Fruddled Gruntbugglies

I was all set to get an early start on today’s ride when the equipment gremlins struck.  First, the cheap plastic clip broke off the back of one of my rear blinkers.  Two blinkers are a must during the dark days of December, so I fashioned a new clip out of metal pipe strapping.  It’ll…

Kind of a double whammy of dark descending on us this week.  Not only are we into the shortest days of the year at one week removed from Winter Solstice, there’s also a new moon on Wednesday.  So this week’s evening rides are going to be…  dark, particularly in the park and on poorly-lighted Lawyers…

Note to self:  after oiling bike, remember to wipe off excess and make sure it doesn’t get on tires.  I somehow managed to get to work without falling down, but boy was that some white-knuckled, slick-track excitement this morning.  Didn’t help that the roads were wet and oily (especially in Catonsville) too.  I survived by…

Friday evening ride: 33, clear and breezy.  Same clothes as the morning ride.  Quick 8 mile ride home. Today I spent a couple hours cleaning Thursday’s muck off the road bike, degreasing stuff, etc. so it’ll be ready for the coming week.  Will likely need it at least tomorrow because I’m expecting the roads to…

Yesterday’s 5pm ride:  Same gusty west wind as the morning, temperature around freezing.  Bundled up a bit more than I ordinarily would for low 30s because of the wind.  Top:  Short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, PolarTec pullover, hi-vis windbreaker.  Head: fleece headband, REI helmet liner/balaclava.  Hands: mid-weight winter cycling gloves.  Legs: thermal tights.  Feet: wool…

Wow, where to start with today’s ride.  Upper 30s with a 15-20mph west wind.  Same clothes as Monday 12/7 morning (including arm warmers).  I was comfortable in these clothes, but the real story was the wind and mud.  I took Montgomery out to New Cut Rd, which was uneventful except for a head wind.  New…

Overcast/41.  Same clothes as the past 2 or 3 rides.  Fairly comfortable.  The big story with this ride was around 3 in the afternoon when I realized I had left my headlight on the other bike.  Fortunately I keep a mini “Mag Lite” flashlight in my rack trunk, so I strapped it to the handlebars…

Around 15 miles again today.  34 or so at the start of the ride, 38 or so at the end.  Partly cloudy.  Same clothes as yesterday’s afternoon ride.  Feet cold after first half hour.  Head really sweaty at the end of the ride.  Comfortable otherwise.  I’m going to need to do something about the cold…

It was around 40 degrees for the ride home.  Left at 4:45 and had a little bit of light for the first half of the ride.  Wore exactly the same stuff as the morning, minus the arm warmers.  This would have gotten a bit warm if the ride had been longer, but it worked for…

So, I’m starting my second winter season commuting by bike, so I figured I’d use the blog to record notes on my rides, including clothing I wore, which bike I rode, etc.  The idea is to get a better sense of what works best in different weather and road conditions.  So here goes. First sub-freezing…