Well todays commute was a little bit more of an adventure. To start with I had to take my car in for some work. So instead of riding from my house I got to ride from Stan Olsen Subaru at the Westroads. Right when I left the car stealership it started snowing. I decided to take Blondo to the Keystone. Once I got to the Keystone it was first tracks. Just around the corner from where this first picture was taken is where I had an unexpected surprise
.Bam, I'm down in an instant. If you look closely at the picture you can see how my back end started coming around on me. Then you can see my front tire start to slide, then my foot mark and finally my butt bounce into a 20 ft slide. I felt like I was sliding on a hockey rink.
Luckly nothing broke, my left shifter/brake lever was a little pushed in but that's an easy fix.
After taking a few shots I'm back on the bike and being more cautious this time. I'm heading over the bridge between 24hr fitness and Dodge and shortly after I go down again.
Damn, this is getting old. This time I went down on my rear der and broke off one of my blinky lights
.Now I'm starting to get mad. I was only hoping my shifting isn't all jacked up. Throw my broken light in my bag and check my shifting. All seems ok, so I get back on and tip-toe the rest of the way to Aksarben. I had to take a detour back home to get my snowboard helmet and goggles since my glasses were not working well in all the snow. Ended up riding 1hr 10 min and probably around 10 miles. The snow is still falling so the ride home should be another adventure.
12 comments:
I work at First National and have my car and bike rack today. Let me know if you need a ride home.
~Chris
Did I mention the Keystone is really icey in the mornings?
I don't even bother with it on my into HG on days like today. I'll take my chances with traffic instead of busting a wrist or collarbone on ice.
Glad you made safe...stick to the streets (somedays)
If you can 35c tires, just get these http://www.icebike.org/Equipment/nokian106.htm and you shouldn't have that problem again. You wont be setting any speed records, but you'll have a LOT more traction.
I've been happy with mine for the last two winters. My ride last tuesday with all the flash frozen runoff on the trail was pretty easy with those. I felt more comfortable riding on that ice than walking on it.
Yeah, crashing does suck. Welcome to my world.
Yeah, but your so graceful going over your bars.
I rode today. The AM leg was before any snow so it was fine, and the PM route was, well quite snowy. I have 28C Vittoria tires on my bike and just took the corners easy. I rode from UNMC at 4:45pm. I rode on Saddle Creek just North of Leavenworth all the way to Center Street. Then took Center to my place at about 63rd. The crappy weather really helps slow traffic down. I was almost as fast as the cars and got no honks. I got some are-you-crazy? looks from drivers, but that's it. My car handles worse in this weather than my bike!
Chris, thanks for the offer but I was on a mission. What floor do you work on?
Thanks for the info Mod. I was having a great time on the Keystone until I crashed. I had first tracks and it was smooth with a fresh layer of snow.
Yea, I think I almost caused a few accidents on my way to westroads riding down the sidewalk along Dodge. There were some big drifts I had to bust through. My legs sure were feeling it when I got home.
If anyone wants to post on here let me know in a post and I will add you.
I'm in the Tech Center on 2, the ETS PMO.
~Chris
Chris, do you ever commute to work?
Anybody that can pull off the bike commute is a hero, let alone in these conditions. I'm anxiously waiting for "better" weather and an earlier sun-rise to get back on the program. Icy bike paths are lovely.
Thanks Mark, I sure wish that more people driving cars thought commuters were heros. Maybe then I would feel safer riding next to them in traffic.
Wow, you fellas are hard core! I've just started bike commuting this summer (10 mile RT to downtown, only one car trip in since since I started) and am not sure what to expect in the winter. Certainly I will try to gear up for cold riding, but I'm so afraid of falling on ice and snow when walking that I dare not try it on my bike.
Thanks for all these cold weather posts. I've been enjoying reading them getting ideas.
Regards,
Scott
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