13 mph wind from west and see temp 76. It was quite a good workout especially the cool down.

Suppose to cool after xmas so I guess it's back to layers.

... been quite chilly and rainy hereof late. In the 30s some mornings.

Half the ride was directly into the wind at 9MPH and gusting to 21. That makes for hard pedaling but part of my route has the wind to the side and the gusts can sure make the bike unstable.

I recently got a small bottle of Boeshield T-9 corrosion protectant. Riding in the rain and mist I had some surface rust in the hex sockets of the stem bolts, especially the front facing bolts. As the bike is only 5 moths old I would hate for this to get out of hand. I will post the results of this treatment whether it works or not.

Maybe it's as good as the hype since it was developed Boeing. I don't know where but I want to say Everwet, (that's what we called it at GTE, back in the day)

Last edited Fri Jan 8, 2016, 12:39 AM - Edit history (1)

The National weather Service says 19 degree and 21 mph, but that is at the Johnstown Airport atop of Allegheny Mountain. I am in the river valley below, temperatures run three to five degrees warmer in winter but the wind speed tends to be about the same.

I had biked from my work to my home on Sunday Night (I had been in Pittsburgh over the weekend, when I arrived back in Johnstown I parked my car at the office for it has a garage and biked to my home in Johnstown).

The bike ride was excellent, cold, I could feel the cold in my legs for I only had BDU trousers on the legs and I was wearing sandals and summer socks ( I had forgotten to switch to my tennis shoes before I left the office). Feet were a little cold, but that was about all. The ride home was cold, but I was comfortable I rode with my Army leather gloves and arrived home safely. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, a light powdery snow which the locals call a "Cold Snow". The snow on the ground was no more than a 1/4 inch of snow. Some ice under the snow, my bike tires slid while I was peddling, just lost of traction as opposed to sliding.

I arrived home and switched my Cannondale tires to my studded tires, for in the Morning I knew the Snow and Ice would still be on the road and I wanted traction. I also dug up my old Neos overboots to wear over my Sandals the next morning. When I did I had no problem with my feet.

The next morning, Monday January 4th, 2016 We hard a light dusting of snow as I expected but had no problems biking to work. I did what my father always did in cold weather, worn two pair of pants, that kept my legs warm and I had the Neos over my Sandals.

Now I had some trouble with my hands that morning, my gloves would NOT keep them warm so I had to switch to my Army Mittens. That is the problem with 20 degree weather. I notice I had a hard time peddling, I blamed it on the studded tires till I watched the flags, which told me of the high wind speed I was biking AGAINST. The wind was the problem not the studded tires.

On Monday night I drove home, I decided Zero Degrees was to cold for me to bike, for that was the temperature predicted for Tuesday Morning (This also permitted me to pick up my wheel for my Schwinn, it had a broken spoke so I had the local bike shop fix it). On Tuesday evening I did bike home with my studded tires. I could feel the increased roll resistance of the studded tires for the snow had disappeared by then, Still made it home, through the last block was a killer. The last 1/3 mile of my trip is up a 4.3 % grade, that ends with an 18% grade on the last block. I made it, but I was out of breath.

On Wednesday morning I switched to my 1972 Schwinn. Temperatures were in the low 20s, but no snow, so I did not need my studded tires. The Schwinn has old Schwinn 27 inch by 1 1/4 inch tires and good enough for the dry cold road. No problem, but I had to switched back to mittens for the gloves were NOT warn enough. That Nnght I rode to the local Supermarket and back to my office (A four mile round trip), ate dinner and then rode home. It was in the high 20s so I wore my Gloves, my hands were a little on the cold side till I hit that last block. No other problems, the last block was still a problem, but it has always been a problem the five years I have been making that bike ride from home to the office and back.

This morning, Thursday January 7, 2016 (happy Orthodox Christmas to you Orthodox who still follow the Julian Calendar), I rode into work, another mid 20 morning, but warmed by to the mid 30s by late afternoon. I still had to use my mittens. I have to pick something up from my home to take to the office, so I am driving home today. Thus no more riding this week for me, for I have to go to Pittsburgh this weekend and it appears it will be Rain followed by some snow Sunday.

Last edited Wed Jan 13, 2016, 11:23 AM - Edit history (8)

And Johnstown has again embraced its snow removal policy: "Spring is around the corner".

http://tinyurl.com/zpcn7vh

I was thinking about you people who ride all winter in severe winter conditions and a title to a bicycling blues song came to me:
"Got the snotcycle bicycling winter blues"

The only problem I had was where someone was dumping snow from his sidewalk onto the road (That is ILLEGAL but it is a law no one actually enforces).

This was a COLD Snow. In the West they call it a "Powder Snow". It is light, fluffy and blows all over the place. A Cold snow falls when temperatures are below about 25 degrees. Rarely do we get more then an 1/2 inch of such stuff at a time, this time it looks like we may have had about a 1/2 inch.

In Pennsylvania, our heavy snows are "Wet Snows", snow at about 30 to 35 degrees comes down heavy and thick. Great snow for making snow balls, the wetness of the snow keeps the snowballs together even in flight. Good snow for making snowmen or other snow creatures. When we get a Wet Snow, you can get anywhere from six inches to three feet of snow in one snow fall (Nearer the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Oceans, six or more feet have been known to fall in one snow fall).

Now, I did not notice any Jack Frost. My Father called the situation when you can see the water droplets from your breath twinkle in the sunlight as the droplets turned to ice before your eyes, Jack Frost. . Outdoors when you see that you know it is VERY COLD in the single digits Fahrenheit. i.e. well below freezing. It is a sign one should be indoors sitting beside a warm fire.

Thus while the Weather Service said it was 6 this morning (January 13, 2016), I did not see any Jack Frost, so I believe the actual temperature was in the 10s or low 20s. I did not see any melting independent of Salt, thus temperatures were clearly below freezing. You start to see Melting when temperatures start to hit the high 20s, mostly do to sunlight hitting the ground just right to get some sections over the Freezing point even while most of the area stays below freezing. The difference is probably do to the fact the Weather Service collects its data and makes it prediction from the Johnstown Airport, which is atop of Allegheny Mountain, while I bike in the City of Johnstown in the valley below that mountain. Generally you have a five degree difference, but it looks like it was closer to 10 degrees today.

Now Salt works till temperatures get around 5 degree Fahrenheit. Another sign the temperatures were in the 10s not the single digits this morning. The main roads were mostly clear, it was the side roads that still had snow and ice on them and that was do to the fact the Trucks concentrated on those main roads (Salt does NOT work if you do NOT put any down).

Now, I do wear boots when the snow gets higher then three to four inches, but this being a Cold Snow, Tennis shoes were all if needed (Do to the fact such cold snow rarely produce more then a 1/2 inch of snow). Tomorrow I may break out my Schwinn, for it has slicks and those slicks make it easier to peddle then the studded tires I have on my Cannondale. The roads appear to be clear this afternoon and given how little snow actually fell, the Slicks may be all I need.

Now, my fingers did get cold and I had to use by Army Finger trigger mittens to keep them warm, but other then that no real problems biking, unlike a "Wet Snow" where the slush and show causes all types of problems biking. Yes, it is easier to bike at 20 degree Fahrenheit and snow then with 30 degree temperatures and snow, for the later is wetter, deeper and more dangerous. With a heavy wet snow you get more ice for you get more moisture in the storm. Much less problems once temperatures drop below about 25 degrees and stay there.

I noticed I am breathing heavier then normal but blamed it on the studded tires. Tempertures hit over freezing today and I notice the heavy breathing was gone. I should have realized it was the tempertures that lead to my breathing heavier then normal. Your body has to heat the air you breath in. This requires your lungs not only to absorb the oxygen but also to hear the air. Thus my breathing heavy was more do to the temperatures in the single digits then the increase roll resistence di to the use of studded tires. Low temperatures requires increase breathing, that one aspect of biking in low tempertures I have forgotten about.

Last edited Wed Jan 27, 2016, 10:06 PM - Edit history (3)

http://tinyurl.com/zsaekde

http://tinyurl.com/zn5tn7c

http://tinyurl.com/gq5vhac

Been biking, temperatures was in the 40s on Tuesday, but only the 20s today (Wednesday 1-27-2016). The Snow that fell was a "Cold Snow" and given the high temperatures and the nature of that snow, it is now down to about a foot. This is both to compression of the snow as it packs itself AND the high temperatures yesterday. Should note the foot is a solid foot, you can almost walk on it, so it will take a lot to melt it.

Where snows had been piled, no real drop in those piles, the temperatures have NOT been high enough to do much melting, most of the reduction in snow has been to compression.

Suppose to be above Freezing during the daytime over the next few days, then above freezing at night this weekend. Thus no real drop in snow till this weekend, those 24 hour period with temperatures over 32 melts a lot of snow, but slowly.

No problems with my studded tires. I may take my bike with slicks tomorrow, the roads are all clear.