Sunday, 12 February 2012
This is the week to start commuting by bike for another year. The daylight is strong enough for leaving home by 7:20, even on cloudy days, and for returning home by 6:30 in the evening. So there's plenty of time to put in eight hours of work. ...Now if Kodak doesn't lay me off as part of its stated aim of reducing the workforce by 16%, I can be cycling as much as 125 miles per week just in a daily commute.
Today, Sunday, was extremely cold, in comparison to the Winter we've had in Dayton so far. The bikeways were covered with a light snow that had fallen yesterday. But an alternative, the MetroParks Mountain Biking Area was open, according the the daily update on their phone line (937-277-4374).
I took Howard, my 11-year-old yellow Labrador with me, and he alternately followed and led me on the Twisted trail and the Mr. Zig-Zag trail. For the early half of the ride, trails were frozen pretty solidly, but by 11:45, the trail segments that received direct sunlight had thawed and the mud built up. So I decided to follow only two of the trails. The decision was good for another reason too, because Howard's stamina started to fail with only a half trail left to cover. He'll sleep well tonight.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 21 to 25°F at 12:00 noon
Precipitation: none currently, but about an inch of snow still covering the ground
Winds: 11 to 15 mph from the north and west
Clothing: Skinsuit, longsleeve undershirt, quilted tights, Goretex light jacket, ankle socks, quilted gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:32:45 for 2.69 miles
Heart rate: 142 bpm HRave, 164 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 3 cyclists, 1 dog
Playback of the ride
Showing posts with label 25°F. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 25°F. Show all posts
12 February 2012
07 March 2011
Bike commute day 2, to work
Temperatures: 25°F at 07:55, 27°F at 09:10
Clothing: Top with 3 layers (longsleeve poly-spandex Reebok shirt, skinsuit, closely-woven wool-acrylic cycling jacket); Bottom with 2 layers (skinsuit, quilted tights); ankle socks; old Descente quilted gloves. (Cool, but comfortable body; fingers cold.)
Time: 0:56:xx for 12.5 miles (The times given are about 20 minutes off, as given on my bike computer.)
07:54—departing from home. Only thing notable was the pedestrians I had to pass at the crossing of Salem to Longfellow School. I typically cross the street as normal traffic, then zig-zag onto the sidewalk for about 25 feet, to turn left onto the sidewalk that reaches the dead-ended Superior Avenue on the northwest side of the school. Clearly the group of about 7 was a set of parents herding their children to school, and though I said twice, "On your left, please," I startled at least one child as I passed from street to sidewalk. Reminder: start out earlier to avoid similar approaches to pedestrians trying to get to school by 8:00 a.m.
As I crossed the Monument Avenue bridge, I could tell I would need again the East Monument Street route, as the Miami River was flowing fast and almost obliterating the low dam. I took the gravel path under the YMCA, sidewalk to the Main Street-Monument intersection, crossed and went into Riverscape Park, and saw that once again the river was 3 feet above the bikeway.
08:08—passing the zig-zag up from the Mad River Bikeway. The bikeway was flooded as far as the Webster Street bridge, so I rode south on Webster to Monument Avenue. About a quarter mile after Findlay Avenue, I slodged over the grass to the above-river bikeway.
08:22—passing the west gate to Eastwood Park. Run-off from the hills above the transition at Smithville and Springfield flowed again across the bikeway. It wasn't all frozen today, but enough was to be a bit slippery as I walked over the area. As I prepared to cross Smithville, a bundled-up cyclist came up the street toward Springfield Avenue. "So I am not the only cold commuter," I thought. Then a courteous driver waved me through the pass at Airway. No deer were grazing at the DPL fairways.
08:36—passing the trestle remains at Linden. Another courteous driver waved me through the pass at Woodbine—I hope this indicates a trend for 2011. It was notably colder in the half mile between Woodman and Founders, due to the natural, undeveloped areas south of the bikeway there.
08:50—arriving at work. I had plenty of energy to spare. It's time to take the exertion level up a notch.
Clothing: Top with 3 layers (longsleeve poly-spandex Reebok shirt, skinsuit, closely-woven wool-acrylic cycling jacket); Bottom with 2 layers (skinsuit, quilted tights); ankle socks; old Descente quilted gloves. (Cool, but comfortable body; fingers cold.)
Time: 0:56:xx for 12.5 miles (The times given are about 20 minutes off, as given on my bike computer.)
07:54—departing from home. Only thing notable was the pedestrians I had to pass at the crossing of Salem to Longfellow School. I typically cross the street as normal traffic, then zig-zag onto the sidewalk for about 25 feet, to turn left onto the sidewalk that reaches the dead-ended Superior Avenue on the northwest side of the school. Clearly the group of about 7 was a set of parents herding their children to school, and though I said twice, "On your left, please," I startled at least one child as I passed from street to sidewalk. Reminder: start out earlier to avoid similar approaches to pedestrians trying to get to school by 8:00 a.m.
As I crossed the Monument Avenue bridge, I could tell I would need again the East Monument Street route, as the Miami River was flowing fast and almost obliterating the low dam. I took the gravel path under the YMCA, sidewalk to the Main Street-Monument intersection, crossed and went into Riverscape Park, and saw that once again the river was 3 feet above the bikeway.
08:08—passing the zig-zag up from the Mad River Bikeway. The bikeway was flooded as far as the Webster Street bridge, so I rode south on Webster to Monument Avenue. About a quarter mile after Findlay Avenue, I slodged over the grass to the above-river bikeway.
08:22—passing the west gate to Eastwood Park. Run-off from the hills above the transition at Smithville and Springfield flowed again across the bikeway. It wasn't all frozen today, but enough was to be a bit slippery as I walked over the area. As I prepared to cross Smithville, a bundled-up cyclist came up the street toward Springfield Avenue. "So I am not the only cold commuter," I thought. Then a courteous driver waved me through the pass at Airway. No deer were grazing at the DPL fairways.
08:36—passing the trestle remains at Linden. Another courteous driver waved me through the pass at Woodbine—I hope this indicates a trend for 2011. It was notably colder in the half mile between Woodman and Founders, due to the natural, undeveloped areas south of the bikeway there.
08:50—arriving at work. I had plenty of energy to spare. It's time to take the exertion level up a notch.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)