were pretty clean and salted, just wet. There is snow in some shoulders basically forcing you to ride in the lane rather than in the shared bike lane area, but I didn't see a lot of that on my route which is mostly Lincoln. Some messy spots from plows and from connecting side streets that hadn't been plowed but nothing too bad. The side streets are a mess from cars having driven over them, I had a tough time finding traction unless the street was heavily traveled. Hopefully things will be better by the commute home. 

-Adam

JeffB (7+ miles) said:

Any early riders out there?  Appreciate any road condition updates.

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on December 9, 2013 at 3:36am
Lake Front Trail is plowed.
Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on December 9, 2013 at 4:42am
Further update: Lake Front Trail is plowed and salted from Roscoe to Oak/Michigan (probably more, but that's the only area I ride on). The area near Fullerton is closed and the bypass is slippery. The Roscoe/Aldine underpass was plowed and salted, but the Oak Street underpass was a mess — no plowing at all. I walked my bike though that one. Wells Street bike lane is good except for a couple messy spots. No ice, just slush. Dearborn bridge is okay, but the entry point at Kinzie is a puddle and the rest of the lane is messy. Looks like it was plowed, but there's a few puddles and slushy spots — likely from people dumping snow from the sidewalk. The Goodman Theatre seems to remember their lesson from last year — the area in front of their building was clear.
Permalink Reply by Steve Weeks on December 9, 2013 at 4:42am

I came down Leavitt from the Western Avenue METRA station to UIC. Parts of the street had snow that was packed down by trucks; this was difficult to ride over as the small wheels of my folder would "punch through" at random times. I had to dab a foot here and there over a couple blocks. Once I got south of Lake Street it was pretty easy. I think some car drivers were puzzled to see me accelerating normally and following a straight line through slushy layers on the street. :-)

Steve

Permalink Reply by Fuegofan on December 9, 2013 at 4:54am

I admit to woosing out this morning.  My bags were packed, my clothes were ready, but I looked out and saw that my street was full of snow, which means my alley was worse, and I just said--"Metra is so convenient..."

Permalink Reply by Wolf-Pup on December 9, 2013 at 5:00am

I ride almost everyday although I rode my bicycle more last year. I used to live 5 blocks from the train now I'm less than 1 blocks. Temptation. Oh well. I went down Milwaukee a couple miles. It's not too bad but I really have a low tolerance for cycling in any sort of snow/slush. Took the lane for a bit since I prefer clear lanes. The streets were pretty empty. I left late today. Maybe if I'd seen another cyclist on my route I would have kept on...but, my brakes weren't happy and I just wasn't feeling confident about the slush today. Put my bike on the train. Haven't decided yet if I'm going to bike home. Generally feeling good about my decision to train it. I  guess. :/

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