I don't know how pals up north are able to do it

[weisan]

I am sitting here staring at this darn thing for the last hour or so wishing I could take it out for a ride today but according to my schedule I probably won't, and that's driving me nuts. For the most part, we had a pretty mild winter here in Texas...er...ok, we don't have a winter. I was able to ride pretty much from Jan to Dec all year round. I can't imagine living up north hindered by the weather or other factors that may prevent me from riding several months out of the year. Yeah, I know what some of you would say...do other stuff like pick up ice hockey. Whatever. To me, that's just crying sour grapes. :D

[ChristianWong]

do other stuff like pick up ice hockey.

Up in the Great White North, we just call it 'hockey'.

:fight:

[weisan]

Up in the Great White North, we just call it 'hockey'.

:fight:

wong pal, is that the same place where you can fish right out of your front porch?

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/images/slides/icefishing.jpg

[AngryScientist]

i did intervals on this for a few hours this morning:

https://images.homedepot-static.com/productImages/f433466f-6a39-4194-9e77-e47bae741cdf/svn/true-temper-snow-shovels-ice-scrapers-1603400-64_1000.jpg

[echelon_john]

Only 2 more months of winter!!!

[buddybikes]

We don't... We use anti-depressants that we get on our xc skiis.

[jamesdak]

We "man up" and ride no matter what the weather. A MB with studded tires can handle about anything and it really doesn't take that much to keep warm.

Get out there!

http://www.pbase.com/jhuddle/image/162200883.jpg

[oldpotatoe]

I am sitting here staring at this darn thing for the last hour or so wishing I could take it out for a ride today but according to my schedule I probably won't, and that's driving me nuts. For the most part, we had a pretty mild winter here in Texas...er...ok, we don't have a winter. I was able to ride pretty much from Jan to Dec all year round. I can't imagine living up north hindered by the weather or other factors that may prevent me from riding several months out of the year. Yeah, I know what some of you would say...do other stuff like pick up ice hockey. Whatever. To me, that's just crying sour grapes. :D

Like clean up your work shop...:eek:

There is no 'ice hockey', it's 'hockey'...

BTW-If you are cold, it's not the weather, it's lack of preparation.

[timto]

The equipment and routes change, but the fun is still high. I've been commuting on partially maintained pathways and side streets all winter on my wife's fender bike. You get warm quick, wear boots and outdoor pants and I get tons of fun. But yeah it's not 'road riding'. I can't wait for the nice weather to return but do have fun in the variety of conditions.

Ideally I'd have a flat bar mtb with room for big studded tires with fenders. With a bike like that and a dyno I'd even go for actual fitness rides.

https://instagram.fybz2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/vp/c7e63b49226e51b249f89197f4d68f44/5B4A0724/t51.2885-15/e35/28430902_190762681525884_2298248721055350784_n.jpg

[sparky33]

What? The riding is just fine up here. In fact, I can't recall the last time I needed fenders or leg warmers...the weather is perfectly pleasant in London, on top of snowy mountains and even inside volcanoes. Something is weird here.

[sparky33]

.

[berserk87]

Life is about choices. I love riding my bike. I either find a way to make riding happen in the winter, or go crazy. It's that simple. And riding for me is does not include being on the trainer.

[R3awak3n]

January was cold for sure, but over the past month there has been some decent riding days. But yeah, everyone is ready for spring here.

[paredown]

A neighbor took this shot of his deck last night. I was out shoveling for about 2 hours last night, and have already got another 1.5 hrs in this morning.

Just sucking back some more coffee before heading back out for round 3.

(We probably got over 2', but the heavy snow settled pretty fast... got some branches snapped off from the weight of the snow, but no trees down, thank goodness...)

[chiasticon]

Like clean up your work shop...:eek:yeah! plenty of time indoors during the winter, some use it to clean.

[Clydesdale]

"There is no bad weather, only inadequate clothing"

[nmrt]

actually, there is only one hockey in the world.
then there is something most people in the world, if they cared to remember, called ice hockey. :banana:

Like clean up your work shop...:eek:

There is no 'ice hockey', it's 'hockey'...

BTW-If you are cold, it's not the weather, it's lack of preparation.

[weisan]

Appreciate all the good humor and positive response.

My house is open year round to any pals who need to take a breather from the great white and feel the warmth of the sun.

[bobswire]

I am sitting here staring at this darn thing for the last hour or so wishing I could take it out for a ride today but according to my schedule I probably won't, and that's driving me nuts. For the most part, we had a pretty mild winter here in Texas...er...ok, we don't have a winter. I was able to ride pretty much from Jan to Dec all year round. I can't imagine living up north hindered by the weather or other factors that may prevent me from riding several months out of the year. Yeah, I know what some of you would say...do other stuff like pick up ice hockey. Whatever. To me, that's just crying sour grapes. :D

They just don't love riding as much as we do Weisan. :) They could always move but glad they don't, where I'm at it is too crowded as it is.
This is from yesterday, Crystal Spring reservoir.
http://i64.tinypic.com/28rmro6.jpg

[tuscanyswe]

So its cold and or slippery but you can still ride? You learn how to dress pretty quick then its only about realising that 1km on certain days are like 10km on a better day in terms of effort but that is all part of the fun :banana:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4753/39622209865_089a180fbb_b.jpg

If i can rid of something for winters it would be the darn dark skies rather than the snow and cold. I cant take the constant lack of blue skies, it gets to me after a few months. I need the light damn it !

[bobswire]

So its cold and or slippery but you can still ride? You learn how to dress pretty quick then its only about realising that 1km on certain days are like 10km on a better day in terms of effort but that is all part of the fun :banana:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4753/39622209865_089a180fbb_b.jpg

If i can rid of something for winters it would be the darn dark skies rather than the snow and cold. I cant take the constant lack of blue skies, it gets to me after a few months. I need the light damn it !

Great composition to that photo!

[tylercheung]

Moved from NYC to LA. I love NYC. But I'd rather live in LA!

[benb]

I'm definitely not going to make it outside for a ride today. I got out yesterday morning before the storm arrived here.

Weird storm, we didn't get a ton of snow, but it's some of the heaviest/wettest snow I've ever seen.

I bought a monster Ariens snowblower this winter and it handled it really really well. Old one would have probably been completely unable to handle this snow.

The big problem was tons of branches down, including in the driveway. Stuff big enough I couldn't drag it out of the snow without chopping it up with a hatchet. Then there were areas I had to rake to pull the branches out so I didn't suck them into the snowblower. PITA! We have enough down branches that it's a wonder we didn't lose power and we're going to have to hire a landscaper to come in with a chipper/shredder to remove the mess.

I may sneak in trainer time. And it's supposed to be 40+ every day for the next 3-4 days so this snow isn't going to last long. I foresee some wet rides this weekend.

[thwart]

Variety is the spice of life.

I feel a bit sorry for those of you who don't have the opportunity to get out for a quick cross country ski outing or ride a fat tire bike in some of the white stuff.

And like so many things in life... you appreciate getting out on your road bike even more when you've been away from it for awhile.

That first Spring ride... Wow. :banana:

How did Seinfeld put it... like 'make up sex'...

[ripvanrando]

54,076 pounds of snow removed from my driveway.

[benb]

Variety is the spice of life.

I feel a bit sorry for those of you who don't have the opportunity to get out for a quick cross country ski outing or ride a fat tire bike in some of the white stuff.



I don't know what your situation... the thing that makes it frustrating for me these days is I spend so much time dealing with cleanup & having a kid who is probably not going to school that there is little time left to enjoy the snow.

I worked on snow cleanup for 2 hours today and am expected to work as well. Not really any time to go for some X/C skiing.

Unfortunately the snow has been terrible around Boston for X/C skiing for years now. It was so much better when I was a kid that I owned skis, and was on the team in H/S. I've gone and rented skis less than 5X as an adult even though there are 2 places within an hour drive for me. There just hasn't been enough snow.. we get slop/slush/ice and it never accumulate very nicely. It's easier to ride.

[eippo1]

Winter is for cross training! Looking forward to an epic day snowboarding at Mount Snow this Sunday! Plus I do get quite a workout shoveling/ snowblowing and moving around huge fallen branches during these storms.

Though I did take a Hubway bikeshare bike from my work to North Station last night. That was a little hairy but at least I barely had to touch the pedals with the wind pushing me all the way from the Seaport!

[redir]

Yeah, I know what some of you would say...do other stuff like pick up ice hockey. Whatever.

I was gonna say maybe you could do something like clean up those shelves :D

[johnniecakes]

Swimming and running get me through. Fresh water swims are 2 months away (with a wetsuit)

[veggieburger]

The one thing I will say about cycling is the north is that we certainly have a great appreciation for when the weather does warm up. On the first nice day of the year, there are literally hundreds of people riding in the countryside.

[TimD]

Steve, we were out on the Peets 0545 yesterday, where were you? :)

Meanwhile, two words: Fat bike.

[jcs7282]

in the boston area winter time, 35 F and above is warm enough for road riding, and that's pre-light hours. In the sun, you're good even lower! Just bundle up.

In the teens and single digits...woods & fatbike. fire afterwards!

[rousseau]

We ride when the roads are dry, which is most of the time, even where I am in the snowbelt east of Lake Huron. Though it's still an off-season for a couple months, no question.

Thing is, summer is blissful here. We get above 30 degrees during heat waves, but otherwise it's just hot and pleasant, not hot and dangerous. From June to September you do your rides whenever you damn well please, you don't need to get up at ungodly hours to avoid scorching afternoon hellfire.

My relatives in Florida send us photos of them eating lunch outside in February. Look at us, we're eating lunch outside in February! And we think, yeah, that's nice and everything, but you never do that in July like we do.

We may gripe about it as adults, but I'm of the very strong opinion that a childhood without snow is unconscionably deprived. Seriously.

[weisan]

If you want something bad enough, you will do everything possible to get it.

Saw an opening in my schedule, what do I do?

[sparky33]

Steve, we were out on the Peets 0545 yesterday, where were you? :)

Riding outside is still a thing?

I'm almost finished binge watching Homeland till all hours every night. Should wrap up in time for some acceptably dark and cold bagel loops. :)

[Matthew]

Winter here in Michigan wasn't too bad this year all things considered. But I did ride the trainer from late November until just a week or two ago. If it's too nasty I won't go out. And once they start salting the crap out of the roads I keep my nice bikes inside and ride my spin bike. By late fall I am ready for a break from riding anyway so look forward to a bit of a break. And I wouldn't trade the summers here for nothing. Down there you can't breath outside in the summer it's so hot!!!!!

[Clydesdale]

My house is open year round to any pals who need to take a breather from the great white and feel the warmth of the sun.

If you decide you want to try winter riding come on up. I'll find a fatbike for you and we will hope for a day like today... 20 degrees, sunny, no wind and since the fish evidently moved and took the ice fishermen with them, I had this entire part of the lake to myself.

[weisan]

http://alicehui.com/bike/rides/IMG_5372.jpg

http://alicehui.com/bike/rides/IMG_5367.jpg

[72gmc]

I have a habit of annoying horses by saying hi to them but providing no treats.

[Hilltopperny]

I've been sneaking out for shorter rides on my fatbike. I'll even go for a road ride once in a while if the road conditions are favorable enough. I don't get in very many miles on my outdoor winter rides, but I never regret them.

[tkbike]

Three solid months of ice climbing and the riding is like a summer picnic!
Skiing or snowshoeing for an hour to get to the good ice, 4-5 hours of climbing and skiing/snowshoeing back an hour will make the riding feel like a vacation!

[merckxman]

This has been a tough winter for riding. Lots of bad weather, way too cold, or horrible road conditions. Still, I've managed road rides here and there. After two nor'easters in a row that dumped significant snow I'm ready to be done with this Winter.

[teleguy57]

what, and miss out on the fun?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nf4QqkyS6I_VzjSSvtCgctfkevGHIx2GLRIn23rzsMP46h3pfq GwT_ED6yi6XqVOmDUEOlKPD64d-Q2i3ZRfXO7T5NIKZMfVJU1MNuGp8xtGO_wS9r4PCtLh0WK5YMp 7nMx3HgS_qhY_HI9kSnLUyPy82CAmpCig22uIbSFrNa0oB9q-MfdrcI9gQKrE_XNsQNyaJG8QykFt6zWdVMY5WmQMXNUIWxjlc6 ENMPwmz-83sQWJTNfB2mCC2mv1hZ9FM_poLSwcFYZdWkAX8W7PmQZL9Xwe BxZ8fOAS9Fv6WD1aXK0TZHjhFFEYCoJIxG9SsK2vu7UyTDY4cO 03I7ASsU4hLegAHDmxGzeQge_xWlh2I6lzpu77gINn1aXjMTkZ qGGWFIMyQchcqSpa6sAs8NsnmIC2CgyXjuBpVKZx5XKfoNWbUU gVJO1JSfum3mEUSVwUaYM2xbg2EnnEVO4Ymm1MmUun23WAvnG5 X44POVz-PJeWsZJNAG8h5D-o7v-Ns5QvBQC-IjfjC-jP-61l-8y3TyBClLZNFqCu0p3YW9vZv4nzwLRpfo39LIJpuXEdwvr2qLd SW-qg6cBr8SqFBQXeYiGLHdfUd1ebqTBZUDzFptlUF4vp8KfNbeZU ZoG6ku_9Ri9qQYuaQdk8XBDysotLTI9lCObT=w1725-h1293-no

And here is today's "ride"

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CveAshkVsAAilvJEBzuE0tipDaOvMzstsBbgqLoTR-4UMBNyS7mPban615kkP6KVHJSHnAUGoLo4exDCsNIyYcTp6i9A YG9GZ64TDLXI8BL6R7tFSa7kIuSbiaAiDbMNflZ8UOstZSp2oU k27jnj3OQ9_42AX9fLn9thnPy4Omuq_Kt_xOlapkch9GGyfemF ZR45Ks_SUBickJxR_T-N-6z3IgFkautSGsOebruUgq5wg6XXzFaAnJfqjZImUHLnK3zrjhF QLLT-qtKCeEa63kg7T4LVJfkBqtMv63Fdm6C21VCdB9vnmuHm1Um_ch 2HcpN9opfllqeGN2hv910WgEdhi7I2wmiE9OX-K_lID_EZoa7TkVyWlGqM9LG6BjUalKm8KQWp_9EzLqrZIUoHfD phhc859r94BzLdWreIywigWJNRi3JJ-S1aINA5-l8xapKB0d2GZShKcUXao6PJdJNLJtLeGQu6ejCfiUbFmSL5qat NtqBGMWVOExgnS32wyxXFWkZYRuP9qXMoAzOrGAC2GXEAdQY4V BMkuaveNQ1tyd2rlfFJEr1ca8aDqS-Gr3U5lEqeZHyUFNcblAF68kgNan-Aj7XTCq2yWf3ZS9HRy8xDu7K1mWi72BE29xDhuNu3HCyALrl9r ZvMA_WQ7e6RubeOwqMM=w776-h1034-no

[bobswire]

Beautiful GG Bridge today, it was more like summer weather.

http://i68.tinypic.com/jl01p2.jpg

[weisan]

We may gripe about it as adults, but I'm of the very strong opinion that a childhood without snow is unconscionably deprived. Seriously.

I agree.

http://alicehui.com/bike/rides/St_Louis_night.jpg

After living in Austin TX for almost 12 years, we moved to St Louis to go to grad school for three years. And while we were there, we experienced real winter and snow.

http://alicehui.com/bike/rides/P1070379.jpg

I have my share of indoor-trainer time.

http://alicehui.com/bike/rides/P1070407.jpg

The coldest ride I have done happened while we were there. I think it was like in the 20s and I was out doing my usual loop. Who says nobody ever regrets going out of a ride. Not true! That ride was painful....and dumb. Shouda stayed at home.

Anyway....I am glad my kids get to go through that as well, it was priceless!

http://alicehui.com/bike/rides/IMG_7275.jpg

Another extra benefit of going through real winter that is bike-related is that I developed a greater toughness for cold weather riding. Upon our return back to Texas, I was comfortable riding well into the low-50s temp. simply on a bib short and a regular wool short-sleeve jersey. It was a bit comical especially in a group ride where I stood out among pals wrapped up in their arm and leg warmers, jackets etc. They kept asking me, "Aren't you COLD?!!" And I replied, "This is PERFECT!" Unfortunately, that toughness is beginning to wear out as time goes by. We are on to our fifth year since leaving St. Louis. Since then, we have lived in Melbourne, Australia, Singapore and then back to Austin. None of these places have a real winter to speak of. After losing 20 pounds recently, mostly fat I guess, I noticed that I am not as "tough" this year during the winter months, and like my fellow Texan pals, had to layer up for anything lower than 60....<sigh> :no:

oh well...

[Bob Ross]

BTW-If you are cold, it's not the weather, it's lack of preparation.

My favorite variant of that axiom is "There is no Bad Weather, only Inappropriate Attire"

And I was thinking about that just the other day when we got a Nor'easter that was dumping a mixture of huge, sopping wet snowflakes and bona fide sleet at an alarmingly quick/dense rate. I'm watching the restaurant delivery guys on their mountain bikes and I started thinking "Man, if I had a fat-tired bike with knobbies I would so wanna be out riding in this stuff!

...but what would I wear?"

[Red Tornado]

Ice skating, hockey, xc skiing (highly recommend), snowshoeing.
We used to take our MTB's out on the snowmobile trails after giving them a day or two to get packed down. Considerably more effort riding on that vs. dirt, but you can still average say 4 mph. Ran 15-20 psi back in the days of inner tubes. The manager of said snowmobile trail (which doubled as a bike trail in summer) rode & didn't give us any grief as long as there were no bike vs. snowmobile incidents. There never we're. Always heard them coming and pulled off to the side.
Snowmobiling is a fun alternative, as well. Did a lot of it before I took up cycling. Won't get the cardio workout, but tons of fun nonetheless.

[superbowlpats]

Got out for a nice ride yesterday. and here's tomorrow :eek:

[William]

Got out for a nice ride yesterday. and here's tomorrow :eek:

Yeah....I'm sitting in the 14' - 15" swath. Going over the 29'er to make sure everything is a go for a ride tomorrow...maybe. :)






William

[C40_guy]

Yea, check back with us on Wednesday to see how (if?) we did it!

[OldCrank]

Day off tomorrow!
Ready your fat tires!!
:banana:
(CX skis work too)

[benb]

I stacked up rides the last 4 days.. although I guess Friday doesn't count because it was on the trainer. But I got out 2 hours Saturday, 1:15 yesterday, and 1 hour today. So I'm ready for tomorrow to be a day off. My last day off was whatever day it was that I had to do snow/tree cleanup from last week's storm.

It has been a little nuts. I have a picture I'll upload from when I pulled over to stop.

But we've got a lot of snow in the trees that was coming down like bombs into to the road when gusts of wind hit. I also rode through snow and hail Saturday, exciting stuff.

[DarkStar]

Took up Nordic skiing 35 years ago, love it so much wish the winters were longer....sometimes:)

[William]

You know, we just keep things light. Another storm coming in tonight......:)





William

[Plum Hill]

Weisan forgets the darned humidity in St. Louis makes the cold, and heat, feel even worse.

[weisan]

I just put my winter gear away in the closet....please don't hate me. ;)

[johnniecakes]

Hate? no way, But envious, yea I can do that.

[benb]

Do you actually have winter gear in Texas?

I didn't have to wear booties yesterday and was able to take off my helmet cover because I was doing hill repeats and so was able to build up a lot of heat.

I did ~50 miles Sunday though and the temp was 35 degrees. I got both snowed on and it hailed for maybe 5 minutes. Really small hail but it was hail. But since I had a helmet cover + balaclava + winter jacket and heavy tights the hail didn't hurt. Snow wasn't accumulating though, and mostly didn't even wet the road.

It has actually snowed 100% of weekend rides I've done in March.

We are really supposedly actually going to get some temps into the 40s and 50s this week. Today's supposed to be 45 or something, but today is a rest day for me.

[Frankwurst]

Rode yesterday. 3rd ride of the year on the road. Wool base layer,wool jersey, wind proof jacket,wool cycling cap under my helmet,wool socks, well you get the idea. 33 out right now. Wind is out of the northwest at 5-9 mph. Overcast, foggy drizzle. Give me a couple of more degrees on the thermometer and the wool comes out again and I'm gone. It's that or one of the mid-evil torture devices at the gym. I'd rather spend 2 hours on a bike in crappy conditions than 45 minutes in a gym. Not to mention the fact I can have a shower beer when I'm done. ;):beer:

[redir]

We got about a foot of snow the other night here in Virginia but it's just about all gone today. Tomorrow supposed to get to about 60 degrees.

[benb]

Scary thing for me is compared to 2016 I'm 30 hours behind for outdoor riding at this calendar date.

And the weather was definitely worse in 2016. I'm training for the same thing this year as I was then.

[Mr. Pink]

Embrace winter.